MINISTER FOR DEFENCE SCIENCE AND PERSONNEL  Ros Kelly MR NEWS RELEASE

j COMMONWEALTH

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9. 1987 1 parliamentary lisraN'OI 157/87 I ...... C. I. S.

NON-ATOM IC MILITARY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT MEETING

The Minister for Defence Science and Personnel, Mrs Ros Kelly,

has announced that a meeting of the Committee on Non-Atomic

Military Research and Development (NAMRAD) will be held in

Australia from October 12-16. .

The five member Committee, which includes the United States,

United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, will be

hosted by the Chief Defence Scientist, Mr Henry d'Assumpcao.

The NAMRAD Committee, which meets on average every 18

months, is responsible for setting The Technical Cooperation

Program (TTCP) policy and direction.

" TTCP is an essential component of Australia's defence research

program," Mrs Kelly said. "It enables us to conduct our defence

research at much less cost than if we tried to go it alone.

"Under TTCP, participating countries exchange information on

defence research programs in areas of common interest. This

2

ensures that national research activities avoid unnecessary

duplication."

The origins of NAM RAD can be traced to the Declaration of

Common Purpose made in October 1957 by then US President

Eisenhower and British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan. The two

leaders recognised that neither nation had the resources to stand

alone in defence research and development.

Canada then joined these co-operative activities which became

known as TTCP. Australia has been a member since 1965 and New

Zealand since 1970.

Ã¢ÂÂ¢ Further information: '

M inisterial: Michelle Schofield (b/h) (062) 733955

(a/h ) (062) 952143

Departmental: Mignon Patterson (b/h) (062) 653313

(a/h ) (062) 480757

