Australian Defence Force posture review: progress report

This report details progress in the Force Posture Review to assess whether the Australian Defence Force is correctly geographically positioned to meet Australia’s current and future strategic challenges. On 22 June 2011 Minister for Defence Stephen Smith announced a Force Posture Review to assess whether the Australian Defence Force (ADF) is correctly geographically positioned to meet Australia’s current and future strategic challenges. The Review is focusing at the strategic level, rather than focusing primarily on individual bases and training areas, to guide subsequent specific decisions that may be taken regarding ADF disposition and the Defence Estate. The Department of Defence is undertaking the Review with oversight by an expert panel made up of two renowned Australian national security specialists: Dr Allan Hawke and Mr Ric Smith. Progress Report The Expert Panel provided a progress report to the Minister for Defence in December 2011. A declassified version of this report was released by the Minister on 30 January 2012 to encourage public understanding, discussion and informed debate on the important issues it raises. The declassified version of the progress report has a small number of excisions and amendments solely to protect classified information, but over 90 percent of the original text remains unchanged. The progress report is a snapshot of the Expert Panel’s current thinking mid way through their Review. No decisions on its preliminary conclusions have been made. Final Report The Review’s final report will be submitted to the Government at the end of March 2012, after the Expert Panel have finalised their analysis and recommendations. The results of the Review and the views of the Expert Panel will feed into the next scheduled Defence White Paper in the first quarter of 2014. Scope of the Review The Review will help provide a strategic context for the next Defence White Paper scheduled for the first quarter of 2014, and will address the range of present and emerging global, regional and national strategic and security factors which require careful consideration for the future, including: the rise of the Asia-Pacific as a region of global strategic significance; the rise of the Indian Ocean rim as a region of global strategic significance; the growth of military power projection capabilities of countries in the Asia Pacific; the growing need for the provision of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief following extreme events in the Asia Pacific region; and energy security and security issues associated with expanding offshore resource exploitation in our North West and Northern approaches. The Review builds on the strategic and capability judgements contained in the Defence White Paper 2009 Defending Australia in the Asia Pacific Century: Force 2030 and consider the implications for Force Posture from the array of emerging strategic and security influences. Defence’s assessment of basing requirements and the possible resulting changes to Defence’s estate over the next 25 years also informs the Review. The Review is applying the strategic basing principles set out in chapter 15 of the 2009 Defence White Paper. Finally, it will complement the work currently underway with the United States on the ongoing United States Global Force Posture Review by the joint Australian-United States working group