9 July 2015
PDF version [316 KB]
Dr Nathan Church
Foreign Affairs, Defence and
Security Section
-
The Australian Defence Force (ADF) regards northern Australia as
strategically important, both for national defence and as a forward base for
regional engagement. The ADF presence in northern Australia also directly contributes
to the economic and social development of the region.
-
A substantial amount of new ADF assets will either be based or
operate in the vicinity of northern Australia, requiring new or upgraded
facilities. These include new strike and patrol aircraft as well as the Landing
Helicopter Docks (LHDs), Australia’s largest ever warships. The increasing
presence of US Marine rotations within northern Australia will also require additional
infrastructure and base capacity.
-
However, future growth in the ADF’s northern Australia presence
is constrained. Climate factors affect the ADF’s ability to operate in the
region and maintain its infrastructure, while northern Australia’s distance
from major population centres increases resource costs and can impede retention
of personnel. Accordingly, the most cost-effective improvements will likely
come through more efficient defence sustainment provided by local northern
Australia defence industries.
Contents
Executive
summary
Introduction
Background and context
Defence White Papers (1976–2013)
Key recent reports
Australian Defence Force Posture
Review (2012)
Gateway to the Indo-Pacific:
Australian defense strategy and the future of the Australia–U.S. Alliance
(2013)
Green Paper on developing northern
Australia (2014)
Pivot North: Inquiry into the
development of northern Australia (2014)
Current ADF assets, infrastructure
and activities
ADF bases
Defence Housing
US military rotations
Planned ADF assets
Landing Helicopter Docks (LHDs)
F-35A Lightning II
P-8A Poseidon aircraft and Triton
UAVs
Chinook ‘Foxtrot’ helicopters
Future opportunities and constraints
Conclusion
Appendix 1
Defence workforce in the Northern
Territory*
On 25 September 2012, the Opposition
Leader Tony Abbott announced that if the Coalition won the 2013 federal
election it would publish a new Defence White Paper within 18 months. He also
specifically noted that:
One issue that the next Coalition Defence White Paper will
consider is a greater presence of our military forces in northern Australia,
especially in resource-rich areas with little or no current military presence.
At the very least, the White Paper will examine the need for an upgraded
surveillance capability of the sort planned and then cancelled by Labor.[1]
This intent was again expressed during the 2013 federal
election campaign, in the Coalition’s policy for stronger defence
and the Coalition’s 2030 vision for developing northern Australia.[2]
Prime Minister Abbott and the then Minister for Defence, David Johnston, also emphasised
northern Australia in a defence context after the election, such as in their
joint April 2014 media release, Delivering a world class defence force.[3]
This research paper provides some background to the history
of the defence relationship with northern Australia, an overview of key reports
regarding the ADF’s presence in northern Australia and an assessment of the
debate for increasing the size and scope of that presence.
The issue of a military presence in northern Australia has
been an enduring one for Australia’s parliamentarians. In 1940, Adair Blain
(Member for Northern Territory) declared in the House of Representatives that:
In a spirit of political complacency we are burying our heads
in the sand and leaving the north-west to defend itself. We are [relying] upon
its remoteness for security ... There are cogent reasons why the Government should
concentrate upon the effective control and defence of the north-west of
Australia, particularly when we realize that the influence of the Axis powers
may extend, and we may even have more enemies than we have today.[4]
More recently in 2014, the Minister for Defence noted ‘we
have hundreds of billions of dollars worth of investment in offshore
developments, particularly in the north and northwest of Australia’.[5]
Both statements infer that Australia not only needs naval assets to
appropriately provide national security, but also appropriate defence
facilities located in the region to support the required defence assets.
