The many submariners dismayed over decades by claims that their Australian-built Collins-class boats are ‘dud subs’ may ultimately be vindicated by the appearance of a sophisticated, long-range ‘Son of Collins’. Swedish industrial giant Saab now …
On 11 November, Prime Minister Scott Morrison spoke out against religious extremism because of its link to terrorism and violence. Opposition to his statement was swift, including from federal Labor MP Anne Aly, a former …
Sea state The chief of the Royal Australian Navy has confirmed that the first of the submarines being built by French contractor Naval Group may not become fully operational until 2035. Vice Admiral Mike Noonan …
The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (commonly known as the Quad), an informal grouping comprising the United States, Japan, Australia and India, made a return in 2017. Have the Quad’s prospects improved after it failed to take …
Regrettably, terrorist attacks like the one that occurred in Melbourne on Friday evening have become an all too familiar occurrence both in Australia and across the Western world. The deployment of rudimentary modes of attack …
President Donald Trump’s party lost control of the US House of Representatives in midterm elections held last week. However, that probably won’t have any effect on the general trajectory of Washington’s policy on the Middle …
In the aftermath of Friday’s Bourke Street terror attack, many Australians will be asking why the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation and the Australian Federal Police weren’t watching murderer Hassan Khalif Shire Ali. Some Australians are no doubt bewildered that …
Yesterday marked the 100th anniversary of the end of the World War I. The century since has been dominated by four big geopolitical storylines. First, the US displaced Great Britain as the global hegemon and …
The emerging era of great-power competition shapes as a hot peace. ‘Hot peace’ is a better label for what the world faces than ‘new cold war’, not least because we’re well short of an icy …
The Great War, 1914–18, was the most convulsive, tragic and defining event in Australian history. Its sacrifices bequeathed the bond of nationhood. But such sacrifice left the young country fractured by politics, religion and class, …
Overnight, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced the appointment of Australian Brigadier Cheryl Pearce, on promotion to major general, as the next force commander of the UN Peacekeeping Mission in Cyprus (UNFICYP). It’s a significant decision …
The world Kicking off in the US with the 2018 midterm elections, the ‘blue wave’ seemed more like a strong ripple as the Democrats took control of the House of Representatives but the Republicans retained …
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has given an expansive speech about Australia’s strategy for the South Pacific. And he’s backed his words with new resources—some $2 billion in funding for infrastructure and $1 billion in financial …
With the establishment of the Australian Space Agency on 1 July this year and the growth of Australia’s space industry, the future has arrived for many Australian space advocates. A critical mass of participants, initiatives …
The numbers are stark and brutal. Out of a population of five million, more than 60,000 Australians were killed in the First World War and at least 137,000 more were wounded. But the statistics don’t …
In this podcast Madeleine Nyst talks to Michael Shoebridge on the connections between human rights and global security, and Donald Trump’s pick for the role of US ambassador to Australia. Also in this episode, Danielle …
The beat Restoring voting rights in Florida An estimated 1.5 million Floridians will be eligible to vote again after the state’s legislature passed Amendment 4, changing the felon voting laws. Florida was one of three …
Considering Australia had only 45 seconds to deliver its recommendations on China’s human rights situation at the UN review of the country’s record in Geneva yesterday, our diplomats managed to pack quite a lot in. …
Australians have told us they want to do more of their business with government online. They are also demanding the same levels of simplicity, security and convenience that they enjoy from their banks, airlines or …
The revival of the Australia–India–Japan–US security quadrilateral (informally known as the Quad) is anticipated to be a key plank of the ‘free and open Indo-Pacific’ strategy. In theory, deeper cooperation among four powerful democracies with …