1.16 The Defence White Paper 2009158 highlights that Defence planning is, by its very nature, a technically difficult and long-term business, and is an area of public policy where decisions taken in one decade have the potential to affect Australia's sovereignty and freedom for decades to come. This is driven by the complex and rapidly evolving nature of military technology and the necessarily long lead times involved in developing, acquiring and fielding defence systems.
1.17 The Defence White Paper also notes, "We cannot have perfect knowledge of the future, and the range of uncertainties is wide. As new information becomes available and we reassess our strategic outlook, we need to be prepared to adjust the balance of our portfolio of capabilities and the way in which we hedge against different types of risk"159. In other words, a change in circumstances may dictate acquiring different capabilities.
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158 Defending Australia in the Asia Pacific Century: Force 2030. Defence White Paper 2009.
159 Defending Australia in the Asia Pacific Century: Force 2030. Defence White Paper 2009, Para 3.20, p.28.