3 - Defence Policy

Summary

On first inspection the five years from 1976 to 1980 appear to be a period of little moment in the history of Australian defence policy. No Australian servicemen were engaged in combat, no direct threat to Australia emerged even of a minor nature, no far-reaching organisational changes in the armed services or the Department of Defence took place, and relatively little new equipment found its way into the hands of the Defence Force. Moreover, the Liberal-National Country Party government retained office throughout the period, defence policy being a minor issue in the elections of 1977 and 1980, and Mr D.J. Killen remained Minister for Defence. Nor, despite early projections, did defence spending increase significantly between 1976 and 1980, fluctuating between 2.6 per cent and 2.8 per cent of Gross Domestic Product.