Chapter 2: Early Matters for Your Awareness

'HIHQFH )2, PROTECTED Cabinet Chapter 2: Early matters for your awareness PROTECTED Cabinet 27 'HIHQFH )2, PROTECTED Cabinet Counterpart Calls Key Points Within the first week as Minister for Defence we recommend that you place early calls, in the following order, with the following key allies and partners: s33(a)(iii) Following this, we recommend additional calls with other key partners in coming weeks, in this order: s33(a)(iii) Additional calls with other countries can be scheduled in the coming months, as required. Key Contacts Mr Peter Tesch Mr Hugh Jeffrey Deputy Secretary First Assistant Secretary International Policy Strategy, Policy and Industry Group Strategy, Policy and Industry Group 02 6265 7211 02 6265 2526 s22 s22 PROTECTED Cabinet 28 'HIHQFH )2, PROTECTED Cabinet 2021 Cabinet Forward Work Program Key Points As the Minister for Defence, you are scheduled to bring forward the following Cabinet submissions over the coming months. We can organise a series of deep dives on any or all of the submissions to ensure that you are prepared to discuss each item. Date Meeting Submissions of Defence interest s34 s34 s34 s34 s34 PROTECTED Cabinet 30 'HIHQFH )2, PROTECTED Cabinet Potential Ministerial Events Key Points We will work with you and your Office to understand what types of events you are interested in attending. Below is an overview of upcoming events that you may be interested in. Date Event 05 April Exercise BERSAMA SHIELD commencement. Annual mid intensity field training exercise (FTX) hosted by Integrated Area Defence System (HQIADS) as part of Five Power Defence Arrangement (FPDA), based in Malaysia or Singapore. (Australia, UK, Singapore, NZ, Malaysia) 10 April NUSHIP Supply Commissioning in Sydney – speech opportunity 12 April Exercise BALIKATAN commencement. Capstone exercise conducted bilaterally by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and US Pacific Command (USPACOM). Conducted in Philippines. Minister for Defence Personnel attending. 01 May Traditional Ceremony to mark registration of Indigenous Land Use Agreements with traditional owner groups near Greenvale as part of the Australian-Singapore Military Training Initiative 07 May Solomon Islands Guardian-Class Patrol Boat Handover Ceremony in Henderson WA. Minister for Defence Industry also attending 20 May Townsville Field Training Area Mid-Term Refresh Constructions Commencement – Sod Turning 20 May HMAS Cairns Mid-Term Refresh Constructions Commencement – Sod Turning 20 May RAAF Base Townsville Mid-Term Refresh Constructions Commencement – Sod Turning PROTECTED Cabinet 31 'HIHQFH )2, PROTECTED Cabinet IGADF Afghanistan Inquiry Key Points The Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force (IGADF) Afghanistan Inquiry (the Afghanistan Inquiry) was completed in November 2020. s34 Defence is continuing to refine the plan while progressing actions were appropriate. Overview The Afghanistan Inquiry was initiated in 2016 to determine whether there was any substance to rumours and allegations relating to possible breaches of the Law of Armed Conflict by members of the Special Operations Task Group over the period 2005-2016. The final report was delivered to the CDF on 06 November 2020. Key findings and recommendations were announced on 19 November 2020. A redacted version of the report was publicly released at that time. In addition to making findings of there being credible information of criminal conduct, the Afghanistan Inquiry identified serious failings of culture and command accountability. The recommendations deal with three main areas: culture; command reporting and governance; and individual and collective accountability. A transformational, future-focussed approach is necessary to address these failings and prevent them from recurring. The Defence response therefore includes, and goes beyond, the 143 specified recommendations. Within the department, the Defence Committee is responsible for control and monitoring of all implementation actions. To provide oversight and assurance relating to Defence’s response to the Afghanistan Inquiry, the Government has established the independent Afghanistan Inquiry Implementation Oversight Panel. The panel, comprised of three eminent Australians, will have complete access to Defence’s work and will report directly to you as Minister for Defence on the implementation of the Afghanistan Inquiry’s recommendations, and their consideration of any wider implications and actions in response to the Inquiry. s34 PROTECTED Cabinet 32 'HIHQFH )2, PROTECTED Cabinet Key Contacts General Angus Campbell Rear Admiral Brett Wolski, RAN Chief of the Defence Force Head Afghanistan Inquiry Response Task Force 02 6265 2858 02 5108 5218 s22 s22 PROTECTED Cabinet 34 'HIHQFH )2, PROTECTED Cabinet Key Dates x