All links in this paper were valid as at November 2020.
Introduction
The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) fleet of special
purpose aircraft (colloquially known as the ‘VIP fleet’) has provided
air travel to parliamentarians, official dignitaries and senior military
officers for more than 75 years. It has also evolved significantly throughout
this time, due to substantial advances in technology, as well as increasing
requirements from both its passengers and the RAAF. From its operation as a
specific RAAF squadron (No. 34) within the RAAF’s Air Mobility Group, the
VIP fleet forms part of the RAAF’s suite of transport capabilities.
However, given the high-profile nature of its passengers, the fleet has also
been the subject of enduring political discussion and media interest. This
paper examines the circumstances which led to its establishment and chronicles
its subsequent journey through various acquisitions and the responses to them.
Parliamentarians’
initial experiences of air travel
[Senator Sir Josiah Symon]:
I would point out to my honourable friend, Senator Dawson, that every member of
this Chamber exceedingly regrets that no arrangement can be made to afford
equal facilities to senators from Queensland and Western Australia to return
home each week.
[Senator Gregor McGregor]:
Cannot the honourable member give a bonus for a flying machine?
[Senator
Sir Josiah Symon]: My honourable friend has an inventive genius, and if he
would apply that genius to the invention of a flying machine, we should be
prepared to encourage him, so as to enable honourable members to return to their
homes at the end of the sitting week.
Senate Hansard, 5
June 1901.[1]
Eight years after the above statements were made in federal
parliament, the federal government embarked on its advocacy of air travel,
through the Department of Defence. On 8 September 1909, the
Department offered a £5,000 prize ‘to the Inventor or Designer of
the Flying Machine which is adjudged by the Minister for Defence to be …
[subject to certain conditions] the best and most suitable for military
purposes’.[2]
Despite receiving 45 entries, none contained an actual machine for trial
and the competition accordingly lapsed.[3]
Despite this initial setback, in January 1911 the Minister for Defence, George
Pearce, proposed the establishment of a military aviation corps.[4]
This was officially enacted in October 1912 through Military Order 570,
following the Defence Department’s advertisement for ‘two competent
mechanists and aviators’.[5]
On 3 January 1912 Postmaster-General Charles Frazer became the
first Australian parliamentarian to fly in an aircraft, at the opening of a
Penrith aviation school. Following the 10-minute flight, which covered five
miles and reached an altitude of 300 feet (approximately 90 metres), Frazer
said of the event:
It is the best experience I have ever had. I never felt the
least nervousness, and the panoramic views were superb. The heavy mists rising
over the mountains was a sight never to be forgotten. Mr. Hart handled the
machine skilfully, and I would have no hesitation in making another flight with
the young aviator.[6]
More than a decade later
in October 1924, Stanley Bruce became the first Australian prime minister to
use air travel for official business when he travelled approximately 170 km on
a specially chartered Qantas De Havilland (DH) 50 aircraft from Winton to
Longreach. In media reporting of the trip, Bruce noted that as the first prime minister
to visit Longreach, he could ‘become better acquainted with the problems
the people in the far central west were faced with’.[7]
Later, in November 1926, acting prime minister Earle Page embarked on a six-day
flying tour of regional Victoria and New South Wales.[8]
In July 1928 Stanley Bruce again took a chartered DH50 aircraft from Perth to
Geraldton in Western Australia.[9]
Qantas De Havilland DH50 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
The Governor-General, Lord Stonehaven, also travelled by a Defence-operated
aeroplane in December 1925 as part of his civic engagements. As an enthusiastic
advocate for air travel, he declared:
I regard aeroplanes primarily … as great time-savers.
How else could I have fulfilled an engagement at Jervis Bay on Wednesday and
another in Geelong on Thursday. Whenever the opportunity offers I intend to fly
to fulfil distant engagements if that is the easier way. It is entirely one of
convenience. It is a really practical way of getting about… I would like
to help dissipate the idea that flying is dangerous. Of course, everything from
one point of view is hazardous. No one knows each day whether he will reach
home at night, but flying is no more dangerous than other means of transport. I
regard it as a necessity which will more and more appeal to the public.[10]
Newspaper reporting in February 1926 erroneously claimed
that a DH50 aircraft ordered by the RAAF the year prior was ‘built for
the Governor-General (Lord Stonehaven) for flights in out-back
Australia’.[11]
In reality, the aircraft operated as a survey and communications aircraft.[12]
From the late 1930s, flights for official business became
commonplace for senior parliamentarians, with several Cabinet ministers using
aeroplanes for long distance travel.[13]
For example, during the 1937 election campaign Prime Minister Joseph Lyons
travelled to three states in one day, reported to be a record in ministerial
air travel.[14]
The Treasurer, Richard Casey, also became the first Cabinet minister to become
a qualified pilot in January 1938, enabling him to fly himself from Melbourne
to Canberra in a matter of hours.[15]
The increased use of air travel also led to discussion in parliament regarding
how to incorporate air travel into the parliamentarians’ existing travel
allowances, provided through the ‘gold pass’ program.[16]
In 1938 the federal government
decided to procure a Percival Q6 aircraft for the Department of Civil Aviation,
for testing radio installations and equipment.[17]
However, this acquisition was falsely reported as being for predominantly
ministerial travel, as a cheaper alternative to flying commercially or on
Defence aircraft.[18]
The pervasiveness of this misconception led the Minister for Civil Aviation,
James Fairbairn, to assert in parliament:
[The Percival aircraft] is intended primarily to be used for
testing and checking beacons and direction-finding installations… Apart
from that it will be used in transporting the Air Accidents Investigation
Committee to the scene of any accidents that may occur, and also for the
transport of officers of the Civil Aviation Department on inspections of aerodromes
and work of that sort. The aircraft was not purchased for the transport of
Ministers [emphasis added].[19]
Percival Q6 Petrel (source: Wikimedia Commons)
Aircraft accidents were a present
danger given air travel’s increasing use, with parliamentarians not
immune to such occurrences. On 11 June 1936 the former prime minister and
Minister for Health, Billy Hughes, suffered a broken collarbone when the
commercial aircraft he was travelling on crashed at Beaudesert, Queensland.[20]
Later, on 13 August 1940, a recently acquired Lockheed Hudson operated by the
RAAF’s No. 2 Squadron crashed while descending into Canberra, resulting
in 10 fatalities—including three senior federal government ministers.[21]
Two other parliamentarians had been invited on the flight, but had already
booked alternative transport to Canberra via train.[22]
Following this incident, Cabinet reportedly determined that ministers should
not fly together, but this policy was subsequently altered to allow for ministers
to travel in pairs on aircraft.[23]
However, even this change was quickly regarded as an inconvenient imposition
upon the business of government and was not rigidly followed.[24]
Lockheed Hudson (source: Wikimedia Commons)
Origins of the VIP fleet
The onset of the Second World War created new logistical
challenges for the federal government, not least the geographic divide between
Canberra as the seat of parliament and the Melbourne-based Defence Department.[25]
