Australia can be defended and we are economically capable of paying for an adequate defence force.

Our geographically isolated continent, our land-of-the long-weekend lifestyle and our three-year electoral cycle cause a persistent clash of perspectives with the 15 to 25-year cycle needed to effectively plan, resource, develop and sustain our defence force.

We can rarely predict our future security challenges in detail and often not at all. Moreover, we will rarely have sufficient time to fully prepare before each crisis hits. It is folly to rigidly configure our defence force on what we now think might happen in the future. We need to remember this when resourcing, structuring and equipping our defence force.

Defending Australia means protecting all Australia's interests not just our physical territory.

Australia must combine with friends and allies to preserve peace.
Attempts at isolationism simply postpone trouble and usually worsen it.

The task of the Department of Defence and the ADF is to provide our government with the widest possible range of military options to consider when circumstances demand it.

Our defence force will often be outnumbered. It should never be outgunned or limited in its manouvre and other abilities by inadequate equipment or timorous policy.

Modern conflict demands we have a defence force that maximises advantages in technology, professionalism and operational doctrine to offset our disadvantages in numbers, distances and continental-sized responsibilities.

The Australian Defence Force must be flexible, versatile and balanced. Just as importantly we must be able to sustain the ADF's capability development and operations.
Our defence force must have comprehensive situational awareness, speedy and comprehensive strategic and tactical mobility, accurate and sustained firepower, high levels of tactical protection and depth in its logistic resources.

The Department of Defence exists to serve the Australian Defence Force.