2016 DEFENCE WHITE PAPER
2016-Defence-White-Paper
2016-Defence-White-Paper
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CHAPTER THREE: AUSTRALIA’S <strong>DEFENCE</strong> STRATEGY<br />
SECTION ONE STRATEGY<br />
providing Defence with the capability and resources it needs to be able<br />
to decisively respond to military threats to Australia, including incursions<br />
into our air, sea and northern approaches. Investment in Australia’s<br />
military bases will be increased so they can support new capabilities<br />
that would be used to defeat any attack on our territory. Investment in our<br />
national defence infrastructure – including the Army, Navy and Air Force<br />
bases in northern Australia, including in Townsville and Darwin, as well<br />
as the Air Force bases Tindal, Curtin, Scherger and Learmonth – will be a<br />
focus of this Defence White Paper.<br />
3.14 The Government is also providing Defence with enhanced domestic<br />
security capabilities to help respond to the threat of complex terrorist<br />
attacks within Australia. Australian states and territories lead the<br />
response to any attacks within their jurisdictions, but can request<br />
assistance from the Commonwealth as required, including the provision<br />
of specialist Defence support to prevent, assist in response to, and<br />
recover from a terrorism incident.<br />
3.15 This specialised support includes: protection of Australia’s offshore oil<br />
and gas infrastructure; special forces Tactical Assault Groups, which can<br />
rapidly deploy to support local law enforcement operations; explosive<br />
detection and disposal; contributing to security at major events (such<br />
as the G20 Leaders Summit in Brisbane in 2014); chemical, biological,<br />
radiological and nuclear response operations; and intelligence<br />
cooperation with other government intelligence and law enforcement<br />
agencies, to identify and disrupt foreign terrorist threats.<br />
3.16 The Government will invest in the ADF’s capabilities to ensure that it<br />
can continue to effectively contribute to domestic counter-terrorism<br />
operations. This includes enhancing the weapons, equipment,<br />
tactical mobility, and situational awareness of our Special Forces and<br />
strengthening Defence’s intelligence and air lift capabilities.
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