Commentary
The Defence White Paper published by the Australian government in 2016 was the most far-reaching, comprehensive of its type. Projecting forward for 20 years, the paper, and its accompanying Defence Industry White Paper, proposed a major program of defence acquisitions to ensure the nation’s security. It also pegged the Defence expenditure base to at least 2 percent of GDP.
As defence minister, I had worked with officials in 2014-15 to write the paper, taking numerous submissions to the National Security Committee of Cabinet during the course of the year. 
Coming just six years after the previous white paper, the document and associated decisions authorised the complete renewal of Australia’s naval fleet and the acquisition of a range of new military equipment, including critical cyber capabilities….