Accordingly, on 2 May 1940 the Minister for Air, James Fairbairn, formally
established a VIP flight, as part of the RAAF’s No. 8 Squadron, for
Cabinet members to travel between Canberra and Melbourne. The VIP flight
transferred to No. 2 Squadron when No. 8 Squadron moved its operations to
Singapore.[26]
Biographers of Sir Thomas Blamey, the Australian
Commander-in-Chief during the war, have also recorded his private use of a RAAF
Hudson aircraft in 1942, given Blamey’s demanding travel schedule and the
difficulties this posed aligning with civilian airlines.[27]
Another reported catalyst for Blamey acquiring the Hudson was his skirmish with
a commercial airline steward in August 1942 regarding his seat allocation,
which resulted in the steward warning Blamey that ‘he might command an
army, but she commanded that plane’.[28]
Blamey’s Hudson aircraft was piloted by Squadron
Leader William Upjohn, of the RAAF’s No. 1 Communication Unit based at
Essendon airbase in Victoria. In September 1944 Upjohn was awarded the Air
Force Cross, with the citation specifically mentioning his service as pilot to
the acting prime minister, Cabinet ministers and many high ranking navy, army
and air force officials. The citation further noted Upjohn’s role as
personal pilot to the Chief of Air Staff over the preceding six months.[29]
From September 1944 the No. 1 Communication Unit provided
VIP flights to various military and government officials, including the prime minister,
ministers across the defence portfolios, and the Service Chiefs. The Chief of
Air Staff, Air Vice-Marshal George Jones, and his Deputy Chief most frequently
used these flights, which continued operating until the unit was disbanded on
22 July 1948.[30]
In addition, when the Duke of Gloucester was sworn in as Governor-General
in January 1945 it was announced that he would also use a VIP fleet of three
aircraft provided by the British Air Ministry—an Avro Anson, Percival
Proctor and Avro York aircraft. The Avro York, named the Endeavour, was
reported in February 1945 as being a ‘luxury apartment with wings’.[31]
However, Government House rejected such a depiction in a media statement the
following month, asserting that the aircraft ‘is strictly utilitarian and
is in no sense a luxury airliner’.[32]
The Governor-General’s Flight was
formally established on 4 April 1945 and based at RAAF Station Fairbairn in
Canberra.[33]
Like the aircraft, the Flight’s hangar accommodation also proved to be
contentious, with Prime Minister Curtin intervening directly to limit the scale
of the private waiting area’s amenities proposed by the Department of
Air.[34]
This was particularly relevant given Curtin’s statement the previous
December:
I have received advice that his Royal Highness the Duke of
Gloucester, being cognisant of the prevailing conditions arising out of the
war, would deprecate any unnecessary expense being incurred by the Commonwealth
Government in connection with his forthcoming term of office as
Governor-General. His Royal Highness has intimated that he does not desire for
the Duchess and himself any facilities in excess of those made available to his
predecessors.[35]
Just prior to the conclusion of the Duke’s term as
Governor-General, he remarked at a parliamentary dinner in Canberra on 5
December 1946:
We have travelled great distances and undertaken journeys
which I am glad to see are now becoming commonplace in this land of vast areas.
Our aircraft — thanks to an exceedingly efficient Captain and Crew of the
Royal Australian Air Force who have formed my Flight — has enabled us to
visit many remote places in the outback where staunch men and women are doing
work which is too little known in the Cities of the Commonwealth.[36]
After the war, the RAAF’s
structure was reduced and realigned, with ensuing implications for the VIP
fleet. The Avro York, which accompanied the Duke of Gloucester, was returned to
the British Royal Air Force at the end of his service in Australia. The
Governor-General’s Flight itself was formally disbanded on 10 July 1947,
with responsibility for VIP flights reverting solely to the No. 1 Communication
Unit, which operated Douglas Dakota, Avro Anson, and Bristol Beaufort aircraft.[37]
Following No. 1 Communication Unit’s disbanding in
1948, 36 Squadron was given provisional responsibility for VIP flights in
August of that year.[38]
However, with a significant proportion of this squadron subsequently deployed
to Europe in support of the Berlin Airlift, VIP flights were absorbed by 38
Squadron, which commenced VIP flights in September 1948 from the airbase at
Schofields, NSW.[39]
VIP flights reverted to 36 Squadron, based at Richmond airbase, in June 1950
before returning to Canberra in March 1956 when the VIP fleet transferred to 34
(VIP) Flight.[40]
Renamed 34 (Special Transport) Squadron in July 1959, the VIP fleet eventually
settled as 34 Squadron in June 1963, which is its current designation, as
part of the RAAF Air Lift Group’s 84 Wing.[41]
The 1950s and new aircraft
In addition to the reorganisation
described in the preceding paragraph, the post-war period also led to the
purchase of new aircraft. In 1956, the federal government purchased two Convair
440 aircraft from the United States Air Force for the RAAF’s VIP
transport capability. The Australian ambassador to the US, Sir Percy Spender, was
reportedly heavily involved in negotiations.[42]
The Minister for Air, Athol Townley, initially claimed each aircraft would be
procured at a below market cost of approximately US$760,000, with funding
allocated from the Department of Air 1955–56 budget.[43]
However, the Government later confirmed the total outlay to be slightly less
than $2.2 million, including ‘support’ costs.[44]
Members of the Opposition chastised the Government for this acquisition,
indicating that purchasing arguably obsolete piston engine aircraft from the US
(compared to the more modern jet engine) was ‘an outrageous
extravagance’ and a ‘distinct slight to British aviation’.[45]
However, Minister Townley justified the purchase by noting:
Until this year, the flight was equipped with Douglas C47
Dakota aircraft, which have been in service with the Royal Australian Air Force
for fifteen years: this type is obsolescent for such work, particularly as it
is unpressurized, has a very limited range and is relatively slow. These
factors led to the decision last year to replace the Dakotas with a more modern
passenger aircraft type as soon as possible. The Convair 440’s as
delivered are equipped with seats, desks, &c., and this configuration could
be used as “flying schoolrooms” or executive transports. The
design, however, makes it possible to convert the aircraft for a variety of
uses. For example, it may be equipped as a flying hospital to carry 34
stretcher cases with attendants; it may be used to transport up to 60 troops,
for the conveyance of air freight, and a variety of other service duties. The
operational capabilities of the Convair 440 as compared with those of the
Dakota are ample justification for their selection.[46]
Convair 440 (source: Australian War Memorial)
Townley further indicated that the British-made Vickers
Viscount was unsuitable, given the substantial waiting period from order to
acquisition due to high volumes of commercial orders.[47]
The two Convair aircraft were formally delivered to Fairbairn airbase on 16 May
1956.[48]
These aircraft flew 104 passenger flights in their first 12 months of
operation, of which 79 were VIP flights and the remaining 25 transported
service personnel.[49]
RAAF personnel carried out on-base routine operational maintenance for the
Convair aircraft, with major servicing provided by private industry.[50]
In reporting the Duke of Edinburgh’s use of the
Convair while in Australia for the 1956 Olympic Games, the Melbourne Argus
noted:
… [the aircraft] is comfortably, but modestly appointed
in royal blue, grey and white upholstery. The rear section has two divans,
which can be converted into beds, and a writing desk with a mahogany finish.
