Defence Minister Richard Marles said one incredibly important thing on Monday. It couldn’t be clearer and it bears repeating: “In a rational world, defence spending is a function of strategic threat. And we are rational people.” He also said the defence budget would...
Should Defence press ahead with its investments in next-generation land combat capability or is it time to reallocate resources elsewhere to reflect changes in modern warfighting? Last month, the Albanese government launched the Defence Strategic Review, touted...
Source: BEN PACKHAM The Australian Newspaper's Foreign Affairs & Defence Correspondent - September 13, 2022 Defence has avoided an inquiry into the accountability of senior commanders for war crimes despite the findings of an independent panel, which said it...
Professor Paul Dibb wrote the 1986 Review of Australia’s Defence Capabilities and was the primary author of the 1987 Defence White Paper Defending Australia. When announcing his Defence Strategic Review on August 3, Richard Marles stressed that the strategic changes...
An open letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Defence Minister Richard Marles Dear Anthony and Richard, Congratulations on your election win – majority government amid political fragmentation is no small achievement. I know you both care deeply about national...
Developing regional tensions should concern Australians as much as events in Ukraine. READ MORE
There is a long running dispute between the RCBRG and the Defence Department on the rightful categorisation of RCB’s service in Malaysia 1970 – 1989 to protect the RAAF assets at Air Base Butterworth (ABB) during the Communist Insurgency (1969-1989). Defence records...
If Defence is determined to learn the lessons of the past, why isn’t it being upfront with the public on its response to the Brereton war crimes inquiry? Justice Paul Brereton’s report last November laid bare the most shameful chapter in the Australian Defence Force’s...
Defence has set out a four-year plan to reform the culture of the ADF, weed out wrongdoers and strip medals from unworthy recipients, in its long-awaited response to the Brereton war crimes inquiry. The report, uploaded quietly to the Afghanistan inquiry website on...
Peter Dutton has insulated his ministerial office from interference by Defence, accepting only the bare minimum of departmental staff as he prepares to shake up his $44bn portfolio. The Australian has learned the Defence Minister has allowed just two departmental...