The Standing Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs is reviewing two reports from the Office of the Auditor General. The first faults the Ministry of Justice and Public Security and the Ministry of Defence for failing to establish core requirements for an effective total defence system since 2016, despite a committed funding decision. The second criticises the Ministry of Trade, Fisheries and Fisheries Management for lacking oversight of which port facilities are critical to national security, and for insufficient cybersecurity and backup supply line protections.
AI-generated summary · Model: Claude Haiku 4.5 · Generated: 14 May 2026
These are the proposals in the document, not decisions. See the votes for the outcome.
The Ministry of Justice and Public Security should communicate more clearly to municipalities what is expected of their preparedness efforts for security crises and war, working with the Directorate for Civil Protection and Emergency Management and the state governors.
The Ministry of Justice and Public Security should ensure municipalities have access to relevant information to plan for the upper end of the crisis spectrum.
The Ministry of Justice and Public Security should initiate more coordinated development of total defence in the civilian sector to improve preparedness work at regional and local levels.
The Ministry of Justice and Public Security should take steps to improve the overview of resources and dependencies at national, regional and local levels, and ensure effective prioritisation of resources among total defence actors during security crises and war.
The Ministry of Defence should ensure the Armed Forces identify and communicate needs for civilian support to all relevant total defence actors in line with expectations in the new long-term plan.
The Ministry of Defence should ensure the Armed Forces communicate property, building, facility and infrastructure needs during crisis and war to the Armed Forces Real Estate Agency in cooperation with other relevant ministries.
The Ministry of Defence should clarify how Armed Forces standby agreements are used and how potential prioritisation dilemmas between civilian and military sectors are to be handled during crisis and war.
The Ministry of Defence should ensure critical standby agreements do not expire without replacement solutions in place.
The Ministry of Justice and Public Security and the Ministry of Defence, in cooperation with the Directorate for Civil Protection and Emergency Management, the state governors and the Armed Forces, should strengthen exercises and evaluations of civilian support to military needs at regional and local levels.
The Ministry of Trade, Fisheries and Fisheries Management should map which port facilities are critical to national security.
The Ministry of Trade, Fisheries and Fisheries Management should ensure plans exist for alternative supply routes if security-critical port facilities become unavailable.
The Ministry of Trade, Fisheries and Fisheries Management should continue the value mapping of ports under the Security Act.
The Ministry of Trade, Fisheries and Fisheries Management should ensure cybersecurity is addressed in port facility security measures.
The Ministry of Trade, Fisheries and Fisheries Management should ensure changes in the threat landscape are quickly reflected in port facility security measures.
The Ministry of Trade, Fisheries and Fisheries Management should consider whether risk analyses and security measures under maritime security rules and the Security Act can be integrated in cases where a port facility is also subject to the Security Act.