Request for Proposal release (open approach to market) – 28 August 2020, x Request for Proposal Close – 18 December 2020, x Request for Proposal shortlisted respondents notified – Mid June 2021, x Request For Tender release (to shortlisted respondents) – 17 June 2021, x Transition commencement – no later than November 2022, and x New contract commencement – 1 July 2023. PROTECTED Cabinet 38 'HIHQFH )2, PROTECTED Cabinet Chapter 3: Strategic Environment PROTECTED Cabinet 43 'HIHQFH )2, PROTECTED Cabinet The Changing Strategic Environment Key Points As set out in the 2020 Defence Strategic Update, changes in our strategic environment are occurring faster than anticipated in the 2016 Defence White Paper and are undermining to the regional and global orders we want. To maintain our strategic weight – particularly in our immediate region – Australia must respond to shifting power relations through whole-of-government efforts. For Defence, this means further enhancing our regional engagement and building credible ADF capability to positively shape our strategic environment, deter actions against Australia’s interests, and respond with credible military force when required. This will require rigorous choices about where to focus finite resources and energy. Overview Our security environment is markedly different from when the 2016 Defence White Paper was released. Major power competition has intensified, and the prospect of high-intensity conflict in the Indo-Pacific is less remote than in the past. Military modernisation in the region is accelerating, resulting in the development and deployment of new weapons that challenge Australia’s military capability edge. Consequently, Defence planning can no longer be based on a ten-year strategic warning time for a major conventional attack. Confidence in the rules-based global order continues to be undermined by disruptions from a widening range of sources, delivered increasingly via cyber and including ‘grey-zone’ activities: like militarisation of the South China Sea, active interference and disinformation campaigns, as well as economic coercion. Defence must be better prepared to respond to these activities, both by bolstering ADF capabilities and by working ever more closely with other elements of Australia’s national power. The COVID-19 pandemic has altered the economic trajectory of the region and the world and it has sharpened strategic competition between the United States and China. Some countries are using the situation to seek greater influence, while countries that were expected to become more prosperous and stable may experience economic hardship and instability. PROTECTED Cabinet 44 'HIHQFH )2, PROTECTED Cabinet Defence will continue to need to support both domestic and regional responses to the pandemic. The pandemic has also highlighted the importance of secure supply chains for Defence and defence industry, including sovereign industrial capability in some areas. Threats to human security, such as growing water and food scarcity, are likely to result in greater political instability and friction within and between countries. These threats will be compounded by population growth, urbanisation and extreme weather events in which climate change plays a part. State fragility has the potential to facilitate the spread of terrorism and activities that undermine sovereignty. It follows that disaster response and regional resilience measures demand a higher priority in defence planning. In response to these changes in the strategic environment, the Government released the 2020 Defence Strategic Update in July 2020. The 2020 Defence Strategic Update provides a new strategic policy framework to ensure Australia is able – and is understood as willing – to deploy military power to shape our environment, deter actions against our interests and, when required, respond with military force. Defence can provide further, more highly classified briefings, including on the following topics: x 2020 Defence Strategic Update and the Defence Planning Guidance, x Changing strategic environment and drivers, x Regional presence and posture, and x Emerging technology and strategic capabilities. Key Contacts Celia Perkins Zoe Cameron First Assistant Secretary Assistant Secretary Strategic Policy Strategic Policy Strategic Policy Division 02 5108 6024 02 5108 2928 s22 s22 PROTECTED Cabinet 45 'HIHQFH )2, PROTECTED Cabinet International Priorities International Policy Division is implementing the 2020 Defence Strategic Update through four key priorities: ensuring our Alliance with the United States is match fit; engineering a tighter regional focus; applying greater attention to strategic geography in the South West Pacific; and building a more effective network of states that can advance

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