Antinuclear

Mapping the revolving door between government and the weapons industry

Undue Influence revolving door database progresses

MICHELLE FAHY, Undue Influence Substack, NOV 4, 2023

Some 80 per cent of the United States’ four star generals and admirals go on to work for US weapons-making companies, it was revealed last month. US arms industry expert William Hartung also noted that with the Pentagon’s budget soaring towards US$1 trillion a year, and security challenges posed by Russia and China front and centre, an independent assessment of the best path ahead for the US was vital.

Yet, he said, “more often than not, special interests override the national interest in decisions on how much to spend on the Pentagon, and how those funds should be allocated”.

Hartung’s revelations were made possible by US research tracking the revolving door between the US government and the weapons industry.

In Australia, the defence budget is also rising. At the same time, transparency and accountability from our politicians and the Defence Department continues to decline.

The US research has reinforced the importance of the Australian revolving door database that I am creating, in collaboration with a research assistant and a technical specialist. This project was made possible by a grant from the Jan de Voogd Peace Fund.

Revolving door a feature in major defence procurement in Australia

My two-part investigative feature, first published by Declassified Australia in July, put the spotlight on the revolving door between the Australian government and the world’s sixth largest arms manufacturer, BAE Systems. It also contributed to a referral to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC).

The investigation revealed close links between government and industry – information that will be included in the revolving door database – and provided a rare insight into the Australian revolving door in action. It exposed how the government gave former senior BAE insiders influential behind-the-scenes roles before and during a tender process that BAE went on to win. Few of these senior roles were publicly acknowledged by the government.

The procurement of the Hunter class frigates, now at $46 billion (and rising), is Australia’s second largest ever defence acquisition. The Greens’ defence spokesman David Shoebridge made the referral to the NACC.

Database progress to date

The revolving door database has been funded by the Jan de Voogd Peace Fund (administered by the NSW Quakers). The project is being auspiced by the Medical Association for Prevention of War.

The database architecture is now complete following a detailed and complex development process which enables arms company contract data to be extracted from the government’s public databases. The website will aggregate hundreds of contract values into a single annual figure for each major arms corporation, updated daily. With major multinational arms makers having up to 20 or more relevant subsidiaries, it is vital to be able to combine the total value, and this is what the database will do.

The names of people who have occupied 60 senior military, political and defence-related positions back to the year 2000 have been compiled. We will now investigate the existence of subsequent arms-related private sector positions.

How you can help

• Send information on revolving door appointments
  Email us at undueinfluence@protonmail.com with information about revolving door appointments that have occurred since 2000 between the defence-related public sector and the arms industry (in either direction).
• Fund our ongoing investigative work
  While much of my focus in the coming months will be on the revolving door database, I am determined to continue my investigative research and writing as there is much more to be revealed. If you are able to upgrade [on Substack] from a free to a paid subscription to Undue Influence, it would be greatly appreciated. The grant funds are exclusively for work on the database and our regular investigative research and writing continues to rely heavily on reader subscriptions…………………..
   https://undueinfluence.substack.com/p/mapping-the-revolving-door-database-progress?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=297295&post_id=138509639&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=1ise1&utm_medium=email

November 4, 2023 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, secrets and lies