A BBC News report:
Prime Minister Julia Gillard says Australia will withdraw its troops from Afghanistan earlier than planned... troops would begin pulling out this year and most would be home by the end of 2013 - an election year in Australia...Australia has some 1,550 troops serving in Afghanistan, mainly in the Uruzgan region....withdrawal would begin once Afghans took on responsibility for security in Uruzgan province...

Ms Gillard's minority administration has been slipping in popularity and some observers say Labor could be heading for defeat at the polls.
Link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17737592

If Australia one of the US's leading allies decides to exit a year early, one wonders what the impact will be on other ISAF contributors.

I await the observations of the one Australian think tank I monitor, the Lowy Institute.