Render the strategic outlook for 2020 into a core conundrum: How goes the new era of great-power competition? Is it to be security confrontation and economic decoupling? The crystal ball is clouded by rivalry. China …
Articles by: "Graeme Dobell"
The ‘new normal’ of Australia’s relationship with China is that it will be marked by ‘enduring differences’. That’s the outlook offered by the secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Frances Adamson. It’s …
Journalism has always been a tough trade in the South Pacific. Living and working in island communities exposes editors and reporters to unusual political, personal and professional pressures. A statement warning about ‘growing threats to …
Australian defence reviews always wail about fuzzy accountability and indirect responsibility. The critique was immortalised by Defence Department Secretary Allan Hawke, back in 2000, when he decried ‘a culture of learned helplessness among some Defence senior …
Australia’s Defence Department is a big beast that’s hard to ride, much less steer. The complexities of kit, costs and strategy have made it the most inquiry-prone animal in Canberra—50 reviews in five decades (35 …
‘Strategy without money is not strategy.’ —Arthur Tange* ‘Everything is very simple in war, but the simplest thing is difficult.’ —Carl von Clausewitz* Australian governments are always trying to simplify defence and rein in costs. …
Australia gropes and stutters towards a renewed embrace of international broadcasting—the vital need to ‘speak for ourselves’ in the Asia–Pacific. The latest lurch towards fresh understanding is the silent release of the review of Australia’s …
The prime minister makes a good, glib debating point: nobody is above the law, including journalists. The problem Scott Morrison glides by is a Canberra mindset and a pile of new laws that squeeze our …
The bipartisan tenor of Australia’s foreign policy is being stretched and tested. Scott Morrison’s Coalition government talks tough on international policy. A touch of Donald Trump is trumpeted, as foes are found and lines drawn. …
Bougainville knows far better than Britain that a referendum vote to go or to stay is only the first mountain. Then the second mountain must be climbed—the negotiation to turn the outcome into a reality. …
Is Australia’s Department of Defence one big beast or a herd of beasts? Is the Oz military a single tribe or a bunch of tribes? The questions matter in many ways, not least because the …
All Australian governments come to office with a deep admiration for the Oz military and some apprehension about the Department of Defence. Politicians embrace the uniform but worry about the organisation. After some time in …