The Convair has been fitted to accommodate 23 passengers compared with the normal
44 carried by commercial types.[51]
Similar media reporting further highlighted that ‘a
stainless steel galley near the entrance is fitted with modern conveniences …
[while] the walnut veneer tables are specially designed so that articles will
not be upset’.[52]
In addition to their VIP duties, the Convair aircraft also transported
journalists (who were charged commercial economy rates) during Prime Minister Harold
Holt’s tour of Asia in March–April 1967.[53]
Acquisitions
in the 1960s
On 14 November 1962 Cabinet committed to investigating the
upgrading of the VIP fleet, with Prime Minister Robert Menzies appointing a
committee of ministers for this task, including input from the Minister for
Air, David Fairbairn.[54]
During its deliberations, the Cabinet committee questioned whether the VIP fleet
could be more logistically or economically feasible shared between the RAAF and
Department of Civil Aviation (DCA), and media reporting at the time even raised
the possibility of the VIP fleet relocating to the DCA in its entirety, despite
concerns from senior RAAF officials.[55]
The Cabinet committee further resolved:
… there is a need not only for replacing the present
VIP Flight, but also for a more ready availability of VIP aircraft to assist
Ministers in meeting commitments throughout Australia, particularly in distant
places. This could only be achieved by making more aircraft available for VIP
work.[56]
However, Minister Fairbairn contended in response:
There is no shortage of [VIP] aircraft at this time. The two
Convair Metropolitan aircraft and the Dakotas are available seven days a week,
and a request is rarely refused on the grounds of aircraft availability. As for
weekends, the demand is usually lower than at other times … It seems to
me unnecessary, therefore, to consider at this stage any addition to our small
VIP fleet.[57]
The first stage of the fleet upgrade commenced in 1963 when
Cabinet provisionally authorised the replacement of the VIP fleet’s
Dakota aircraft with three De Havilland 125s, based on Minister Fairbairn’s
recommendation.[58]
A significant catalyst for this decision was the Chief of the Air Staff’s
assessment that ‘there is a degree of risk in the operation of these
[Dakota] aircraft for the carriage of VIPs which should not be accepted’.[59]
However, by January 1964 Fairbairn was advocating the Dassault
Mystere 20 as the Dakota replacement, on account of its longer range and
improved seating capacity. These benefits came at a price—a significant
cost premium and an eight-month delay compared to the DH125—but Cabinet
nevertheless supported the minister’s recommendation, albeit for only two
Mystere aircraft.[60]
This was further altered two
months later when Cabinet determined that two Viscount aircraft should be
acquired, with previous intentions to source Mystere aircraft put on hold.[61]
Media speculation from July 1964 noted that Viscounts currently operated by
Australian domestic carriers could be acquired following their impending
replacement by Boeing 727s; however, these were not of an ‘executive
type’.[62]
Ultimately, Defence procured two Viscount aircraft from the US-based Union
Carbide Corporation and Iran National Airlines, respectively, with both
aircraft configured to transport 20 passengers.[63]
The former Union Carbide Corporation Viscount was manufactured in 1960 and had
flown approximately 2,000 hours by May 1964, while the other Viscount was
manufactured in 1961 and had flown approximately 1,500 hours by this time.[64]
The final transfers concluded on 30 June 1966, with the federal
government paying just over $2.5 million for the two aircraft and associated
equipment.[65]
Vickers Viscount (source: Wikimedia Commons)
The acquisition program continued into 1965, when Cabinet
debated the merits of purchasing either the British Aircraft Corporation BAC
1–11 or Douglas DC9 to replace the VIP fleet’s Convair aircraft.
Australian domestic civilian airlines had already procured the DC9, which would
facilitate more convenient local maintenance.[66]
However, the BAC 1–11 was reportedly cheaper and had a more mature design
than the DC9.[67]
It also had a longer range, faster cruising speed and more economical operating
costs.[68]
Acquiring the BAC 1–11 would further generate substantial goodwill
between Australia and Britain, where the BAC 1–11 was manufactured.[69]
In April 1965 Jim Killen (a future Minister for Defence in the Fraser Government)
lamented the selection of the DC9 over the BAC 1–11 by Australian
commercial airlines Ansett and Trans Australia Airlines (TAA), declaring:
The British aircraft industry today is sick. If the
Australian order for new aircraft is to be given on this occasion to the
Douglas Aircraft Co. and not to the British Aircraft Corporation, an almost
irreparable blow will be delivered to the British aircraft industry. People may
say: “you are dealing with matters of sentiment. You are not dealing with
matters of hard business.” So be it … If the Commonwealth of
Nations and the Western world lose the skills that have been acquired by the
British aircraft industry over a long period, in my judgement the Commonwealth
of Nations will have been dealt a tremendous blow.[70]
Ultimately, the Minister for Air, Peter Howson, recommended the
BAC 1–11, with the proviso that sufficient spare engines could be
obtained in Australia.[71]
However, media reporting at the time criticised the increased costs for the BAC
1–11’s spares and maintenance, on account of it being a relatively rare
aircraft type in Australia.[72]
BAC 1-11 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
In terms of
aircraft suitable for limited airfields, Minister Howson proposed either the
Hawker Siddeley (HS) 748 or the Grumman Gulfstream. The minister’s
preference was for the HS 748, given its worldwide use (including within the
Queen’s Flight in the UK) and the RAAF’s planned acquisition of
eight other HS 748s as navigation training aircraft, which would create
efficiencies in maintenance. Despite its marginally better speed and range, the
Gulfstream was omitted largely because its manufacturer was soon to cease
production.[73]
On 24 November 1965 these discussions
led to Cabinet formally authorising the planned new acquisitions to 34
Squadron’s VIP fleet. This incorporated acquiring three Mystere 20 and
two HS 748 aircraft to replace five Dakota aircraft, as well as ordering two
BAC 1–11 aircraft as replacements for the two Convair 440 Metropolitan
aircraft.[74]
Minister Howson tabled a statement regarding the potential procurements in
Parliament a week later.[75]
The first BAC 1–11 aircraft was delivered to 34
Squadron in Canberra on 18 January 1968, with the second aircraft arriving the
following month on 14 February.[76]
Equipped for 30 passengers, the aircraft contained three lounges (two in VIP
configuration) and two galleys; however, it was reported to be ‘not
lavish … compared with the normal configuration of executive 1–11s’.
With a total range of 2,300 miles, it arrived from Darwin in just over four
hours flying time.[77]
The
BAC 1–11’s larger size allowed up to 16 journalists for the
first time to accompany the prime minister and leader of the opposition
throughout their respective campaigns during the 1969 election. The journalists
paid commercial rates, with their flight accommodation being less than VIP
standard, but better than regular ‘tourist-class’.[78]
Additionally, the two HS 748 aircraft provided a unique operational
capability for short field and unsealed runways, compared to the Mystere and
BAC 1–11 aircraft.[79] The
total cost for the seven replacement aircraft was just over $18 million at 30
June 1970; however, this did not include some additional spares, fit-out and
training costs.[80] The
estimated total cost incorporating all aspects was $21.6 million.[81] This
estimate covered:
- two HS 748 aircraft at $4.4 million
- three Dassault Mystere 20 aircraft at $6 million and
- two BAC 1–11 aircraft at $11.2 million.[82]
In January 1968 the upgraded VIP fleet was available for
inspection by the press. The Canberra Times published the following
account:
The aircraft, of No 34 (VIP) Squadron, RAAF, are the BAC One-Eleven
and Mystere jets, the HS-748 and Viscount turbo-props, and the piston-engined
Convair Metropolitan. The flagship is the BAC One-Eleven which arrived from
England last week. A second will arrive next month. The One-Eleven is a
miniature version of President Johnson’s 707s. Twin VIP lounges and
senior executive seating occupy the forward compartments and general staff are
accommodated at the rear. The RAAF’s One-Eleven is comfortable, but not
nearly as lavish as the executive machine demonstrated throughout Australia in
1966 by the manufacturers. Furnished in the squadron’s interior colour
scheme of brown and gold, it has three separate VIP compartments—a main
office for four, sleeping accommodation for two and seating in an
ante-compartment for four senior advisers. There is staff seating for 16 ...
