Department of Defence (Australia)

The Australian Department of Defence is a department of the Government of Australia charged with the responsibility to defend Australia and its national interests. The department forms part of the Australian Defence Organisation (ADO) along with the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The department is accountable to the Commonwealth Parliament, on behalf of the Australian people, for the efficiency and effectiveness with which it carries out the Government's defence policy.

The head of the department is the Secretary of the Department of Defence (SECDEF), currently Dennis Richardson AO, who leads the department on a daily basis and, along with the Chief of the Defence Force (CDF), is jointly responsible to the Minister for Defence, currently the Senator The Hon. Marise Payne, the Minister for Defence Materiel and Science, currently Senator the Hon. Marise Payne (in an acting capacity), and the Assistant Minister to the Minister for Defence, currently the Hon. Darren Chester MP.

Department of Defence (Ireland)

The Department of Defence (Irish: An Roinn Cosanta) is the department of the Government of Ireland that is responsible for preserving peace and security in Ireland. The Department is led by the Minister for Defence who is assisted by one Minister of State.

Departmental team

The official headquarters of department are at Station Road, Newbridge, County Kildare. The departmental team consists of the following:

History

The Department of Defence was created at the very first meeting of Dáil Éireann on 21 January 1919. Over the years the role of the Department has remained exactly the same. The Department has been known simply as the Department of Defence since 1919, however on some occasions it has been coupled with the Marine portfolio.

Structure

The mission of the Department of Defence is to meet the needs of Government and the public by providing value for money defence and civil defence services and by co-ordinating and overseeing the emergency planning process via the Office of Emergency Planning (OEP). The Department is also concerned with ensuring the secure and stable environment necessary for economic growth and development in Ireland. The military budget was €1.005 Billion in 2007 (estimated) and €1.354 Billion in 2010. By 2015 the budget had been cut to €885 Million and is projected to stay at that level until 2017 according to the latest Department of Finance report.

Ministry of Defence (France)

The Ministry of Defence (French: Ministère de la Défense) is the French department in charge of managing the French Armed Forces inside and outside French soil. It is an active member of NATO and European Defence Community. The actual Minister is Jean-Yves Le Drian.

Organization

Minister of Defence

The head of the department is the Minister of Defence. He reports directly to the President of the Republic, Chief of the Army.

His mission is to organize and manage the country Defense Policy in liaison with other departments. He is also in charge of mobilizing troops and managing the military infrastructure. He is responsible of the French Armed forces security to the Parliament.

Chief Of Defence Staff

The Chief of Defence Staff reports directly to the Minister. He is in charge of conducting operations, troops training, troops inspection, Programming the forces future, gathering and analyzing Intelligence, He is also in charge of maintaining relationships with other countries.
The Chief of Defence Staff is currently held by Admiral Édouard Guillaud.

Department of Defence (1901–21)

The Department of Defence was an Australian government department that was established at Federation and existed until 1921 when it was replaced with the Department of Defence (II).

Scope

Information about the department's functions and/or government funding allocation could be found in the Administrative Arrangements Orders (AAOs).

In early AAOs, the department was responsible for Naval and Military defence and control of railway transport for defence.

Structure

The Department was a Commonwealth Public Service department, staffed by officials who were responsible to the Minister for Defence.

The Secretaries of the Department were Muirhead Collins (1901–1910), Samuel Pethebridge (1910–18) and Thomas Trumble (1918‑21). Pethebridge was actually Acting in the Secretary role since 1906, he died in 1918 while in office as permanent departmental Secretary.

References

Australia (The Kinks song)

"Australia" is a song by the British rock band The Kinks, appearing on their 1969 album, Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire). It was written by the band's main songwriter, Ray Davies.

Lyrics and Music

In the song, the character Derek (who is featured in the story line of Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)) attempts to convince his father, Arthur, of the great opportunities available in Australia, where there's "no drug addiction" and you can "surf like they do in the U.S.A." Derek's advertisement is compared to John Smith, who campaigned for America in a similar manner, by author Thomas Kitts.

The song also features a jam sequence lasting for approximately half the song, which is atypical for The Kinks. In the Australian single edit, this section is removed by editing an earlier section of the song into another section during a drum beat, which is then followed by a fade-out.

Release

"Australia" was only released in most countries on the Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) album, where it was the closing track on side one. However, in Australia, a dramatically cut down version of the song was released as a single, with another Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) track, "She's Bought a Hat Like Princess Marina", on the B-side. However, the single was commercially unsuccessful.

Australia (horse)

Australia (foaled 8 April 2011) is a British-bred, Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 2014 Epsom Derby. As a two-year-old in 2013, he won two of his three races, creating a very favourable impression when winning the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Trial Stakes, and was highly regarded by his trainer Aidan O'Brien. In May 2014 he finished third behind Night of Thunder and Kingman in the 2000 Guineas before winning the Epsom Derby on 7 June. He subsequently won the Irish Derby and International Stakes before being defeated by The Grey Gatsby in the Irish Champion Stakes. His racing career was ended by injury in October 2014. He is standing at Coolmore stud.

Background

Australia is a chestnut colt with a narrow white blaze bred by the Newmarket-based Stanley House stud. Australia was sired by Galileo, a Derby winner himself who went on to become an outstanding breeding stallion, winning the title of champion sire on five occasions. Galileo had sired two previous Epsom Derby winners New Approach in 2007 and Ruler of the World in 2013. Australia's Dam Ouija Board won seven Group One races including the 2004 Epsom Oaks and was twice named European Horse of the Year. He is the fourth foal produced by Ouija Board and second to Galileo, Australia's older sister Filia Regina has had limited success with only a single victory in a handicap at Yarmouth. His half brother Our Voodoo Prince won 3 races in Britain before being sold and is currently in training with Chris Waller in Australia.

Australia (Gyroscope song)

"Australia" is a song by Australian rock band Gyroscope, from the album Breed Obsession. It was released as the third single from their highly successful album, which peaked at number one on the Australian Albums Chart. The song was released to radio in May 2008, and was released as a CD single and digital download on 14 June 2008, along with two acoustic pieces. One of those being a live acoustic version of "Australia", the other a live acoustic cover of Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game".

Meaning

The song lyrically covers a range of issues surrounding the band's home country, Australia. It notably "pays tribute to indigenous people, first settlers, Diggers and recent reconciliation efforts." "Australia" is said to have risen Gyroscope's "songwriting to new heights", it's a track that confirms the Australian rock band "are equally capable of creating softer numbers as well as the harder hitting ones".

Lead vocalist and songwriter Daniel Sanders speaking about the story behind the song, said "It was essentially written about myself leaving England as a tot and coming to Australia, and then growing up here, appreciating and embracing our culture and heritage and falling in love with it all. I wanted to express it for my own sake... So I could rejoice in what I love about this country".