Defence White Paper Released By Turnbull Government

The Turnbull government has released a Defence White Paper.

The White Paper was launched at a ceremony at the Australian Defence Academy, attended by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Defence Minister Senator Marise Payne.

The paper commits the government to increasing Defence spending from $32.4 billion to $58.7 billion in 2025.

The White Paper is shown below.

Defence White Paper Downloads

At A Glance

Statement from Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Defence Minister Senator Marise Payne.

The 2016 White Paper is a comprehensive and responsible long-term plan to ensure Australia’s national security.

It is the culmination of detailed analysis of our strategic environment, our defence priorities and objectives, and the capabilities required to achieve these outcomes. [Read more…]


Glossary: White Paper

A White Paper is a statement of government policy on a specific issue.

A white paper will usually be presented to Parliament (tabled in Parliament) as a prelude to the introduction of legislation. The relevant minister will usually make a statement to parliament about the contents of the white paper.

White Papers often result from a consultation and discussion process following the presentation of a discussion green paper or options paper. [Read more…]


White Paper On Developing Northern Australia Released

A White Paper on developing Northern Australia has been released by the federal government.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott, Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss and Trade Minister Andrew Robb released the report.

In its introduction, the ministers say:

Northern Australia can grasp its full potential and become an economic powerhouse within our great country.

Our north’s future will come from its people, its ingenuity, its diversity, and its proximity to Asia. Covering 40 per cent of Australia’s land mass, our north has the resources, the connections across the Tropics, and the land, skills and institutions that the Indo-Pacific region needs; a region that has the savings and the markets to drive northern prosperity.

This White Paper is an essential part of our plan to build a strong, prosperous economy and a safe, secure Australia. We can take advantage of our strengths and our natural advantages.

We will fix the roads and telecommunications, build the dams and deliver the certainty that landholders and water users need.

We will drive down the costs of operating in the north for business; making it a more attractive place to invest and work. By making the right regulations and infrastructure investments, we can encourage jobs and tackle the costs of living far from major cities.

Governments alone cannot develop Northern Australia, they can only set the right environment for businesses to profitably invest and communities to flourish. The north will only truly achieve its potential with the participation of all the people who live there, including Indigenous Australians.

…We want this White Paper to be the foundation on which successive Commonwealth governments can continue this important work over coming decades.

The White Paper is shown below. It can be expanded and downloaded.



Direct Action: Greg Hunt Releases Emissions Reduction Fund White Paper

The Minister for the Environment, Greg Hunt, has released the federal government’s Emissions Reduction Fund White Paper.

Hunt

A White Paper is an official statement of government policy.

The White Paper sets out the government’s “direct action” policy and what Hunt says is a “cost effective, practical and simple approach to reduce our national emissions without a multi-billion dollar carbon tax”.

The Emissions Reduction Fund is the “centrepiece” of the government’s “efforts to tackle climate change”. Hunt says the government remains committed to the abolition of the carbon tax and a 5% reduction in emissions by 2020. [Read more…]