Substantial analyses on the topic were conducted in the
intervening decades by prominent defence commentators, including Ross Babbage,
Des Ball and Andrew Davies.[6]
One of the most substantial analytical works is the three volume report, Defence
and the Darwin region, published in August 1994 by the consulting group ADI
Services for which, at the time, Babbage was Chief General Manager Consulting.[7]
In commissioning the report, the government-appointed ‘Committee on Darwin’ established
broad terms of reference regarding the impact of defence activities on Darwin
and the increased strategic use of Darwin as a platform for engagement with
regional partners. The resulting Report of the Committee on Darwin was
published in June 1995.[8]
Australia’s first Defence White Paper (DWP), Australian
Defence, was published in 1976 during the Fraser Government. In
acknowledging the ‘limited’ defence infrastructure then located in north and
western Australia, the report asserted ‘the need to develop airfields and
patrol craft bases in the more remote parts of Australia, particularly in the
north’.[9]
The 1987 DWP, The Defence of Australia, expressed the
Hawke Government’s intention ‘to strengthen our northern defences by basing
major elements of the Australian Army permanently in northern Australia’ and
emphasised the need to develop northern airfield infrastructure.[10]
Additionally, it said that ‘with increased ADF activity and basing in northern
Australia, the Government believes there could be value in developing joint
administrative and command arrangements in northern Australia’.[11]
The following year the ADF established its Northern Command (NORCOM), the
command and coordination role of which was initially tested through Exercise
Kangaroo 89, ‘Australia’s largest military exercise since the Second World
War’.[12]
Defending Australia, the 1994 DWP, further
articulated the strategic priority of northern Australia under the Keating
Government, in declaring that ‘we also seek to turn the vast and difficult
areas of northern Australia to our advantage by ensuring that we can operate
better there than any adversary. Our forces are familiar with the environment
of northern Australia, and our equipment is optimised for conditions there’.[13]
The document also contained sections on surveillance and air defence in
northern Australia and adjoining maritime areas.
In contrast, the 2000 and 2009 DWPs (produced by the
respective Howard and Rudd Governments) made only minor reference to northern
Australia. The former emphasised Defence’s surveillance requirements, while the
latter reinforced the understanding that northern Australia ‘will always
command a significant place in our military contingency planning’.[14]
However, the 2013 DWP re-asserted the strategic importance
of northern Australia:
the economic importance of northern Australia and our
offshore resources has increased and this must be considered in our defence
planning. An effective, visible force posture in northern Australia and our
northern and western approaches is necessary to demonstrate our capacity and
our will to defend our sovereign territory, including our offshore resources and
extensive maritime areas.[15]
Following on from the 2012 Australian Defence Force
Posture Review (FPR), the 2013 DWP asserted the Australian Government under
Prime Minister Gillard had begun enhancing the ADF’s presence in and
familiarity with northern Australia, updating operational plans for defending
the north; and developing a better understanding of the ability of civil
infrastructure and logistic capacity available to support ADF operations in the
north-west.[16]
In an April 2013 address, the
Minister for Defence, Stephen Smith expressed the importance of the Northern
Territory as a ‘key element of strategic Defence planning considerations’. The
Minister also referred to the nearly completed 2013 Defence White Paper (DWP)
and recently published Australian Defence Force Posture Review (FPR) as key
documents emphasising northern Australia in strategic defence considerations.[17]
Both reviews, in addition to other key reports referred to in this section,
provide a range of perspectives on defence and northern Australia and offer
options for future engagement.
The 2012 FPR was the first major government review into the positioning
of ADF assets since Paul Dibb’s Review of Australia’s defence capabilities,
published in March 1986, which analysed the ADF’s northern command, facilities
and infrastructure.[18]
Authored by the senior public servants Allan Hawke and Ric
Smith, the 2012 FPR devoted an entire chapter to ‘securing Australia’s north’
and produced eight specific recommendations for further action regarding
northern Australia. These recommendations included upgrading defence facilities
and continued assessment of supporting civilian infrastructure, increased
military presence (including exercises), and improved coordination and
communication mechanisms. Additionally, recommendation six noted that ‘while
permanent Navy bases in the North West are not operationally necessary, Defence
should examine, in consultation with the Australian Customs and Border
Protection Service (ACBPS), options involving investment to enhance Broome as a
forward operating base’.[19]
Published by the US-based Center for
Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA), the report Gateway to the
Indo-Pacific asserted that ‘Australia represents, for the time being at
least, something of a geographic “sweet spot” in the search for potential [US]
operating locations outside the reach of China’s missile forces’.[20]
Accordingly, the authors proposed several options for additional US military
engagement with northern Australia. For example, the report suggested that
after sufficient upgrades, airbases in north-western Australia and the Cocos
Islands could ‘substantially increase the persistence of Australian and U.S.
