Cabinet Papers 2001: How 'securitization' became a mindset to dominate Australian politics for a generation

2001 was the final year of the Howard government’s second term in office.

It began with the government on the political defensive, doing poorly in opinion polls, but ended with a third successive victory in November.

Two epic political developments – the “Tampa crisis”, in which the government ordered Australian troops to board a foreign vessel carrying rescued asylum seekers to stop them landing on Australian soil, and the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States – were decisive in the government’s re-election.