Disasters, defence and pandemics: What the cabinet papers reveal about 2005

Prime Minister John Howard speaks to soldiers at Holsworthy barracks in Sydney, Tuesday, May 15, 2007. Mr Howard and opposition leader Kevin Rudd visited the barracks today to farewell the mostly Sydney-based soldiers from the 4th Battalion The Royal Australian Regiment (Commando) who are soon to be deployed to Afghanistan. (AAP Image/POOL/James Croucher) Credit: AAP

Hundreds of newly released cabinet papers reveal the inner workings of the Howard government in the mid-noughties with warnings about the role that defence personnel should play in Afghanistan and Australia's preparedness for a pandemic.

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