combat airpower around critical maritime chokepoints and Southeast Asia’ and
work as a significant deterrence measure.[21]
However, the report also noted that ‘the biggest impediment
to using the north-western air bases, beyond basic cost constraints to improve
their facilities, may be the logistical challenge in supplying them’—a fact
also emphasised in the Force Posture Review.[22]
In response to this, the authors recommended:
Building up Australia’s northern coastal refining capacity,
strategic fuel stockpiles, fuel distribution network, and fuel storage capacity
should therefore be considered top priorities, not only to maximise the
operational benefits derived from the use of these air bases, but also as a
means of reducing the vulnerability of U.S. supply lines across the Pacific.[23]
In June 2014, the Australian Government published its Green
Paper on developing northern Australia, which included reference to the
strategic importance of northern Australia and the implications of this for the
ADF. The document asserted that ‘Australia’s strategic focus is shifting to the
north, with more emphasis on border protection and engagement with countries in
the Asia Pacific. This will only increase over the next decade as the region
assumes greater global significance’.[24]
It was also noted in the report that despite general community appreciation of
the economic benefits defence engagement can have, ‘such engagement can place
pressure on local services, urban planning and infrastructure. Any further
Defence expansion would need to be built on effective engagement and
cooperation with state and territory and local authorities, regional
communities and industry’.[25]
The Australian Parliament’s Joint Select Committee on northern
Australia was established in late 2013 to ‘consider policies for developing the
parts of Australia which lie north of the Tropic of Capricorn’ including the
potential for further developing defence assets within that region.[26]
Following its investigations, the committee’s final report revealed a tension
between the Department of Defence on one side and industry and local community
groups on the other. The latter groups sought an increased defence presence in
northern Australia to drive economic growth; however, the Department cited
significant costs and currently limited civilian infrastructure as clear
obstacles to increasing defence establishments in northern Australia.[27]
The Department of Defence submission to the northern
Australia committee, noted that ‘as part of responding to and shaping
Australia’s strategic environment, Defence is increasing the ADF presence and
visibility in northern Australia and enhancing cooperation with allies and
partners’.[28]
The focus on visibility is noteworthy, as it was further stated that ‘there is
more Defence activity in the north of Australia than is commonly realised,
largely because Defence capabilities usually operate further out than industry
and community stakeholders typically see’.[29]
The Department’s submission also contended that Defence
already has a sufficiently strong presence in northern Australia, citing its
more than 15,000 employees located in the region and almost 300 properties
owned or leased—ranging in size from less than one hectare to the approximate
871,000 hectare Bradshaw Field training area in the Northern Territory.[30]
The submission further highlighted that ‘Defence spends in the order of $1.5 billion
to $2.0 billion per annum in northern Australia’; however, it was acknowledged
that this fluctuates significantly, and is ‘highly dependent on capital
facilities projects’ (see Appendix 1).[31]
All three ADF services have multiple northern Australia
bases. The Army operates from Larrakeyah and Robertson Barracks in the Northern
Territory, as well as Lavarack Barracks in Queensland. The Navy is based at
HMAS Coonawarra in the Northern Territory and HMAS Cairns in Queensland. The
Air Force has RAAF Bases Darwin and Tindal in the Northern Territory and RAAF
Base Townsville in Queensland.
