Civil-military relations in Australia: the case of officer education, 1965-1980

Abstract

Arrangements for the provision of degree-level tertiary education for officer cadets have been under active review in Australia since the early 1960s. The government's decision of 1976-78 to establish a single tri-service academy as an autonomous university were reviewed by a parliamentary committee during 1978-79. That committee's recommendation against proceeding with the government's proposal followed extensive public debate involving four discrete groups. The roles taken by these groups and the issues raised in the debate are used to describe the current state of civil-military relations. In the event the government rejected the findings of the parliamentary committee. We conclude that this case reaffirms the trend toward centralization of authority within the Department of Defence, which has been the major issue-area of civil-military relations in Australia.