Defence Policy

OBJECTIVES

1. The primary objective of the nation's defence policy shall be the protection of the physical, economic and social security of the citizens and residents of Australian territory.
2. Australian defence forces shall consist of a minority core of regular officers and troops and a majority of citizen forces.
3. To better implement a defence force predicated on continental defence rather than aggression, a PLP government will outlay the major areas of defence expenditure on the air force and navy.
4. Defence funds will he used to foster Australian based industry except where the needed technology is foreign and is available by licence. Defence funds will also be used to foster an Australian merchant marine and airline[s].
5. Any Australian government and especially a PLP government should minimise the chances of Australia being involved in war by fostering cooperative relationships with other nations and striving to resolve any conflict with any other nation or group by cooperative dialogue, or failing success in this, by resort to arbitration by international law.
6. To establish the national unity to defend the nation effectively, Australian governments should seek to eliminate racism; religious intolerance; inequitable class and economic power differences and any other community division which are barriers to an egalitarian, cooperative and democratic style of decision making in all areas of society, work; family and community. A democratic self reliant citizenry is the a better defence than a cowed; obedient, servile mass.
7. The nation's forces should never be committed to combat for which the overwhelming support of the Australian community is not forthcoming.
8. The nation's forces should never be committed to an overseas operation without the support of the Commonwealth parliament.
9. The Australian defence industry shall not engage in the export of arms.
10. Australian defence philosophy espoused by the PLP shall encourage Peace Studies and Peace Holidays alongside traditional days of military remembrance.
11. Australia shall follow a non-nuclear defence policy and attempt to have the SW Pacific declared a nuclear free zone including the banning of nuclear powered ships from Australian ports.

POLICY IMPLEMENTATION

SOCIAL

1. Citizen forces shall provide the majority of the armed forces.
2. These forces shall be volunteer forces.
3. Regular permanent forces shall exist in a minority training capacity with, however, full strength units in existence for peace keeping and sudden reaction forces.
4. Where deemed suitable, supply sections of the armed forces shall be civilian In order to avoid waste and to concentrate the fighting potential of the armed forces.
5. All the armed forces shall not discriminate amongst officers and other personnel on the basis of class; gender; sexual preference or race/ ethnicity.
6. An armed forces union shall be a legal body dealing with matters of pay; conditions an other elements of normal union interest. This should not however be used to interfere with normal army discipline in its normal usage and place.
7. The Australian Defence academy and general armed forces education shall include Peace Studies; the study of peace keeping techniques; methods of International arbitration; and the legitimate uses of the armed forces within a democracy. It will also offer studies in the various defence policies of the various Australian parties and their attached philosophies. Compulsory courses in anti-racism; anti-sexism and the role of a democratic armed forces shall exist in order to foster discussion of the relationship of the armed forces to a modern democratic society.
8. The officer corps shall be drawn by election from both the civilian and permanent sectors of the armed forces without discrimination and on the basis of merit.
9. Citizen soldiers while undergoing training shall not be discriminated against by their employers.

ECONOMIC

1. Personnel in the armed forces, permanent or civilian, shall be paid the same as their counterparts in civil society.
2. Citizens shall be encouraged to join the citizen forces by halving the tax to be paid on the 'armed forces' wages. This half tax shall also apply to the regular forces but such monies from the regular forces shall be placed automatically in a special armed forces superannuation fund available to individuals upon retirement. Citizen members shall not have access to this scheme unless they individually request it.
3. Armed forces purchasing must be done with Australian firms unless for technological reasons, the item/s does not exist in Australia or cannot be put into existence in the future.
4. Defence policy in the SW Pacific shall be on the basis of cooperation - economic and political- with NZ and the Pacific island states not domination. The existing CER and SPARTECA treaties will be used to create economic integration including shared defence orders. The long term aim is towards a SW Pacific trade bloc and integrated armed forces along with a bloc social charter.

POLITICAL

1. The US alliance must be adapted to the foregoing policy points. The PLP must face the fact that US power will be steadily withdrawn from the West Pacific over the next two decades. It appears highly likely that great power dependency is finished as an underpinning of Australian defence. The PLP should look to shape its defence policy to continental defence and SW Pacific development of a trading/defence bloc attached to a vigorous pursuit of peace in our region. This should be linked to a foreign policy that balances the demands of the rising regional powers - India, Japan; China - with Australian aims. We should never again 'cling to the skirts of one great power'.
2. A PLP government will ensure that regional conflicts and problems such as Bougainville; East Timor etc will be judged according to concepts of justice and human rights rather than real politik and opportunism. Every national and international means to solve or alleviate these problems will be investigated including the offers of mediation; peace keeping; granting of refugee status etc.
3. A PLP government will emphasise home defence and its rationale by popular education; peace studies; and practical expenditures as outlined philosophically in the preceding objectives.
4. The armed forces under an PLP government will never be used for internal police actions or to break strikes.