Two galleys, a refrigerator and a cocktail bar cater for
passengers, while the VIPs have work desks, filing cabinets and a multi-channel
radio set for music and news reception. The main VIP lounge has an altimeter,
an air speed indicator and an outside temperature gauge, ‘It saves him
having to ring the pilot up to find out, and these things they always seem to
want to know’, an RAAF spokesman said. ‘It’s a flying
office’.
But if the One-Eleven is a flying office, the sleek,
56-foot-long Mystere jets are flying sports cars. Twin 4,200lb thrust General
Electric jets push the aircraft more than 530mph, compared with 550mph from the
11,000lb thrust of the Rolls-Royce Speys driving the One-Eleven. Spartan
inside—there are only eight seats, four of them facing the rear—the
Mystere can climb to 20,000ft in only three minutes. Work tables can be
installed between the pair of seats ...
The workhorses of the fleet are the two HS-748 turbo-props,
which can be adapted to convey eight passengers in full VIP comfort or up to 40
not so VIPs. They have a top speed of 326 mph and a range of 2,000 miles. But,
despite the sleek comfort and speed of the new machines, all less than one year
old, the most luxurious aircraft in the squadron are still the turbo-prop
Vickers Viscounts, each bought second-hand in 1964. One was owned by the Shah
of Iran and the other by the Union Carbide Corporation of the USA.
The former Imperial aircraft was the one inspected yesterday.
About as fast as the HS-748s, it is the favourite aircraft of the
Governor-General, Lord Casey, and it was also preferred by the late Prime
Minister, Mr Holt. The re-equipment programme, which included the One-Elevens,
Mysteres and HS-748s, cost $21.6 million, more than double the estimated price
when the aircraft were first ordered in 1965. Most of the increase was caused
by having to buy maintenance equipment and spare parts for the One-Elevens and
the Mysteres.[83]
The RAAF’s 34 Squadron retired the last five VIP
Douglas Dakotas in August 1967 and subsequently transferred them to the RAAF
training school in Victoria.[84]
The Department of Supply also advertised the VIP Convair aircraft for sale, stipulating
that the purchaser either hold an airline license or guarantee that the
aircraft would be exported or broken up for parts.[85]
The Convair aircraft were eventually sold in 1968.[86]
The following year, 34 Squadron’s two Viscount aircraft were determined to
be surplus to requirements and disposed of through the Department of Supply,
earning $173,000 from the sale.[87]
The 1970s and the Boeing 707
In early
April 1971 the Chief of the Air Staff posited the possibility of replacing the
RAAF’s Hercules C130A transport aircraft with a new transport aircraft
that incorporated an air-to-air refuelling capability.[88]
Boeing 707 aircraft had been suggested in the media for such a role more than
two years prior, while the Minister for Air stated in April 1970 his
Department’s preference for the Boeing 707 as a possible tanker.[89]
Boeing 707 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
The potential for a Boeing 707 to join the RAAF’s
VIP fleet emerged early in 1973, when one of the two engines on the VIP BAC 1–11
transporting Prime Minister Gough Whitlam to New Zealand failed mid-flight.[90]
It was subsequently reported that, in the interests of safety, any future
overseas flights by the prime minister would be undertaken by either chartering
a Boeing 707 or by the RAAF acquiring one for its own VIP fleet.[91]
Media reporting in March 1974 indicated that the federal
government had abandoned plans to procure Boeing 707 aircraft for the
RAAF’s VIP fleet, as its limited use would not justify the additional
expense.[92]
However, later that year Lionel Murphy (representing the prime minister in the
Senate) declared the Defence Department’s continued interest in the
aircraft and contended that the Boeing 707 ‘is well suited for the long
range transportation of freight and men as well as for VIP use’.[93]
In March 1978 the federal government renewed its plans to
acquire a new long-range VIP fleet capability, with the respective ministers
for Defence and Transport considering either Boeing’s 707 or 727
aircraft. Both aircraft had existing maintenance infrastructure in Australia;
however, the 727 was eventually selected as the preferred option, as it could travel
to more Australian airports than the 707.[94]
The Government had also received advice in April 1978 from an interdepartmental
committee, which concluded:
A proper standard of security, and the preferred course, is
to fly overseas by RAAF aircraft taking no other passengers and cargo and using
where practicable, the security of military airfields. [However] the existing
Defence Force aircraft assets were specifically designed for VIP travel within
Australia and are unsuitable for travel overseas because of limited range …
and limited seating/luggage capacity.[95]
For its part, the Department of Finance asserted that the
approximate $16 million cost of the two 727 aircraft ‘would aggravate the
already very serious problem of achieving appropriate expenditure restraint in
1978–79 and beyond’.[96]
Despite this, and other reported reservations from the RAAF, on 4 May 1978 the
Minister for Defence, Jim Killen, announced the federal government’s
decision to acquire two Boeing 727 aircraft to replace the two BAC 1–11
aircraft currently operating within the RAAF’s 34 Squadron.[97]
In justifying this decision, the minister noted the increased engine and
internal capacity would allow for extended range and more passengers. The
heightened threat of terrorism after the Sydney Hilton Hotel bombing in
February 1978 during a meeting of regional Commonwealth heads of state was a
further rationale for maintaining the VIP fleet.[98]
In directly addressing the requirement for secure travel,
Minister Killen acknowledged:
The Government is concerned that the means of air travel
available to national leaders and, from time to time, to visiting dignitaries
and groups of ministers, fail to provide protection against terrorist activity
or other threats against security. Where commercial flights are used this risk
extends to all passengers. An assessment of aircraft security considerations
has been undertaken. This indicates that the security risk in travel by foreign
owned commercially scheduled aircraft or by privately owned chartered aircraft,
whether Australian owned or foreign owned, is unacceptably high … In a
country so dependent on air travel, internally and externally, the government
recognises that the use of special transport aircraft owned and operated by the
defence force offers a positive advantage in isolating from normal commercial
traffic what could at any time be attractive targets for terrorist activity.[99]
The federal government’s Protective Security Review,
published the following year, further endorsed this position and outlined the
security implications for VIP transport across RAAF, Department of Transport
and commercial aircraft.[100]
In response to the proposed VIP fleet acquisitions, the
Opposition vociferously objected to the overarching cost, given the prevailing
austere economic climate. It also queried the selection of Boeing 727s, as
opposed to the 707s, which had a longer range and could be more easily procured
second-hand.[101]
In June 1978, the Minister for Defence revealed that the estimated cost of two
second-hand Boeing 727 aircraft was approximately $18 million, inclusive of
spare parts, back-up facilities and personnel training. It was further
indicated that these aircraft had a maximum seating capacity of 129 passengers.[102]
In October 1978 three companies had reportedly been identified as having
suitable 727 aircraft available, but these proved ultimately unsuitable,
leading the Government to again consider the Boeing 707 aircraft.[103]
On 12 December 1978 Cabinet approved the acquisition of
two Boeing 707 aircraft from Qantas, which had a larger range, payload and
seating capacity than the 727. The fact that the 707 could provide an enhanced
troop, freight and possible aerial-refuelling capability was a key driver for
Cabinet’s changed preference, especially as it could reduce the
RAAF’s reliance on commercial charter flights currently used between
Australia and RAAF Base Butterworth in Malaysia.[104]
Announcing this decision the following day via media release,
the Minister for Defence returned to the theme of national security, stating:
In the light of the strength of security advice the
Government believes the Prime Minister could not indefinitely continue to put
other airline passengers at risk while travelling overseas on Government
business. The Government also feels it would be acting negligently and
irresponsibly to ignore the strength of this security advice. The Government
has decided, therefore, to buy two Boeing 707 aircraft for special transport
purposes. The weight of security advice left the Government no alternative.[105]
The federal government Information Unit and Minister for
Administrative Services, John McLeay, issued subsequent statements further
emphasising these points, with the latter declaring:
In view of the increased safety for air travellers, improved
travelling efficiency for the Government, the capacity for the RAAF to move its
personnel without chartering, the added assistance for civil emergencies and
the substantial cash savings to the taxpayer, the decision to buy both aircraft
when still relatively young in flying hours for $14.5 million must be one of
the best yet taken by the federal Government.[106]
In seeking to mitigate potential criticism, the federal
