I read with interest the recent Strategist posts by John Coyne and Graeme Dunk in which they apparently took different stands on the importance of northern Australia for our defence. With better definition of how the Australian Defence Force uses its more than 100 bases, I can see the common threads of both authors’ arguments. The north and south of Australia offer unique characteristics that, taken together, serve to support the ADF’s capability to defend Australia.
Given current events and emerging tensions, understanding why ADF bases are where they are is even more critical. Defence Minister Linda Reynolds noted last October that the Defence Department was working on reassessing the strategic underpinnings of the 2016 defence white paper—not too soon.
