Security of Defence Weapons and MunitionsIn December, I announced the Defence Security Authority would conduct a comprehensive audit of the security policies and practices applying to Defence weapons, munitions and explosives. Recent reports of alleged loss or theft made it clear that an audit was required to review arrangements designed to secure Defence weapons, munitions and explosives. The audit team now has reported to me on the initial phase of its review. This phase of the audit focuses on the M72 munition, a single-use, expendable rocket launcher designed for infantry use against armoured vehicles. On 5 January 2007, the Australian Federal Police and New South Wales Police charged an individual with several offences, including receiving and disposing of seven rocket launchers from the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The police currently hold one of those munitions. The audit team sought to ascertain the origin and source of the M72 held by the police. The team found that the M72 in question is an old variant, probably produced in Australia around 1990, and that Defence records indicate that the variant was removed from Defence stocks some years ago. The audit team was not able to identify conclusively when and where this munition was stolen from Defence. Police investigations continue with the aim of establishing when the munitions were stolen from Defence. The audit team confirmed the findings of earlier reviews and investigations that accounting and security practices for weapons and munitions before 2000 were less stringent than those currently in place. Accounting and recording procedures resulted in vulnerabilities that could have been exploited by criminal elements. In relation to the current weapons and munitions management system, the team found that the accounting procedures provide a significant degree of confidence that Defence assets can be tracked. The Audit Team checked both conformity to procedures and M72 stocks at sites around Australia. In all cases, the full stock of the current M72 variant held by Defence was accounted for with no discrepancies. Although all current stock was accounted for, the audit has made recommendations to further improve and tighten the procedures for accounting and tracking M72s throughout Defence. These include individually identifying and tracking each munition, more frequent stocktaking of the inventory and tightened procedures for reporting and investigating discrepancies. The suspension of issue of M72s, except for operational purposes, which I announced in December, will continue until the recommendations of this first phase of the audit report are implemented. The second phase of the audit will examine all security aspects of the policies and practices for the management of all weapons, munitions and explosives across Defence. I have asked Defence officials to brief the Opposition on the audit, its progress, findings and recommendations. For a free subscription to Defence Direct, the Minister for Defence's
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