Australian defense

Abstract

The thesis traces Australian defence policy from World War I - when Great Britain protected its Commonwealth - through World War II - when the United States assumed Britain's former role - to the Nineteen Eighties, wherein the consistent Australian desire and need for 'a great and good friend' remains the keystone of defence policy. While the Labor and Liberal Party governments may view differently national security policy and concomitant foreign policy, they agree that an alliance system (ANZAM, ANZUS) with a great and powerful ally is the only logical and utterly necessary way to secure Australian national security.