Two of the Army’s three multi-role combat brigades are based
in northern Australia; with the 1st Brigade predominantly located at Robertson
Barracks and the 3rd Brigade—consisting of more than 4,000 personnel—located at
Lavarack Barracks.[32]
Notably, 1st Brigade was moved to Darwin in 1992 following the 1991 Force
Structure Review’s recommendation to have more regular units based in northern
Australia.[33]
The Army also operates three Regional Force Surveillance Units in northern
Australia; the Pilbara Regiment, 51st Battalion (Far North Queensland Regiment)
and the North-West Mobile Force (NORFORCE). Although NORFORCE is based at
Darwin’s Larrakeyah Barracks, its personnel (60 per cent of which are
Aboriginal soldiers) patrol 1.8 million square kilometres spanning the Northern
Territory and Western Australia’s Kimberley region.[34]
In order to increase the operational capacity of the ADF’s
northern bases, various potential upgrades of their facilities have been
suggested. These include extending the wharf at HMAS Coonawarra to appropriately
dock a larger replacement of the existing Armidale class patrol boats (10 of
which are stationed there) and providing further accommodation for the LHDs
with a second deep-water port east of Darwin..[35]
These upgrades would be significant, as commentators have noted that Darwin’s
commercial port has often been required to facilitate berthing for large
warships. Compounding this strain is the suggestion that the increased US
Marine presence in Darwin would likely require additional wharf infrastructure.[36]
In response to these pressures—particularly relating to support for the
LHDs—the Government announced in June 2015 that a Multi User Barge Ramp
Facility would be constructed in the Port of Darwin, to be completed by
mid-2016.[37]
In addition to these permanent
facilities, the Air Force operates three ‘bare bases’: RAAF Bases Curtin and
Learmonth in Western Australia and RAAF Base Scherger in Queensland. These
facilities hold limited caches of defence stores, bedding and catering
equipment; however, deterioration due to poor storage conditions has led to
reforms being undertaken to reduce these cache holdings by 25 per cent. This
has allowed more stock to be maintained at a centralised location to facilitate
better maintenance and stocktaking.[38]
The authors of the CSBA report, Gateway to the
Indo-Pacific, specifically noted the strategic benefits of greater use of
these bare bases, despite acknowledging the logistical challenge of supplying
remote locations. However, greater use of remotely operated unmanned systems
may offer a solution.[39]
Just over a quarter of Defence Housing Australia’s (DHA)
total housing stock and nearly 40 per cent of its on-base properties are
located in northern Australia, almost exclusively within RAAF Bases Darwin and
Tindal.[40]
However, this housing needs substantial improvements, in DHA’s view, as ‘the
standard of existing on-base housing at RAAF Base Darwin is significantly below
that provided to ADF members in other areas and does not comply with the
minimum standard of the Defence Housing Classification Policy’.[41]
DHA also acquired 405 allotments of land within Darwin
during 2013–14, to supplement the existing 2,261 DHA properties located there.
New construction is underway at both Larrakeyah Barracks and RAAF Base Tindal,
and the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works is undertaking reviews
into further development proposals at RAAF Bases Darwin and Tindal.[42]
However, new developments—particularly in the vicinity of existing Darwin
bases—are understood to be restricted by urban encroachment.[43]
Minister for Defence, David Johnston, noted in his October
2014 address to the American Chamber of Commerce in Australia:
As economic, political and military influence continue to
shift toward the Indo-Pacific it is in Australia’s and the region’s interest to
support a strong US presence as a means of upholding regional stability...
This is why Australia has repeatedly conveyed its support for
the United States’ rebalance to the region.
