Defence White Paper - Community Consultation Program report of findings.

The Panel wanted to note, at the outset, an important and recurring concern in our community consultations that the Defence White Paper should be derived from a national security strategy. A number of people argued that Defence should be considered in a whole of government security context which includes aid programs and diplomacy and contributions by non-government organisations.

There was a broad consensus that the present strategic environment is relatively benign in terms of a major military threat to Australia. Although, given the changing geo-strategic circumstances, caution was evident in a number of contributions.

The Panel was encouraged by the strength of the community’s regard for the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and its personnel. Concern that the ADF workforce was being stretched to operate at unsustainable levels pervaded meetings and written submissions and many contributors believed that generating and sustaining personnel capability would continue to demand focus and investment. Many hope to see concrete initiatives targeted at recruitment and retention in the White Paper.

The Community Consultation Program was undertaken before the full scale of the global financial crisis had been widely recognised. Had the community consultation been conducted later, some results may have varied. The Panel notes that future Government decisions, including those in relation to the Defence White Paper, will necessarily be affected by the impact of the global financial crisis.

Key questions for defence in the 21st Century: a defence policy discussion paper (77)