David Thomae* KEEPING THE PEACE OF THE REALM BY SAMUEL WHITE LEXISNEXIS, 2021 XXIV + 138 PP ISBN 9780409354379 (HARDCOVER) ISBN 9780409354386 (EPUB) J ustice John Logan’s foreword of Samuel White’s book, Keeping the Peace of the Realm, is in his inimitable style when he declares ‘[t]he role of the military is to kill the Queen’s enemies. The role of the police is to maintain the Queen’s peace.’ 1 Thus, Justice Logan eloquently frames an important debate on the role of the military and its legal authority to operate domestically in circumstances short of war. White’s treatise on this topic is timely. We are coming out of almost three years of a once in a century pandemic, where the jurisprudential tension in Australia’s federated constitutional democracy has strained the social cohesion of our country. 2 The impacts of climate change on the scale of natural disasters affecting Australia have seen the Australian Defence Force (‘ADF’) being used to support state and territory governments at a level never seen or contemplated. 3 During the 2019–20 bushfres, the Commonwealth Government used their powers under s 28 of the Defence Act 1903 (Cth) (‘ Defence Act’) to call out, for the frst time in our history, 3,000 ADF * AM, BA (UNSW), MBA (USQ), LLB (QUT), GDLP (ANU), MIR (UQ). Major General, Australian Army; Commander, 2nd Division and Commander, Joint Task Force 629 (charged with coordinating the Australian Defence Force response to domestic operations). 1 Justice JA Logan, ‘Foreword’ in Samuel White, Keeping the Peace of the Realm (LexisNexis, 2021) v, v. 2 See generally Scott Stephenson, ‘The Relationship between Federalism and Rights during COVID-19’ (2021) 32(3) Public Law Review 222. 3 See: Chris Barrie, ‘Climate Change, Security and the Australian Defence Force’ (2016) 67(2) United Service 13, 15–16; Zoe Lippis, ‘The Defence Act 1903 (Cth): A Guide for Responding to Australia’s Large-Scale Domestic Emergencies’ (2022) 45(2) Melbourne University Law Review 596, 599; Josh Butler and Daniel Hurst, ‘“Near Persistent” Natural Disasters Placing Intense Pressure on Australian Defence Force’, The Guardian (online, 19 September 2022) <https://www.theguardian. com/australia-news/2022/sep/19/near-persistent-natural-disasters-placing-intense- pressure-on-australian-defence-force>.