government provided further context to the parliament, stating that
‘although the decision to purchase Boeing 707 aircraft primarily
satisfies the need for security on intercontinental VIP flights, the actual
usage of the aircraft in the VIP role will be small and the main usage will be
on normal RAAF work’.[107]
The Government also contended that only 20 per cent of the 707 aircraft’s
role would be for VIP flights, and that using these aircraft to transfer
personnel to and from Butterworth would save Defence approximately $800,000 a
year compared to the previous chartering arrangements.[108]
The first Boeing 707 aircraft was delivered in early 1979. The first
operational flight in April 1979 transported 115 RAAF personnel from
Sydney to Penang, Malaysia, located near RAAF Base Butterworth.[109]
Although the VIP Boeing 707s could be comfortably operated
from RAAF Base Richmond, their use at Canberra’s RAAF Base Fairbairn was
problematic, given they exceeded aircraft weight restrictions imposed there.[110]
As a result, the federal government announced upgrades to the Canberra airport
runway in January 1979, with a Defence spokesperson noting that this had been
planned since 1976 and was unrelated to the VIP fleet’s new Boeing 707s.[111]
The Government paid for these aircraft through an advance to
the Minister for Finance, a contingency where ‘there is an urgent need
for expenditure that is either not provided for or has been insufficiently
provided for in the existing appropriations of the agency’.[112]
The legitimacy of this was questioned in a subsequent Senate Standing Committee
report and heavily criticised by the federal Opposition.[113]
However the Minister for Finance, Eric Robinson, defended this decision by
asserting that as Qantas required a settlement of just over $10.2 million by 30
May 1979, this was not foreseen at the time of the previous federal budget when
the Government had no firm proposals for such an acquisition.[114]
This $10.2 million was transferred to defence outlay within the 1979–80 Budget,
with a total reported acquisition cost of $14.3 million.[115]
During the opening address of the 1980 election campaign the
Leader of the Opposition, Bill Hayden, declared that ‘a national Labor
Government will sell [the two 707 aircraft] as soon as possible, and put the
money to better use for the advantage of the Australian people’.[116]
However, reporting from earlier that year indicated that the RAAF was already
seeking additional 707 aircraft to further augment their troop transport and
refuelling capabilities.[117]
The Minister for Defence, Ian Sinclair, formally announced the acquisition of
two further Boeing 707s in an October 1982 media release, with the new aircraft
arriving in Australia in June 1983.[118]
Upon the election of the Hawke Government in 1983, the new Minister
for Defence, Gordon Scholes, categorically asserted in parliament:
The two additional aircraft will be utilised for defence
requirements both as transport aircraft and, following conversion, as an
addition to the present 707 aircraft for aerial refuelling. There is no role
or requirement for additional aircraft of that type for VIP use, and
certainly there would be no justification for the expenditure of Defence Force
or Government funds to purchase aircraft for that purpose [emphasis added].[119]
In August 1986 the Minister for Defence, Kim Beazley,
announced that the air-to-air refuelling conversion for the four 707s would
commence in November 1988 and be complete by July 1990.[120]
In addition, Beazley stated in December 1987 that a further two 707 aircraft
would be acquired to bring the total fleet of 707s to six aircraft.[121]
A Cabinet minute advocating this procurement noted:
A fleet of six B707 aircraft would provide the [Australian
Defence Force] ADF with a more flexible strategic and tactical transport force
giving more assurance that in contingency situations, an adequate level of RAAF
aircraft would be available for airlift purposes while retaining a capacity to
provide dedicated aircraft for tanker support tasks ... The commitments in
prospect during the 1988 Bi-centennial Year can be expected to exceed the
combined capacity of the existing B707 fleet and No 34 Squadron, especially as
it seems unlikely that re-equipment of the Special Purpose fleet could be
achieved until late 1988. In addition, availability of the existing B707 fleet
will be reduced until 1991 during the conversion to the tanker transport role.[122]
However, the same minute recorded that the departments of the
Prime Minister and Cabinet, Finance, and the Treasury were all unconvinced of this
justification for further spending.[123]
Falcon
900 aircraft
To complement the 707’s long-range capability, the
Department of Defence issued a media release on 5 September 1986 announcing a
proposed leasing program regarding the acquisition and maintenance of the
remaining VIP fleet. The Department further acknowledged that ‘fleet
rationalisation and the transfer of most of the VIP aircraft maintenance to
civil industry might offer significant savings in RAAF manpower and
infrastructure costs’.[124]
The potential for leasing VIP aircraft, as opposed to an outright purchase, had
reportedly been discussed within the federal government as early as 1984.[125]
In his Cabinet submission requesting new VIP fleet
acquisitions, the Minister for Defence, Kim Beazley, contended that leasing was
a preferable option, given the respective technical and cost limitations of
either upgrading the current fleet or replacing it via direct purchases.[126]
Minister Beazley further recommended that ‘the bulk of [VIP fleet]
maintenance be placed with Australian contractors’ and that the new
procurements be delivered as soon as contractually practicable, given the
likely increased workload associated with Australia’s Bicentenary.[127]
In opening the formal tender process in
September 1987, Minister Beazley indicated that the current fleet of BAC 1–11,
Mystere 20 and HS 748 aircraft, acquired 20 years prior, had a ‘declining
record of serviceability [and were] limited in such critical areas as range,
noise, passenger and baggage carrying capacity’.[128]
The final decision was announced on 4 December 1988, when Minister Beazley
declared that the Government had entered into a ten-year lease with Hawker
Pacific for five Falcon 900 aircraft, at an annual average operating cost of
$26 million.[129]
The Falcon 900 was reportedly selected over the alternative Challenger
CL601–3A aircraft, manufactured by Canadair.[130]
The lease contract was formally signed on 29 December 1988 at a total cost of
$203 million over ten years, with an additional $8 million contract for a three-year
maintenance support program.[131]
Falcon 900 (source: John Davies - CYOW Airport Watch [GFDL 1.2 (http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html) Wikimedia Commons)
In explaining the selection of the Falcon aircraft,
Minister Beazley noted that the RAAF had expressed ‘strong operator
preference’ for a single type of aircraft fleet, with a Cabinet subcommittee
(consisting of Prime Minister Bob Hawke, Minister for Finance Peter Walsh and
Beazley) settling on the Falcon aircraft. The stated considerations involved in
reaching this decision were: the aircraft’s size; range; utility for
current and prospective tasks; price and contract terms and conditions for
operations and maintenance; and Australian industry involvement.[132]
The transition to the Falcon aircraft facilitated a 56
position reduction in 34 Squadron’s total establishment, from 184 to 128
personnel.[133]
The RAAF’s 34 Squadron received the five new Falcon aircraft on 6
November 1989 and the last BAC 1–11 officially ceased its role as a VIP
aircraft shortly after on 30 January 1990.[134]
Privatisation debates
The late 1980s were marked by increased political
discussion around the merits of privatisation; a fact overtly demonstrated by
the Liberal-National Coalition’s decision to establish a shadow ministry
for privatisation in May 1989. While the potential for the VIP fleet’s
full privatisation was never publicly discussed by the Government, it canvassed
the prospects for commercialisation and other efficiencies in various private
forums. For example, the Department of Administrative Services commented in a
1987 Cabinet Minute:
To achieve the objectives outlined in the submission, as a
less cost option, further consideration might be given to a program of
disposing of some or all of the existing aircraft and replacing that capacity
by giving Ministers greater direct access to VIP aircraft operated by charter
firms and charged on an hourly rate.[135]
Furthermore, the Report of the Interdepartmental Committee
on the Wrigley Review (The Defence Force and the Community, published in
1991), suggested that Defence movement and transport programs not specifically
related to operations could be candidates for
commercialisation/civilianisation.[136]
Following the ADF Helicopter School’s transfer from Fairbairn (ACT) to
Oakey (Qld) in the mid-1990s, the Department of Defence determined to review
its continued use of Fairbairn.[137]
This had obvious implications for the RAAF’s VIP fleet, with the Defence Minister,
Robert Ray, stating in September 1991:
[The VIP fleet] will be a matter that the Government has to
have a look at and make a decision on as to whether this is one of the areas
that are contracted out or not. It is certainly not the highest matter on my
priority at the moment and I have not directed that it be given a high priority
other than indicating that long term this is a thing that has to be looked at.
