Most Australians agree that our country needs strong defence forces, but we are much less sure about what exactly we need them for. As a result we find it hard to decide what kind of military capabilities Australia should have. Today these decisions seem harder than ever, with little light being shed by acrimonious debates between supporters of ‘continental’ and ‘expeditionary’ strategies. Both sides of this debate have merit, but striking the balance between defending the continent and defending wider interests is no longer the hardest or most important question for Australian defence policy. Our challenge today is not to decide whether or not to put more emphasis on defending wider interests, it is to work out how to do it.