This is also why Australia is working closely with the US to
implement the Force Posture initiatives in northern Australia.[44]
These initiatives were originally announced in November 2011
by Prime Minister Julia Gillard and President Barack Obama, and incorporated
rotations of US Marines to be stationed in Darwin and increased deployment of
US aircraft through northern Australia.[45]
Following this announcement, the number of US Marines deployed to northern
Australia per rotation increased from 250 personnel in 2012 to 1,150 personnel
in 2014. They are accommodated at the Army’s Robertson Barracks and RAAF Base
Darwin and in October 2013 the Australian Government announced that $11 million
would be spent developing new facilities at these bases to accommodate the
expanding number of deployed US Marines.[46]
As part of this process, Noetic Solutions and Deloitte
Access Economics were commissioned to report on the respective economic and
social impact of US Marines rotations in northern Australia. They published
their findings in August 2012 and April 2013 and identified that an initial
rotational presence of US Marines would produce a ‘small and positive increase
in economic activity’ and a ‘minimal or even negligible’ social impact.[47]
Also, at the most recent annual Australia-United States Ministerial
Consultations (AUSMIN) held in August 2014, the Minister for Defence announced
the signing of the legally-binding ‘Force Posture Agreement’ which represents
the ‘legal and financial framework for the force posture initiatives’
established in 2011 between Australia and the US.[48]
While stationed in northern Australia, US Marines
participated in bilateral exercises with the ADF, including Exercise Koolendong
2014, the final training exercise of the most recent US Marine rotation.[49]
On 28 November 2014, the Australian Navy commissioned the
first of two LHDs to be acquired by 2016. Prime Minister Abbott noted at the
commissioning ceremony that the LHD HMAS Canberra ‘is our largest ever
warship’, which would serve as a highly capable assault ship in addition to
providing humanitarian assistance capabilities.[50]
Although the LHDs will be based at Garden Island in Sydney,
it is anticipated that most of their service will be in northern Australia,
particularly through interaction with the Townsville-based 2nd Battalion, Royal
Australian Regiment, which has been designated as the Australian Army’s
‘Amphibious Battle Group’.[51]
Although Townsville’s berthing facilities have been described as ‘adequate’,
docking facilities at both Cairns and Darwin will require improvements to
support at least one docking LHD.[52]
The Australian Government is acquiring 72 Joint Strike
Fighter (JSF) F-35A aircraft to replace the current FA/18 Hornet and Super
Hornet fleet. These aircraft will deliver the RAAF’s next generation strike
aircraft capability. One of the JSF squadrons will be based at RAAF Base Tindal
in the Northern Territory, with the other two squadrons located at RAAF Base
Williamtown in New South Wales.[53]
Under the RAAF’s AIR 6000 Phase 2A/B ‘New Air Combat
Capability Facilities Project’, new facilities to accommodate the JSF squadron
at RAAF Base Tindal are being built. One report suggests these could cost
almost $500 million.[54]
Further construction works within the project are also proposed for RAAF Base
Townsville and the ‘bare bases’ in northern Australia—RAAF Base Curtin, RAAF
Base Learmonth and RAAF Base Scherger.[55]
On 21 February 2014, Prime Minister Abbott announced the
approved acquisition of eight P-8A Poseidon aircraft to replace the RAAF’s
current AP-3C Orion fleet. It is anticipated that the new aircraft will all be
operational by 2021. The total cost of this acquisition is approximately $4
billion, a quarter of which will be spent on developing facilities at RAAF Base
Edinburgh in South Australia, and other locations.[56]
Less than a month later the Prime Minister announced the Government’s
commitment to acquire the Triton unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capability to be
based at RAAF Base Edinburgh. According to the Prime Minister, in conjunction
with other RAAF assets—such as the P-8A Poseidon—‘these aircraft will patrol
Australia’s vast ocean approaches, and work closely with other existing and
future Australian Defence Force assets to secure our ocean resources, including
energy resources off northern Australia, and help to protect our borders’. The
Prime Minister’s statement also noted that the total number of Triton UAVs will
be determined in 2016.[57]
The Australian Army’s 5th Aviation Regiment, located at RAAF
Base Townsville, will receive seven new CH-47F Chinook ‘Foxtrot’ helicopters to
enhance the Army’s cargo helicopter capability, procured through the US Foreign
Military Sales program. A media release issued on 5 May 2015 indicated that two
flight simulators have already been provided and that the first two Chinook
‘Foxtrots’ had been commissioned into service. Additionally, $49.8 million would
be spent in constructing facilities to support and sustain the new helicopters
at RAAF Base Townsville, to be completed by mid-2017.[58]
Although policymakers and analysts consistently recognise
that northern Australia is of prominent strategic importance for Australian
defence interests, there remains substantial debate as to what constitutes an
appropriate defence posture within the region. For example, Andrew Davies,
senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), has noted
that the increased military cooperation between Australia and the US would
likely require an incremental rise in ADF assets in northern Australia, with
the ongoing US Marines presence in Darwin a tangible example of this
cooperation.[59]
However, despite the benefits of such incremental increases,
Davies also cautioned against too much focus on northern basing informed by an enduring
‘Defence of Australia’ rationale, and is unconvinced by the premise that
northern-based resource industries require an enhanced ADF presence.[60]
A similar view was expressed by Vice Admiral Ray Griggs of the Royal Australian
Navy (RAN) in an interview published in September 2013:
[RAN ships] are now required to go through the offshore
platforms to establish communications, to show that presence. We are trying to
increase some of our exercising up in that area, both ADF-wise and at a Navy
level. There’s now a strong focus on the North-West. There are still those who
say that it’s not enough, and that we should have ships permanently based up
there, but you’ve got to be intelligence-led on the threats that exist and, at
the moment, I think our posture is about right.[61]
The Department of Defence submission to the Joint Select
Committee on northern Australia also highlighted some constraints on the
significant transfer of defence assets to the region. These included industry
and labour capacity, commercial and residential encroachment, infrastructure,
liveability, and environmental and geographic factors.[62]
Specifically, it was stated that ‘northern Australia’s weather remains the
greatest restriction on Defence activities’, while ‘the liveability of Defence
locations affects attraction and retention of Defence personnel’.[63]
The critical importance of social infrastructure and amenities for ADF
personnel is clearly demonstrated in the fact that about half of the 15,000
defence personnel in northern Australia are located in Townsville—Queensland’s
biggest population centre outside of Greater Brisbane.[64]
Even if these obstacles did not exist, the cost of
relocating defence assets is substantial. For instance, the transfer of
multiple Defence units and facilities from Moorebank to Holsworthy Barracks
cost $870 million, even though both locations are in the same city.[65]
Darwin remains heavily isolated with few road and rail links, while its port
facilities are limited in their capabilities.[66]
This has led to a situation where Armidale patrol boats stationed in Darwin
have had to travel to Brisbane and Henderson (Western Australia) for repairs or
maintenance.[67]
In response to such challenges, the Northern Territory Government has
emphasised a local defence industry which focuses on sustainment—both for
locally operated defence platforms and other assets brought to the area during
military exercises. This is already a legitimate strength, demonstrated through
established expertise in servicing heavy equipment in the resource and
transport sectors.[68]
A substantial component of the ADF’s
strategic considerations regarding northern Australia will continue to be
resource allocation, both in terms of infrastructure and personnel. It has been
reported that, in the next decade, an estimated $3 billion is to be spent in
the Northern Territory on approximately 30 defence-related construction
projects.[69]
This proposed increase in defence-related investment in northern Australia would
bring tangible economic benefits as well as fulfilling the ADF’s strategic
requirements. However, over the past decade spending on approved defence
capital investment projects in northern Australia has varied significantly from
year to year, with no reason to suggest the following decade will be any
different.[70]
Additionally, it is notable that the number of Defence personnel based in the
Northern Territory is at its lowest level in over a decade, having dropped more
than 15 per cent from a peak in 2009–10 of 7,215 employees (comprising 7.3 per
cent of the total defence workforce) to 6,096 in 2013–14 (see Appendix 1).
Accordingly, it is unlikely that the ADF would desire to
make any substantial changes to its northern Australia force structure in the
near future, given the resource implications and constraints upon such actions.
Instead, the ADF and related local supporting industries will most likely continue
to seek to incrementally improve facilities while maximising the efficiency and
effectiveness of current services. This could involve increasing defence-related
sustainment as a percentage of related companies’ total business and increasing
specialisation, which would likely deliver efficiency benefits. The Northern
Territory government has specifically noted that improved defence sustainment industry
could also provide new opportunities in both domestic and international
markets.[71]
However, the Defence Department has cautioned that industry capacity will be a
determining factor in any future growth, which will only be enhanced by both
increased funding and certainty of future work.[72]
To that end, the Government’s proposed new Defence White Paper, Defence
Investment Plan and Naval Shipbuilding Plan could provide some renewed clarity,
upon their anticipated release in the second half of 2015.[73]
(source: Australian Department of Defence Annual Reports)
|
Year
|
Permanent Navy
|
Permanent Army
|
Permanent
Air Force
|
Res.