Once the helicopter school leaves Fairbairn, as far as I understand it, its
then major use is only for VIP flights, and we will have to look as to whether
it is tenable to keep a base for that purpose. Whether it would be cheaper to
contract this matter out and how that would affect Air Force training. Those
are the sorts of issues that are running through. I would not regard it is as a
high priority myself, but it will be a matter that the Government looks at over
the next year or two.[138]
The federal Opposition was more direct in its assessment.
In a 6 September 1991 speech, the Shadow Minister for Defence, Peter Durack,
stated that ‘the future of the VIP fleet will be reviewed, with
commercialisation a strong possibility. At this stage the ADF can augment its
transport needs with the use of civil aircraft’.[139]
The Liberal senator David MacGibbon was also critical, describing the continued
VIP operation of 34 Squadron as ‘nonsense’.[140]
As part of its defence policy platform leading up to the 1993 federal election,
the Coalition lamented the Defence minister’s lack of priority in
considering the VIP fleet’s privatisation and saw this as a viable policy
if it was demonstrated to be cost effective.[141]
Following the Coalition’s return to government in
1996, the 1997 Defence review included a proposal to close RAAF Base Fairbairn
and use ‘commercial aviation facilities for VIP aircraft’ by 2006.[142]
Aligned with this was the federal government’s sale of Canberra Airport
in May 1998 to the privately owned Canberra Airport Group.[143]
Regarding the implications of this sale, an Australian National Audit Office
(ANAO) report noted:
The Prime Minister [advised] … the Minister for Finance
and Administration, on 21 January 1998, that the Fairbairn base would be
included in the airport lease for Canberra airport. To enable continued
operation of the Fairbairn base pending its closure, it was arranged that [Department
of Defence] DoD would enter into a five year sub-lease for the Fairbairn site.
The sub-lease is designed to facilitate the gradual cessation of RAAF
operations at the Fairbairn site. In addition, arrangements have been made to
ensure that Canberra Airport continues to provide a permanent home for the
Special Purpose Fleet.[144]
The Department of Defence received $21.5 million in revenue
following RAAF Base Fairbairn’s disposal, as part of its wider Defence
Reform Program.[145]
At the conclusion of the sub-lease, RAAF Base Fairbairn was officially
decommissioned on 30 June 2003, and evolved to become Defence Establishment
Fairbairn within the privately owned Canberra Airport.[146]
Boeing
Business Jets and Challenger aircraft
As a purportedly cost-effective alternative to acquiring
new aircraft, in 1994 the federal government commenced an upgrade program for
the VIP fleet, which was projected to cost up to $10 million.[147]
This incorporated improving the fleet’s communications infrastructure,
catering facilities, and modifying the Boeing 707 engines to reduce noise.[148]
Throughout the 1990s the VIP fleet was subject to multiple reviews. In
particular, the Boeing 707 now fell outside the acceptable noise regulations of
commercial airports and international maintenance facilities could not be
guaranteed for the ageing aircraft. Additionally, the Falcon aircraft lease
contract was to expire in December 1999.[149]
In 1997 an interdepartmental committee reportedly
investigated options for the future composition of the VIP fleet, including
specific briefings from Boeing regarding its 737 aircraft.[150]
Five months after the Falcon aircraft was the topic of a Cabinet submission in
early February 1998, media reporting suggested that the federal government had
determined to renew the Falcon aircraft leases.[151]
The assumed rationale for this decision was largely to negate any political
backlash in the lead-up to the October election, given the Government’s
emphasis on restraining new expenditure.
Notwithstanding the concerns, during
December 1998, the Minister for Defence, John Moore, announced that the federal
government would replace the existing VIP fleet with new leased aircraft via a
tender process. Specifically, Moore proposed that the fleet’s long-range
capability would be ‘indicatively represented’ by either the Boeing
737 or Airbus 319 aircraft.[152]
At the conclusion of the tender process in August 2000, Minister Moore
announced the acquisition of two Boeing 737 Business Jets (BBJ) and three Challenger
604 aircraft to replace the current seven aircraft VIP fleet.[153]
The BBJ aircraft could carry 30 passengers in a VIP configuration,
significantly fewer than the capacity of the previous 707 variant. The
Challenger had seating for nine passengers.[154]
Challenger 604 (source: Robert Frola [GFDL)http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) Wikimedia Commons)
The need to replace the ageing
fleet was demonstrated three months after the minister’s initial
announcement in 2000, when the 707 transporting Prime Minister John Howard was
grounded with mechanical failure at Darwin while travelling to an APEC Summit
in Brunei.[155]
In acknowledging the imperative of reliability for the VIP fleet, Opposition
Leader Kim Beazley supported government proposals for its replacement,
‘but not by luxury aircraft. By aircraft which turn up on time and in one
piece’.[156]
Boeing Business Jets (source: Jeff Gilbert [GFDL 1.2 (http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html) Wikimedia Commons)
The federal government acquired these aircraft from Qantas
under a 12-year lease term.[157]
The tender also included outsourced maintenance from Qantas Defence Services
(which divested this contract to Northrop Integrated Defence Services for $80 million
in February 2014), with most of the disbanded 34 Squadron maintenance crew being
transferred to RAAF Base Richmond.[158]
Despite the reallocation of these personnel, in 2005 the squadron consisted of
75 staff, incorporating 24 pilots, 22 crew attendants, and 29 covering
administration and logistics.[159]
Additionally, the federal government proposed constructing
a 6,800m2 hangar (large enough to house all five VIP aircraft and costing
$8 million), to be completed by mid-2003.[160]
The first of the new aircraft arrived in Australia in late June 2002 with final
delivery occurring later that year in October.[161]
At this time approximately 50 BBJs were operating internationally for both
private and government use.[162]
The BBJ’s interior was purported to include four
first-class seats (with the remainder as business-class), two meeting tables,
and a shower in the VIP bathroom. The fit-out would also include office
equipment, adequate power outlets and a satellite phone capability.[163]
Despite being more fuel-efficient, with a substantially
longer range than the previous 707 aircraft, the transition to the 737 BBJ with
its reduced passenger capacity eliminated the practice of large groups of
journalists accompanying the prime minister overseas. As a result, journalists needed
to follow the prime minister’s itinerary using available commercial
flights, potentially missing key scheduled events.[164]
A330
Multi-Role Tanker Transport Aircraft
While travelling on a commercial 737 aircraft during a
ministerial visit to Indonesia in March 2007, five members of the Australian delegation
died when the aircraft crash-landed.[165]
The commercial flight was required to supplement the VIP fleet’s two
Challenger 604 aircraft that were transporting the Minister for Foreign Affairs,
Alexander Downer, and Attorney-General, Philip Ruddock.[166]
Following this tragedy, news reporting suggested that media organisations and
senior defence officials had lobbied Prime Minister Howard to upgrade the VIP
fleet with larger aircraft.[167]
However, in September 2007 the Minister for Defence, Brendan Nelson, asserted
that the Defence Department ‘has no plans to acquire larger VIP
aircraft’.[168]
In lieu of any new aircraft, between March 2008 and
November 2009 an additional VIP fleet 737 BBJ was specifically used to
transport delegation members (including media personnel) on five occasions,
with an Airbus A319 chartered in another instance.[169]
Yet during this period the Chief of the Defence Force, Air Chief Marshal Angus
Houston, continued to advocate for a larger RAAF transport capability, stating in
Senate Estimates:
I think it would be really good if we went for a couple of
bigger aeroplanes for the VIP task because, frankly, the 737 aircraft is too
small for the task. I think some of the risks associated with covering a
political visit in the region were brought out very tragically in that terrible
