Dibb Report - Background

Background

In February 1985 the Minister for Defence Kim Beazley commissioned Paul Dibb, who was an external consultant and former member of the Department of Defence, to analyse Australia's defence planning and make recommendations for future developments. Dibb's report was published in March 1986 and recommended that Australia abandon the remaining elements of the Forward defence policy and concentrate its military resources on the geographic areas relevant to defending the country and its economic interests from direct attack.

Paul Dibb's recommendations were based around an assessment that "Australia is one of the most secure countries on earth" and that while there was the potential for regional conflict, the longer term intentions and capabilities of countries in Australia's region could not be predicted and as such did not form a suitable basis for planning. Dibb recommended that Australia's military posture be based on a strategy of denying aggressors the ability to attack the country. This was to be achieved through using a layered defence of over-the-horizon radar, patrol aircraft and maritime strike aircraft to protect Australia's approaches with the Army's Operational Deployment Force being responsible for defeating any landings on the Australian mainland. This would require changes to the Australian Defence Force's force structure and equipment acquisition programs. The policy of self-reliance proposed by Dibb also placed less emphasis on Australia's alliance with the United States than previous policies.