Issuing the Navy's response to the Submarine Workforce Sustainability Review, Navy chief Vice Admiral Russ Crane said yesterday, ''Our submariners remain a professional and ready force. By improving their working conditions we will ensure our submarine force remains sustainable now and into the future.''

Conducted by Rear Admiral Rowan Moffit, the review drew upon earlier studies that had found strong evidence of poor morale, and ''widespread pessimism about the sustainability of the Submarine Force, frustration at lack of action in solving submarine manning problems, high stress, extreme fatigue and low commitment to staying in the Navy''.

Admiral Moffit argues that there is a need change the prevailing culture of Australia's submariners so that its positive aspects including ''professional excellence and pride in accomplishing complex and highly risky missions'' could be retained, while eliminating negative aspects including ''obsessive mission focus at the cost of burning out the people''.

Admiral Crane agreed that more than increased salaries were required to fix persistent problems.

''We can't afford to burn out our people, I will not allow it and neither will the Australian people,'' he said.

''The Navy is sometimes accused of ignoring its submariners. There has been a small increase in our retention rates for submariners, that's an encouraging sign, but we still have a lot of hard work to do.''

A new submarine workforce sustainability program will seek to stabilise and increase the submarine workforce over the next five years. The program focuses on getting more qualified submariners to sea and on improving support for them once deployed, with strains to be eased by increasing crew sizes from 46 to 58 people.

The Navy is currently able to operate only three of its six Collins-class submarines due to crewing shortages. It will be more than two years before it has four submarine crews ready for action.

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