Super Senator: Shadow Minister for Defence

A short feature article I wrote and submitted to Upstart Magazine, in association with La Trobe University.

Liberal Senator for WA, David Johnston, shows his continual commitment towards matters of Defence, makes him a capable Shadow Minister for Defence.

 

Tuesday, 16 April 2013

Before officially entering the Senate on 1 July 2002, David Johnston worked as a barrister and solicitor both in Kalgoorlie and his hometown, Perth, for over twenty years. After graduating with a degree in Law from the University of Western Australia (UWA) in 1979, Johnston worked in a variety of fields of law, including: criminal, mining and administrative. Johnston’s political career progressed during his career in law — his involvement with the Liberal Party of Western Australia (WA) started with his membership in the UWA Liberal Club between 1974 and 1979, which in 1997, earned him the honour of being elected State President of the Liberal Party of WA, a position he held up until he was elected as Liberal Senator for WA in 2001.

Johnston’s extensive background in law has proven useful in many cases, operating as a Senator. In an interview with Upstart Magazine, Johnston said, “through the Committee system we are charged with reviewing legislation and I find my legal background to be very useful in that respect.” Since entering the Senate, Johnston been actively involved in several committees, including, working on issues related to defence and national security, native title and workplace relations.

Before being appointed his current role as Shadow Minister for Defence in 2008, Johnston was appointed to serve as Minister for Justice and Customs by Prime Minister John Howard in March 2007. During this period, he was also the Shadow Minister for Resources, Energy and Tourism until 2008 when he was elevated to the Shadow Cabinet and was appointed Shadow Minister for Defence.

Johnston’s active involvement and commitment, particularly in the matters of national defence over the past decade, has certainly earned him the title of Shadow Minister for Defence. Johnston’s work through the Defence Committee over the years include: serious inquiries into Material Acquisition and Management in Defence in 2003 and the Effectiveness of Australia’s Military Justice System in 2005.

More recently, Senator Johnston commented on the Labour party’s chaotic decision-making within the Defence portfolio, causing delays in aircraft purchases vital to Australia’s defence system. In a recent media release, Senator Johnston commented that the unmanned aircraft program, announced by the Howard Government in 2006 is an “important, cost-effective capability for Australia which will assist in detecting people smugglers and even help manage bush-fires.” Johnston goes on to make the point that cutting edge unmanned aircraft technology could have been fully operational as early as 2015, however, the Labour party’s chaotic decision-making in 2009 set this date back to 2018. Unfortunately, the former Labour Defence Minister pulled out of the program in 2009 — wasting $100 million that could have been dedicated to the program. Senator Johnston continues to push the program into action, to avoid wasting any more time and money on the matter.

Another one of the Senator’s most recent activities in regards to defence, is the launch of a new ANZAC Centenary program. The program was launched to encourage community involvement in the annual ceremony, through local grant programs. In addition to the launch of this initiative, Johnston spoke at a school of 1,500 young students, to announce the new program and encourage active participation in the upcoming ANZAC ceremony.

Despite Senator Johnston’s busy work schedules and constant travelling, he still finds some time to spend with his family as he stated in an interview with Upstart Magazine, “It is tough on families but in my situation my children have all grown up and live their own lives now so we do value the time we get to spend together.” His commitment to his work in the matters of Australian defence and family has truly earned him the title of Super Senator.