Subject: Labor Scaremongers on Defence Jobs
From: [email-masked]
To: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 21 Jun 2002 10:38:17 +1000

Minister for Defence Media Mail List
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Friday, 21 June 2002	MIN 299/02

MEDIA RELEASE

Labor scaremongers on Defence jobs

Labor's suggestion that the Howard Government is planning to sack 1400 Defence personnel is grossly misleading.  
Defence is currently evaluating bids for the Defence Integrated Distribution System that will provide a responsive, reliable and efficient Australian Defence Force warehousing and distribution network.  The project aims to exploit commercial best practice warehousing, distribution and elements of Army maintenance through a competitive outsourcing activity. 
Senator Hill said he expected Defence would make a recommendation soon so that the preferred tenderer would be announced in the near future.  
"Unlike Labor, the Howard Government has a highly successful record in creating jobs - not losing them," Senator Hill said.  
"Labor's misleading claims about the effect of the DIDS project only serve to create fear and uncertainty for Defence personnel.  
"Under the project, military personnel will be re-deployed to other roles in the Australian Defence Force.  Public Service personnel will be re-trained, re-deployed or provided redundancy packages in accordance with current departmental guidelines.  
"The DIDS request for tender requires that tenderers must be sensitive to the need to maintain employment levels in rural and regional Australian and specifies that employment levels must be maintained in a number of critical regional and rural Australian areas."

Media Contact: 

Minister's office    
  Catherine Fitzpatrick   02 6277 7800 or 0405 351 245

Department   Susan Hunter 02 6265 2661 

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MINISTER FOR DEFENCE
LEADER OF THE GOVERNMENT IN THE SENATE
SENATOR THE HON. ROBERT HILL

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