Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Defence Minister Stephen Smith have released the 2013 Defence White Paper.
The White Paper addresses international and domestic developments since the last White Paper in 2009, which influence Australia’s national security and defence, including:
- economic strategic and military shift to the Indo-Pacific;
- the Australian Defence Force’s operational drawdown from Afghanistan, Timor-Leste and Solomon Islands;
- the United States’ re-balance to the Asia-Pacific;
- Australia’s enhanced practical cooperation with the United States pursuant to our Alliance relationship; and
- the ongoing adverse effects of the Global Financial Crisis, which have continued to have a significant impact on the global economy, domestic fiscal circumstances and Defence funding.
Read the Defence White Paper 2013.
