Welfare to warfare – Police militarisation and Fortress Australia

In Australia, there has traditionally been a strict demarcation between the police and the military – yet in recent decades this delineation has faded. The weaponry, culture and tactics of the police are increasingly militarised. And while this has repercussions for all Australians, the real weight of this shift is not felt evenly, with those on the fringes of society most likely to be marked as ‘the enemy within'. Fed by trends overseas, the militarisation of Australia's police forces is at risk of turning us into ‘Fortress Australia'.