Navy
|
Res. Army
|
Res. Air Force
|
APS^
|
NT
total
|
NT total as % Defence workforce
|
|
2004–05
|
549
|
3,368
|
1,092
|
36
|
679
|
64
|
397
|
6,185
|
6.7
|
|
2005–06
|
573
|
3,418
|
1,029
|
44
|
639
|
73
|
381
|
6,157
|
7.0
|
|
2006–07
|
577
|
3,612
|
1,020
|
47
|
692
|
106
|
435
|
6,489
|
7.1
|
|
2007–08
|
610
|
3,786
|
1,048
|
94
|
885
|
124
|
457
|
7,004
|
7.5
|
|
2008–09
|
639
|
3,895
|
1,013
|
100
|
721
|
123
|
399
|
6,890
|
7.2
|
|
2009–10
|
621
|
4,272
|
1,079
|
108
|
640
|
138
|
376
|
7,215
|
7.3
|
|
2010–11
|
692
|
3,740
|
1,093
|
134
|
624
|
145
|
354
|
6,782
|
6.8
|
|
2011–12
|
737
|
3,520
|
1,069
|
136
|
690
|
147
|
328
|
6,627
|
6.6
|
|
2012–13
|
710
|
3,468
|
1,020
|
166
|
657
|
137
|
326
|
6,484
|
6.6
|
|
2013–14
|
668
|
3,280
|
979
|
147
|
595
|
119
|
308
|
6,096
|
6.3
|
*number of
personnel accurate as at 30 June of the financial year.
^does not
include Defence Materiel Organisation personnel
[1]. T Abbott
(Leader of the Opposition), Address
to the 2012 RSL National Conference, Sydney, media release, 25
September 2012, accessed 20 October 2014.
[2]. Liberal Party
of Australia and the Nationals, The
Coalition’s policy for stronger defence, Coalition policy document,
Election 2013, p. 6, accessed 10 October 2014; Liberal Party of Australia and
the Nationals, The
Coalition’s 2030 vision for developing northern Australia, Coalition
policy document, Election 2013, p. 40, accessed 31 October 2014.
[3]. T Abbott
(Prime Minister) and D Johnston (Minister for Defence), Delivering
a world class defence force, media release, 4 April 2014, accessed 20
October 2014.
[4]. A Blain, ‘Adjournment’,
House of Representatives, Debates, 21 August 1940, p. 578, accessed 28
October 2014.
[5]. D Johnston
(Minister for Defence) cited in B Nicholson, ‘Resources
protection top priority’, Weekend Australian, 2 November 2013, p. 1
[Defence supplement], accessed 29 October 2014.
[6]. R Babbage,
‘The north in Australia’s defence’, in D Wade-Marshall and P Loveday, eds, Contemporary
issues in development: Northern Australia: progress and prospects, volume 1,
Australian National University, Canberra, 1988, pp. 13–24; D Ball, ‘The defence
presence in the Northern Territory’, in D Ball and J Langtry, eds, The
Northern Territory in the defence of Australia: geography, history, economy,
infrastructure and Defence presence, Australian National University,
Canberra, 1990, pp. 210–272; A Davies, ‘Northern
Australia: how much defence is enough?’, ASPI strategist weblog, 27 October
2014, accessed 29 October 2014.
[7]. ADI Services,
Defence and the Darwin region, report prepared for the Darwin Committee,
Canberra, August 1994, vol. 1–3.
[8]. N Wran, Report
of the Committee on Darwin, report prepared for the Treasurer and Northern
Territory Chief Minister, Canberra, June 1995.
[9]. Department of
Defence, Australian
Defence, White Paper, November 1976, pp. 13, 43, accessed 29 October
2014.
[10]. Department of
Defence, The
Defence of Australia, White Paper, March 1987, pp. ix, 51–53, accessed
29 October 2014.
[11]. Ibid., p. 61.
[12]. N Smethurst, ‘Exercise
Kangaroo 89’, United Service Institution of NSW, 43(2), October
1989, p. 5, accessed 15 June 2015.
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