No missiles … but Defence can fire off a cookbook for ‘harmony’

The Defence team charged with establishing a $20bn guided weapons industry is yet to deliver an Australian-made missile but has found the time to produce a ‘Taste of Harmony’ cookbook with taxpayers’ funds.

Air Marshal Leon Phillips in uniform, left, and in the kitchen appearing in Defence's Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance Group's cookbook, Tastes of Harmony.

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They say an army marches on its stomach and so too does Defence’s Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance Group, which has produced a “Taste of Harmony” cookbook with taxpayers’ funds.

The group, headed by Air Marshal Leon Phillips, has its work cut out establishing a $20bn-plus domestic missile manufacturing industry – a goal that remains a distant one.

But Phillips believes the “incredible power” of food will help his team get the job done, authorising an $1800 print run of the recipe book to celebrate Harmony Week earlier this year.

“In line with this year’s theme of ‘Everyone Belongs’, this book serves as a reminder that every member of GWEO group is valued as we work together towards our shared purpose,” he says in the book’s foreword.

“I encourage each of you to continue to embrace our shared values and create an environment where everyone truly belongs.”

The group’s staff contributed their favourite recipes, including a Chinese-inspired “Mystery meat stir fry”, and a “Loaded potato soup”.

Phillips, a keen amateur gourmet, shares his recipe for Spaghetti ai gamberi, urging his subordinates to “pair this meal with great company and a lovely dry riesling”.

But not everyone shares his passion for food-led team building, with orders coming down for the book to be buried amid high-level concerns over the GWEO group’s progress.

The Australian obtained a copy of the culinary compendium as Defence’s most senior officers braced for news of looming job cuts, with dozens of commanders and senior public service executives set to face the chop.

The Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance Group’s Taste of Harmony cookbook.

Defence Minister Richard Marles has ordered sweeping reforms to his department, warning “everything is on the table” amid tensions over budget blowouts and delays in getting new weapons and equipment into service.

The Australian revealed this week that up to 25 star-ranked Australian Defence Force officers could be drummed out, while 20 to 40 public service executive positions could be cut.

It’s understood senior commanders will be briefed on the changes in coming days. There was speculation in military circles this week that Defence could waive a requirement preventing former officers from taking consulting jobs for 12 months after entering civilian life.

The GWEO group faces being rolled into a new ­armaments directorate with the department’s vast and underperforming Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group and its Naval Shipbuilding and Sustainment Group.

The bureaucratic shake-up would leave Phillips fighting for his job, while CASG head Chris Deeble could also be vulnerable.

Mr Marles said in April 2023 he was “confident” Australia could begin producing guided missiles within two years, but there has been little progress on the GWEO initiative.

One well-placed industry source said: “I’d be cautious about any cooking times suggested in the cookbook given the amount of time it’s taking for the missile plan to come to a boil.

“They just haven’t done anything. They’re meant to be delivering a whole lot of locally-made missiles to increase our stocks for times of war and that just hasn’t progressed beyond orders for foreign missiles that are already in our catalogue.”

Acting opposition defence spokeswoman Michaelia Cash said the GWEO initiative was supposed to be manufacturing missiles, “not writing menus”.

“Australians will rightly question why taxpayers’ resources are being diverted to produce a cookbook instead of securing critical defence supply chains,’ she said.

“The Labor government must explain how this reflects the urgency of the strategic environment the Prime Minister has described as ‘the most complex and challenging since the Second World War’.”

Eyebrows were also raised in defence circles this week at a LinkedIn post by GWEO deputy head Dan Fankhauser on an “unforgettable” three weeks he spent attending an Oxford University advanced manufacturing leadership program.

“It was an immense privilege to spend three weeks with my amazing peers from around the globe who made the Summer 2025 cohort so memorable,” he said.

“I greatly appreciated your many insights and perspectives as we navigated the program, reflecting on our own leadership journeys, challenges and purpose. Your stories, feedback and laughter are what made the experience so unique and memorable.”

GWEO Group’s spaghetti ai gamberi. Picture: Taste of Harmony cookbook

GWEO Group’s ‘Mystery meat stir fry’. Picture: Taste of Harmony cookbook

Former defence minister Peter Dutton ordered his department to abandon its “woke agenda”, but the GWEO group’s celebration of Harmony Day is in keeping with Mr Marles’ push to leverage diversity to address the ADF’s personnel crisis.

“I think what is really important is that the Defence Force needs to look like Australia,” he told The Australian soon after he was sworn in as Defence Minister.

Mr Marles’ looming departmental overhaul comes as the Defence budget is stretched to the limit by the AUKUS submarine program and new frigate projects, sparking warnings of a hollowed-out force with scarce munitions and a shortage of critical capabilities, including missile defence systems and long-range weapons.

At the same time, the government is refusing to lift defence spending from 2 per cent of GDP to the 3.5 per cent demanded by the Trump administration.

The ADF is one of the most top-heavy militaries in the world, with one study revealing Australian star-ranked officers are ­responsible for 11 times fewer personnel than their US counterparts.