16 - The defence of Australia

Summary

The need for original research

Desmond Ball's interest in the challenges of planning for the defence of Australia was triggered by the unusual circumstances of the early 1970s. Australian and American forces were completing their withdrawal from Vietnam, Washington was abandoning its military presence elsewhere in Southeast Asia and the principles of the Guam Doctrine made clear that United States involvement in Southeast Asia was undergoing fundamental change. The long-standing foundations of ‘forward defence’ strategy in Australian defence policy were crumbling and there was a need to develop a well-thought-out new approach that was robust and sustainable.

Des Ball was familiar with the academic writings on Australian defence policy and planning from the previous decade authored by T.B. Millar, Max Teichman, Harry Gelber and others. However he realised that these earlier works did not address the fundamental challenges now confronting Australian defence policy. Des was also broadly aware, largely from ministerial statements and informal discussions with politicians and officials, that the Department of Defence was starting to give serious thought to the demands of focussing more strongly on what might be required for the direct defence of Australia with a higher level of self-reliance. He realised that the core foundations of Australia's future security would be determined during the next few years and that they were deserving of a great deal of deep analytical thought.

When Des Ball was appointed as a research fellow in the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre (SDSC) in 1974, he found himself working alongside a kindred and energetic spirit in the Head of the Centre, Robert O'Neill. Unlike Ball, O'Neill brought a broader background to the defence of Australia agenda. He was a former Army officer who had served with distinction in Vietnam and who retained strong links into the Defence Force and the Defence Department. O'Neill also recognised the need for serious research into Australia's future defence and broader security options and so together they started to conduct research in the field, stimulate discussion on relevant topics and build a small team that could work on key issues in a sustained manner.

The emergence of a strong and energetic research team at the ANU working on many of the key issues then facing the senior leadership of the Defence Organisation received a mixed reception initially. Some senior officials were suspicious about academics researching the principles and options for defence policy.