Release of Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) Strategic Insight No. 12/2005
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute has today released a new ASPI Strategic Insight publication calling on the government to develop a new defence white paper.
Authored by ASPI’s Acting Director, Peter Jennings, the ASPI Strategic Insight sets out the reasons why a new defence policy statement is increasingly needed.
“The government will have to make a number of critical defence policy decisions over the next twelve to twenty-four months” Jennings argues.
“These include decisions about our strategic posture, major military capability acquisitions and future plans for defence spending and efficiency measures.”
Jennings said: “These choices could be made in isolation, but the best way to arrive at the right policy outcomes would be via a disciplined and systematic review of our defence policy settings.”
The ASPI Strategic Insight outlines how the government might handle the following vital questions:
” What has really changed in Australia’s strategic outlook as a result of 9/11?
” How does defence policy fit into Australia’s emerging national security strategy?
” What is the best role for the ADF in our counter-terrorism strategies?
” What is the best role for the ADF in promoting stability in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific?
” Is ‘structuring for war and adapting for peace’ still the best approach?
” How far should we adopt network centric warfare?
” What ‘niche forces’ should we maintain for coalition operations?
” Should the Government continue real growth in Defence spending after 2011?