incident in Indonesia. It is imperative that we look after our journalists in
places where the airline standards are perhaps not as high as they are in our
own country. It is fine in Australia, but when travelling many places around
the world there are concerns about certain carriers and their particular
airworthiness and flying standards. There is probably a requirement to have a
bigger aeroplane. At some stage, the Australian government needs to have a look
at a larger aeroplane. It would probably make a lot of sense to do that sooner
rather than later after the tragedy that befell us as a nation last year.[170]
The improved VIP capability turned out to
have first been announced by the RAAF four years earlier, albeit with a
different focus. On 16 April 2004 the Minister for Defence, Robert Hill,
announced that the Airbus A330 had been selected over the Boeing 767 as a
replacement air-to-air refuelling capability for the RAAF’s current
Boeing 707 fleet.[171]
Minster Hill announced the contract to supply five A330 aircraft multi-role
tanker transport aircraft (to be known as KC–30A aircraft) on 20 December
2004, with the fleet anticipated to enter RAAF service in 2009.[172]
However, Defence added the KC–30A to its ‘Projects of
Concern’ list in February 2010 due to refuelling capability problems,
before removing it in March 2015 following successful remediation work.[173]
KC-30A (source: Eugene Butler [GFDL 1.2 ( http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html) Wikimedia Commons)
When the KC-30A achieved initial operating capability in
February 2013, Prime Minister Julia Gillard used the aircraft to lead a
delegation to China two months later.[174]
Former Secretary of Defence, Dennis Richardson, indicated during Senate
Estimates that he first raised the concept of using KC–30 aircraft for
VIP travel with Prime Minister Gillard in 2013, stating:
Consistent
with advice that I have given to successive Prime Ministers, I suggested that this
[the KC–30] was an opportunity to have a proper long-range aircraft that
could cater for the Prime Minister travelling abroad in the same way as the
707s were utilised under previous governments.
…
I used to
travel abroad with Prime Minister Hawke, and I have also travelled with prime
ministers in the current 737 configuration. The current 737 is totally and
utterly inadequate for a Prime Minister travelling abroad, not out of any
reason of status but simply in terms of the practicality of the aircraft, in
terms of both the Prime Minister and the travelling officials. And of course
the current configuration does not allow the media to travel with the Prime
Minister, which used to happen with the 707.
…
[The KC–30] will be like the old 707s. It is not going
to be utilised for domestic travel. Its prime purpose is for air refuelling.
And the first call on the aircraft will be for operational reasons, just like
the old 707 was. They will factor into the annual planning for use of this
particular aircraft foreshadowed travel abroad that might require the use of
the aircraft. But if there was a clash between operational requirements and
prime ministerial travel, operational requirements would come first.[175]
In June 2015 the federal government approved
Defence’s acquisition of two additional former Qantas A330 aircraft,
through Defence’s Project AIR 7403 Phase 3.[176]
Initially purchased in November 2015 for approximately US$60 million, the
Government approved a total expenditure of $853 million to convert them into
air-to-air refuellers.[177]
Subsequently, in February 2016 the Government further determined that one of
the new aircraft should be upgraded with a ‘Government Transport and
Communications’ (GTC) capability.[178]
The first of these new KC–30A aircraft was delivered
to 33 Squadron at RAAF Base Amberley in September 2017, following its
refuelling conversion at the Airbus facility at Getafe, Spain.[179]
The GTC installation, at a reported cost of $187.7 million, commenced in
October 2017 at the Lufthansa Technik facility in Hamburg, Germany.[180]
In addition to the secure government communications capability, the fit-out
reportedly incorporated accommodation, a meeting room and working area. Three
quarters of the purchased ex-Qantas seating was retained and installed
alongside two refurbished first-class seats sourced from a Lufthansa A330
aircraft.[181]
The RAAF received delivery of the GTC-equipped KC–30A
aircraft in May 2019.[182]
Prime Minister Scott Morrison used it for the first time in September 2019, for
an official visit to the US.[183]
Commentators suggested that only one aircraft type would be needed to replace
the Challenger and BBJ aircraft, given the KC–30A provides a specific
long-haul capability.[184]
An alternative option of maintaining the BBJ for domestic use in addition to a
specific Challenger replacement has also been suggested.[185]
Dassault
Falcon 7X
The RAAF received the first of three Dassault Falcon 7X
aircraft on 16 April 2019, to replace the VIP fleet’s Challenger
aircraft. The Falcon 7X provides a range of up to 11,000 km (almost double that
of the Challengers), while allowing for 14 passengers alongside a three-person
crew.[186]
The final Falcon 7X aircraft was delivered on 7 August 2019, with the last
Challenger flight later that month.[187]
Procured on an initial ten-year lease, these aircraft were produced at
Dassault’s production facility in Bordeaux, France, before they were
transferred via the company’s delivery centre in Arkansas, USA.[188]
Having replaced the Challenger fleet and acquired the new long-haul capability
of the KC–30A, the RAAF extended the two 737 BBJ leases to mid-2024. Both
BBJ aircraft were also due to receive upgraded satellite communications systems
by the first quarter of 2020.[189]
Dassault Falcon 7X (source: (c) Commonwealth of Australia 2020 Department of Defence)
Non-RAAF
VIP flights
Although the RAAF operates the vast majority of VIP flights,
occasionally additional capacity is sought from external sources. For example,
in May 1970 the Minister for Civil Aviation, Robert Cotton, noted in parliament
(in relation to the potential for accommodating VIP flights), ‘the rule
of the Department of Civil Aviation is that if the aircraft it has are
available and are capable of doing the job … they will be made available
on request’.[190]
In relation to the number of such flights undertaken, parliamentary questions
on notice in 1978 and 1989 indicated nine occurrences over the 1977–78
financial year, 11 occurrences in 1986–87 and four occurrences in
1987–88.[191]
Similar to VIP flights operated by the RAAF, a component of the operating costs
was recoverable from the VIP’s ministerial department.[192]
The
Fokker F28, three of which were procured in 1976 by the Department of
Transport, was used for these additional capacity ad hoc VIP flights.[193]
Responsibility for these aircraft subsequently transitioned to the Department
of Aviation, then the Civil Aviation Authority and finally Airservices
Australia. The Department of Transport and Communications sold one of the F28
aircraft to Ansett in 1987 and Airservices Australia sold the remaining two
aircraft in 1998.[194]
An Astra 1125 SP and a Beechcraft Super King Air 350 aircraft directly replaced
the F28s; however, their operations were immediately outsourced to the
privately owned company Pearl Aviation Australia.[195]
Fokker F28 (source: Daniel Tanner / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) (Wikimedia Commons)
Private charters have also been used to supplement the VIP
fleet. Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser reported in 1978 that he had chartered
aircraft for travel between his home in Nareen, western Victoria, to both
Melbourne and Canberra. In justifying these charter flights Prime Minister
Fraser contended it was cheaper than driving to the nearest airport (Mount
Gambier) and then using the RAAF’s VIP fleet.[196]
Charter aircraft have also been used when additional
capacity is required, such as during election campaigns or for large
delegations travelling overseas.[197]
Prime Minister William McMahon attracted media criticism for using domestic
commercial airlines on his first overseas trip in 1971 and so the following
year chartered a Qantas Boeing 707 on a tour to Asia.[198]
Similarly, in 1974 Prime Minister Gough Whitlam used commercial flights for
travel to Indonesia and the US before chartering a Qantas Boeing 707 for a five-week
visit to Europe.[199]
In more recent times, the federal government provides parliamentarians
representing large electorates with additional allowances for charter flights.
