F-16s wobbly, but ditch date up in air

By AUDREY YOUNG

Helen Clark is expecting to receive Derek Quigley's report on the F-16s late this afternoon but the cabinet might not ditch the deal for another fortnight.

The Prime Minister said the report was due today but she would be out of the country next week, leaving March 20 its likely date of cabinet consideration.

However, she raised the possibility that the cabinet could meet earlier, if necessary, to make a decision.

Mr Quigley, a former Act MP and defence specialist, is reviewing the National Government's lease arrangements with the United States for 28 F-16 fighter jets.

Helen Clark told the Herald last night it was clear where the report was headed.

"It will probably say something like this: 'If major capital investment in the airstrike arm of the Air Force was your top priority right now, and if you could afford it, this might be a reasonable deal. But if neither of those ifs apply, then the Government has every justification for looking again'."

The F-16s deal would cost $700 million over 10 years.

Asked whether that would be allocated to other defence expenditure if the deal was ditched, Helen Clark said:

"We're not looking to slash the baselines which have been established in recent budgets. What we're trying to do is make sure they don't go through the roof.

"The last Government approved an increase in the capital expenditure budget of $500 million over 10 years," she said.

"The items that was meant to be spent on have now seen a budget blow-out from half a billion to an estimated $1.2 billion. So there is $700 million virtually in increase anyway.

"Which means there are some attractions taking this item [the F-16s]completely out of it so you don't compromise the rest."

She was not "terribly enthusiastic" about going back to the taxpayer asking for hundreds of millions of dollars when they were saying "public transport is inadequate, roading is inadequate, schools are inadequately equipped etc, etc."

Helen Clark said she wanted Mr Quigley involved in the white paper defence review that would follow the F-16 report.

"I find him a very good source of alternative rational and contestable advice."

Asked if she did not trust her defence officials, she said she had full confidence in new defence secretary Graham Fortune.

But she sifted others' advice according to where it came from.

"You have the Defence Force itself, which is presently headed by an Air Force man [Air Marshal Carey Adamson]. So it is expected there would be some reluctance there to see the F-16s go."

Defence officials had no single view.

"There is not one happy story. There are a lot of different views.

"Derek in a way can come in over the top of all that."