1. Nelson: Oil a Factor in Iraq Deployment
2. 2007 Defence Update: A Global Vision, Greater Spending
3. Police, Troops Arrive for NT Crackdown
4. Aussie Anti-Air Umbrella: the Hobart Class Ships
5. A Change in Climate for the Australian Defence Force
6. Rival of East Timor Independence Hero Proposes Alternative Government
7. Police Killing, Raping Civilians in Indonesia’s Papua, Rights Group Says

1. Nelson: Oil a Factor in Iraq Deployment, AAP, Age, 2007-07-05

   The Howard Government has admitted that securing oil supplies is a factor in Australia’s continued military involvement in Iraq. Defence Minister Brendan Nelson said today oil was a factor in Australia’s contribution to the unpopular war, as “energy security” and stability in the Middle East would be crucial to the nation’s future.

   • Mapping the Oil Motive, Michael T. Klare, TomPaine, 2005-03-18

   • Oil in Iraq, Global Policy Forum (see: Confidential Government Document on Iraq Oil Lobbying by Australian Firm (May 20, 2003)

   • Iraq’s Oil Sector: Past, Present and Future, Amy Myers Jaffe, James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy, Rice University, March 2007 [PDF]

2. A Global Vision, Greater Spending, Patrick Walters, Australian, 2007-07-06

   The 2007 Defence Update outlines a more expansive, expeditionary and expensive vision for the Australian Defence Force. The Government accepts the need for a sustained Australian military focus on security in both the Asia-Pacific and the Middle East theatres “for the foreseeable future”. This means a huge investment, not just in new equipment but in maintaining lengthy deployments of military manpower.

   • Australia’s National Security, a Defence Update 2007

   • Address to the ASPI ‘Global Forces 2007’ Conference, Prime Minister John Howard, 2007-07-05 [Transcript]

3. Police, Troops Arrive for NT Crackdown, AAP, Australian, 2007-06-25

   Troops and federal police arrived in the Northern Territory as part of the federal Government’s radical plan to stop child abuse in Aboriginal communities. About 20 Australian Defence Force personnel are already on the ground, and the number will continue to build up over the next few days, federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Mal Brough says.

   • Friendly Hand Lent to Help Solve Outback Problems, Defence Media Release, CPA 182/07, 2007-06-27

   • Ampe Akelyernemane Meke Mekarle: Little Children Are Sacred, Report of the Northern Territory Board of Inquiry into the Protection of Aboriginal Children from Sexual Abuse, 2007 [PDF]

4. Aussie Anti-Air Umbrella: the Hobart Class Ships, Defense Industry Daily, 2007-07-02

   To the surprise of some observers, Australia’s 3 new “air warfare destroyers” will be, “Australianized” F100 AEGIS frigates. Spain’s Navantia made an A$ 11 billion clean sweep, winning both the Canberra Class LHD and the Hobart Class Air Warfare “Destroyer” contracts.

   • Sea 4000 Air Warfare Destroyer, Defence Materiel Organisation, 2007-06-21

   • Alvaro de Bazan F-100 Frigate, GlobalSecurity

   • Blue Water Ships: Consolidating Past Achievements, Chapter 4 – Australian Naval Shipbuilders, Report of the Inquiry into Naval Shipbuilding in Australia, Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee, 2006-12-07

5. A Change in Climate for the Australian Defence Force, Anthony Bergin and Jacob Townsend, ASPI, 2007-07-03

   The ADF would benefit from being proactive rather than reactive to climate change. While many of the potential consequences of climate change are some years away, the ADF will need to adapt to the future security environment and operational conditions. The ADF will also play a part in mitigating climate change, by minimising the impact of its activities and driving technological change.

6. Rival of East Timor Independence Hero Proposes Alternative Government, Jakarta Post, 2007-07- 09

   East Timor’s ruling Fretilin party, the winner of parliamentary elections a week ago, said it plans to form a minority government if other parties refuse to join it in a coalition. The announcement came a day after independence hero Xanana Gusmao proposed a four-party coalition, excluding Fretilin, to be led by his National Congress for the Reconstruction of East Timor.

7. Police Killing, Raping Civilians in Indonesia’s Papua, Rights Group Says, Jakarta Post, 2007-07-09

   Indonesian security forces killed and beat unarmed civilians and raped women during recent operations against separatists in Papua province, Human Rights Watch alleged. Indonesia’s police chief denied any abuses were taking place in the isolated region, where mistrust between indigenous people and security forces runs high after years of bloody military crackdowns.

   • Out of Sight: Endemic Abuse and Impunity in Papua’s Central Highlands, Human Rights Watch, July 2007

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