These allowances range from $10,420 per annum for MPs with electorates of 10,000
to 24,999 km2, to $120,000 per annum for MPs with electorates of 300,000
km2 or more.[200]
While use of this allowance has occasionally led to media scrutiny, the scale
of such activity is relatively small.[201]
For example, in financial year 2017–18 only 32 of the total 150 MPs (21
per cent) could access this entitlement, and only 19 of these did so.
Additionally, of the almost $650,000 that was spent on charter flights in
2017–18, more than three quarters was used by the seven MPs who have
electorates over 300,000km2, with approximately half of the total
annual allowance remaining unused.[202]
Protocols and reporting of VIP
flights
During parliamentary debates on 17 April 1963, Edward Ward,
the Member for East Sydney and former Minister for Transport in the Curtin and Chifley
governments, asked the Minister for Air, David Fairbairn, a series of pointed
questions regarding policies for VIP flight use.[203]
Responding in writing more than a month later, Minister Fairbairn indicated
that the Governor-General and prime minister authorised their own use of VIP
flights, while all other use required his personal authorisation. In an
interview following his retirement from parliament, Fairbairn recalled the
personal challenges he sometimes faced while the Minister for Air, where as a
relatively junior minister he was on occasion required to deny VIP flights to
his more senior colleagues.[204]
While asserting that ‘each request made to me is considered on its
merits, its degree of urgency and the availability of aircraft’, the minister
acknowledged that once a request was granted, the applicant could admit other
passengers, including family and/or staff members.[205]
Minister Fairbairn’s response also referred to
Ward’s request for over three years of details regarding VIP flight
passengers and their purpose for travel. According to Fairbairn:
… the preparation of such a statement would entail a
considerable amount of work for my department. I have told the honourable
member that VIP aircraft are used by both service and civilian personnel on the
occasion of my authority. I can see no point in having a statement compiled
which could only serve to confirm this.[206]
Later, on 29 March 1966, the Labor MP Charles Griffiths asked
Prime Minister Holt why only Government members of the Public Works Committee
could use a VIP Viscount aircraft for delegation travel to RAAF Base
Williamtown, but he and another Labor committee member could not.[207]
While Prime Minister Holt claimed no knowledge of this particular circumstance,
the situation prompted him to consult with the Minister for Air, Peter Howson,
in drawing up guiding rules for the VIP fleet.[208]
The lack of clarity regarding use of the VIP fleet had
significant consequences less than two months later, when Prime Minister Holt
asserted in parliament that the federal government did not keep records of VIP
flight passengers or destinations, and so could not make them publicly
available.[209]
That this was untrue was demonstrated when John Gorton tabled VIP flight
details in the parliament on 25 October 1967. The controversy led Minister Howson
to offer his resignation from the frontbench, an offer Prime Minister Holt
rejected despite the criticism of his government’s accountability and
transparency.[210]
This also became the catalyst for routine reporting of VIP fleet travel
schedules, which are routinely prepared by the Department of Defence and tabled
in parliament every six months.[211]
Having seemingly dealt with the issue of transparent
reporting, the question of who was entitled to use the VIP fleet continued to
garner significant interest. On 23 April 1969 Cabinet noted:
… the Minister for Air administered the use of VIP
aircraft according to general guidelines but that these guidelines had not been
reduced to a precise set of rules. It saw that there could be considerations
for avoiding the inflexibility which would result from precise rules.[212]
In lieu of any precise rules, McKellar (representing the
Minister for Air) informed the Senate on 14 May 1969:
… the procedure has been that a
Minister, provided he could not get ordinary commercial transport, was entitled
to the use of a VIP plane. If he was going to an electorate and the sitting member
wanted to accompany him, he could take along that sitting member. He could not
take a senator. We had this out in the Senate some time ago. In brief, those
were the rules governing the use of VIP flights.[213]
The Minister for Air, Thomas Drake-Brockman, provided a more
structured set of guidelines to the parliament in September 1970. While largely
in keeping with the guidance previously provided, more clarity was given
regarding the VIP fleet’s possible use by parliamentary delegations and
committees as well as representatives of the news media. Additionally, the
guidelines also restricted the accompanying passengers on a VIP flight to a
spouse, personal staff and/or departmental officials.[214]
A Cabinet submission dated 9 February 1973 and prepared by
the Minister for Defence, Lance Barnard, again updated the federal government’s
RAAF VIP aircraft travel rules.[215]
This revised policy was presented to parliament the following month, with the
Minister for Defence noting the emphasis on VIP fleet availability only when
alternative transport was unavailable, but with renewed discretion for
accompanying family members other than a spouse.[216]
The Government applied further restrictions on VIP flights in March 1975, with
Cabinet agreeing that requests for VIP flights between Canberra, Melbourne and
Sydney would require written notice seven days in advance, including the reason
why a commercial flight could not be used.[217]
It was also reported in January 1976 that ministers would be required to
reschedule appointments wherever possible in order to preference commercial
flights.[218]
In February 1978 the Minister for Defence, Jim Killen,
provided Cabinet with an updated set of guidelines to provide further clarity
and remove ‘inconsistencies’.[219]
The stated requirements as to who can access and approve VIP flights have generally
remained consistent since this time, with the most recent guidelines (published
in 2013) providing additional costings and reporting requirements.[220]
Conclusion
The convergent growth in aircraft technology and the
travel requirements of senior government officials has led to the Defence
Department’s special purpose fleet becoming a key enabler for the business
of government. The pre-Second World War necessities of arduous domestic train
travel and time-consuming international ship voyages have now been replaced by fast
and largely secure air travel, allowing passengers to maintain their
connectivity and capacity to work.
However, questions about the transparency and cost-effectiveness
of the fleet’s operations have been regularly raised. The acquisition and
operational costs of the fleet, ultimately paid for by the tax-payer, have
grown as the fleet has evolved, leading to ongoing scrutiny from the media and
members of Senate Estimates committees. Accordingly, successive governments
have sought to emphasise the Department of Defence’s and executive
government’s operational need for the fleet, while attempting to moderate
any perceptions of the aircraft as luxurious or excessive.