AUSTRALIA’S NEW DEFENCE WHITE PAPER

MINISTERIAL ADDRESS TO ASPI

The Minister for Defence, the Hon. Joel Fitzgibbon MP, has re-iterated his expectations of Defence and affirmed the importance of the Government’s Defence White Paper during an address to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute in Canberra yesterday.

“The Government has delivered on its promise to grow the Defence Budget by 3% on average over the decade,” Mr Fitzgibbon said.

In delivering the address, Minister Fitzgibbon provided additional detail on what the White Paper means for the defence and security of our nation, for Australia’s international relationships, and for the Australian people.

“While the White paper has made it clear that it is the Government’s assessment that the United States will continue to enjoy strategic primacy for the next twenty years, it is also true that the rise and rise of China, the emergence of India, and the re-emergence of Russia have heralded the beginning of the end of the so-called uni-polar moment. This has clear implications for the Asia Pacific Region and indeed, Australia,” Mr Fitzgibbon said.

“We need forces able to complete a range of tasks and the Government is committed to ensure those forces are developed, supported and maintained at a high state of readiness. The readiness of a standing force,” Mr Fitzgibbon said.

Highlighting the significance of the new White Paper in the security context, Mr Fitzgibbon emphasised the Government’s approach to security and Defence planning and the comprehensive funding the Government is providing to Defence over the period to 2030.

“By committing to wholesale structural reforms, the Government will be able to produce and fund Force 2030; a larger, more powerful, more sophisticated, more integrated and more flexible Australian Defence Force,” Mr Fitzgibbon said.

Throughout the address Minister Fitzgibbon paid particular attention to describing Australia’s strategic outlook and strategic interests, and what this means for the Australian Defence Force (ADF), Defence industry and the wider Defence Community. 

“Force 2030 is about ensuring that the Australian Defence Force has all the capability and people it needs to meet contingencies which might arise in the future as a result of the changing nature of the Region. It gives Australia a range of flexible force packages to meet contingencies in our region and beyond. To deal with high end war fighting and to keep a fragile peace,” Mr Fitzgibbon said.

“What this White Paper has done is to create a truly standing force. Not a force that can ramp up to meet a crisis but rather a force that is dealing with the missions of today and is ready to conduct the missions of tomorrow.”

“We’ve achieved that while at the same time committing the funds necessary to remediate the capability plan, remediate Defence’s systems and infrastructure, and to fill the Budget black holes we’ve inherited from the previous Government.”

Media contacts:

Christian Taubenschlag (Joel Fitzgibbon):             02 6277 7800 or 0438 595 567

Defence Media Liaison:                                           02 6265 3343 or 0408 498 664