Federal government initiatives revealed this month have reinforced Northern Australia’s pivotal role in national and international energy and minerals security. While they make for good announcements, whether federal and state policies can deliver on development …
The deaths of President Ebrahim Raisi and his foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, create a noticeable hole in the governing apparatus of the Islamic Republic of Iran. But the deaths are unlikely to bring substantial change …
Many cyber attacks now straddle the Tasman Sea, such as last year’s data breach against Latitude, an Australian financial services provider, which affected more than 14 million people across Australia and New Zealand. As both …
Transnational serious and organised crime (TSOC) has profound economic, social, political and humanitarian costs for Australia and Australians, with impacts that are felt every day. It constitutes a formidable global challenge with multifaceted implications that …
Under the theme ‘Weaving Taiwan’s story and advancing democracy’, Lai Ching-te was inaugurated as the new president of Taiwan on May 20, closing the era of his predecessor, Tsai Ing-wen. The incoming administration will build …
Export control regulations can be intensely personal. This is often missed in esoteric discussions of defence industrial policy and its future under the AUKUS partnership. A new study from ASPI brings the point home, illuminating …
Investors can handle lots of different risks. They can price risks in construction, interest rates, weather and, with hedging, price movements in product markets. But the one risk they can’t price is political risk, the …
How France manages the first outbreak of serious violence in New Caledonia in 40 years will affect not only its future role there but its acceptance as a resident Pacific, and Indo-Pacific, power. The violence …
Three months ago, I wrote a column titled ‘Will Ukraine Survive?’ The answer (thankfully) for the next year is ‘yes,’ owing to Ukraine’s willingness to fight and sacrifice and the resumption of substantial US military …
As the world transitions to clean energy technology, managing the hazardous waste that it produces becomes an urgent issue. Australia is well positioned to take the lead in this field and create a vertically integrated …
Weapons have had some capacity for decision-making since World War II, but now artificial intelligence is taking the capability to vastly greater levels and, before long, prevalence. So far, this is looking highly problematic. Are …
After more than four years of negotiation, economic-assistance funding has been approved under the Compacts of Association, the agreements that govern US relations with Marshall Islands, Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia. But will …
Australia needs urgently to improve its understanding of deterrence so that it can build an effective strategy to respond to future provocation and malicious behaviour by aggressive actors. Despite having previously been a global thought …
Opinions vary on the AUKUS partnership’s likely long-term effects on Australia’s military capacity. To some, it is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to foster international collaboration, spur private investment and build a more robust domestic defence industry. …
Climate risks that are interconnected, multiplying and intensifying can cascade across natural and human systems. Tipping points or thresholds—at which a small change can trigger a move from one state to a different state far …
Not long ago, coordinated disinformation and its trail of social and political chaos was something that happened to other countries. No longer. Authoritarian states have expanded their information operations in Australia, and local actors are …
The three years of the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in a terrible loss of life and exacerbated health inequalities. The global economy slumped, and, worldwide, people’s lives were affected. This experience demonstrated that the present global …
Beneath the deeply domestic dimensions of any annual budget lies Canberra’s view of the world. The fiscal flashlight of spending and saving (and now subsidising) naturally catches the eye of every Australian taxpayer. Those taxpayers …
The Albanese government has unveiled its third budget. Our experts across defence, cybersecurity and technology, the Pacific, climate and critical minerals give their first impressions of what the budget has to offer—and what’s missing. …
The Australian federal budget shows defence will receive a significant increase in funding over the next decade under the new National Defence Strategy and Integrated Investment Plan. The budget papers, issued on 14 May, include …