Thank you very much General Leahy, ladies and gentlemen. I am here to announce these new initiatives, but before I do so it's an opportunity, because I'm at Victoria Barracks and I am in the presence of many senior officers of the ADF and it's on the eve of Christmas, to say on behalf of the Australian community how much it admires the work of the men and women of the ADF. There was a survey carried out by a university group in Queensland recently into the attitudes of the community towards the different institutions in our society, and it was very significant that over the last 10 years the level of esteem for the ADF had risen more sharply than that of any other institution in the Australian community. And that is, in my opinion, well deserved. Not only have the men women of the ADF been doing great things in different parts of the world, but the sense of pride in the professionalism and the performance of our soldiers, sailors and airmen has never been higher in the Australian community and that reflects well on the leadership of the ADF and it reflects well on the professionalism of all ranks. Of course it is not a career that does not entail enormous risk and sometimes the tragic loss of life, and the loss of Trooper Porter and also of Captain Bingley in the helicopter accident off Fiji is a reminder of that.
But the purpose of my being here today specifically is to announce that over the next 10 years the Government will commit an additional $1 billion to boost recruitment into the ADF and retention of people who have joined the ADF. This is the first instalment. There will be further measures to boost recruitment and retention to be announced in 2007. It's a double-edged sword having the lowest unemployment in 30 years. It's a terrific thing. It's never been easier in more then a generation to get a job in Australia than it is at the present time, but that has an impact on the ADF. It means it's harder to get people and when you've got them it's harder to keep them. And these measures are designed to meet some of the concerns that have emerged from a review commissioned by the Defence Minister and the announcements I make today fall into three broad categories.
The first of those is to streamline the recruitment process, effectively to cut it from, in normal circumstances, from 30 weeks down to six weeks. The details are being made available in a supplementary document that the Defence Department is releasing to the media with this news conference. But the measures there will total about $371 million. It'll reduce the average processing times from 30 to six weeks for most applicants, it will also revise recruit entry standards to better reflect the contemporary Australian community. Now let me stress immediately, as General Leahy has done, this will not involve the relaxation of necessary requirements of physical performance, but it will realistically recognise that some indiscretion in the past should not be a permanent bar. It should also recognise that certain health conditions that previously were regarded as being disqualifying factors for the recruitment into the defence forces, can be effectively controlled in service life and there's no reason why you shouldn't recruit those people.
The second of the measures is to introduce, as foreshadowed by Dr Nelson, a military gap year scheme that will provide an opportunity every year for up to a thousand 17 to 24-year-olds who've finished year 12 in the last two years, there won't be too many of them in the upper end of that bracket but most of them will be in the bottom end of the bracket, to experience military training and lifestyle for a year. This is designed to appeal to a group of people who may, after they've tested it, like service life, but in the absence of having a gap year opportunity of 12 months, be reluctant to commit themselves. Now to those who have always had their heart set on a military career, it may appear to be an easy option, but I think you need a combination of people who've always had their heart set on a military career and also some people who, if given the proper introduction in the proper circumstances, will grow to like it and then to make a permanent choice.
The third and very important element is the introduction of retention bonuses and allowances totalling $226 million over the next seven years for personnel in critical positions and with key skill sets. I won't go into all of the details but can I give some of the examples. There will be retention bonuses of up to $25,000 for selected Navy and Army employment and rank groups who hold high-value skills and experience. An initial one year retention bonus of $10,000 followed by completion bonuses of $30,000 for three years additional service for military ranks critical to Army workforce growth. And there will also be a special earmarking of $100 million for a review of Navy seagoing and submarine service allowances subject to independent Defence Force Remuneration Tribunal considerations. Now that last mentioned one is not the only one but it does address a particularly critical recruitment and retention problem that the Navy faces.
Now, they in summary ladies and gentlemen, are the measures. There will be more details made available in the document that I'll be putting out and Defence will be releasing. But can I finish my remarks by saying that first and foremost the announcements I make today are part of a series of announcements the Government will be making to boost recruitment and retention. It's not easy, we have a target of something in the order of 6,500 a year and we have to reduce the current separation rate from 11 per cent down to 10 per cent. That means we need to keep an additional 500 people every year. If we can achieve that, and if we can lift our recruitment rate, we can achieve the targets that we've set ourselves. We've set a target for the ADF of 57,000 by 2016. It's currently 51,000 so in an era of very low unemployment it is a very big task and it's a task that will, in my opinion, require constant attention and this will therefore be one of a series of initiatives that the Government will need to take over the years ahead to make sure that we reach all of our targets.
And finally can I say that I had the opportunity two days ago of visiting the bushfire areas in Victoria and in Tasmania to thank all of the fire-fighters and also again to see the ADF at work. General Leahy spoke of the magnificent work they are doing overseas. They also do magnificent work here in Australia in augmenting and helping our civilian emergency services. And the contribution they're making to the fire effort particularly in Victoria, and there is no sign, sadly, that that is going to abate in the very near future and we can only hope that this rain is not only here in Sydney but is spreading elsewhere in our country; but I do record my thanks and admiration to the ADF as well as the emergency fire services for the great job they've done.
Finally, can I thank you General Leahy for hosting this gathering here. It's always nice to be at Victoria Barracks and I wish you and all of your colleagues in the Army and all the members of the ADF, Admiral and Air Marshal, good wishes for Christmas and again my warm thanks to everybody in the Australian military who do such a wonderful job for the reputation and the defence of our country. Thank you.
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