In August, Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek signed off on a 50-year extension to the permit for the Gregory Crinum coal mine, 60 kilometres northeast of Emerald in Central Queensland. This decision provoked outrage from climate …
In my old job at the US State Department, colleagues often asked me what was likely to happen in this or that situation. Often, there was no way of knowing, and I reminded questioners that …
The decision to permanently ground the Australian Defence Force’s fleet of MRH-90 Taipan helicopters was the final chapter in the saga that was Project Air 9000 Phases 2, 4 and 6. At the time, both …
Last week, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled on two major bills pushed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government as part of its judicial overhaul. The decision to strike down the first and delay activation …
More than 70 national elections are scheduled for 2024, including in eight of the 10 most populous countries. But one group is likely to be significantly under-represented: women. A major reason is the disproportionate amount …
Originally published on 24 August 2023. Paul Dibb’s Strategist post, in response to Sam Roggeveen’s recent Australian Foreign Affairs article, was on target. But I must quibble specifically with his assertion that no commentator in …
Originally published on 9 August 2023. In the latest issue of Australian Foreign Affairs, the Lowy Institute’s Sam Roggeveen makes assertions about the priorities of China’s nuclear targeting of Australia, as well as what he …
Originally published on 2 November 2023. The AUKUS program—sweeping in the intimacy and level of its proposed cooperation—has enjoyed a high level of bipartisan support among the Australian political elite. First agreed by the Coalition …
Originally published on 1 November 2023. n the grand tapestry of technological evolution, generative artificial intelligence has emerged as a vibrant and transformative thread. Its extraordinary benefits are undeniable; already it is revolutionising industries and …
Originally published on 26 May 2023. The defence strategic review highlighted the need for the Royal Australian Navy to have two levels of surface combatants to provide ‘increased strike, air defence, presence operations and anti-submarine …
Originally published on 18 December 2023. The world is less stable and less predictable than it has been in generations, marked by profound and disruptive change, with the unsettling promise of more to come. The …
Originally published on 14 December 2023. Urgency is mounting for Australia to reintroduce the national security strategy into its strategic arsenal and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s recent visits to the United States and China present …
Originally published on 16 May 2023. Media freedom is an essential pillar of democracy. In Pacific island countries, this pillar is under threat from financial and capacity constraints. Democratic partners—which believe in the importance of …
Originally published on 7 November 2023. In September 2014, a RAAF E-7A Wedgetail early warning and control aircraft arrived in the Middle East to join the war against the Islamic State terror group. Soon after …
Originally published on 26 October 2023. A Royal Australian Air Force E-7A Wedgetail early warning aircraft will use its highly effective radar system to search for missiles launched from hundreds of kilometers inside Russia and …
Originally published on 9 February 2023. In March, the government is expected to announce its plans to implement the ambitious proposal for an Australian force of nuclear-powered submarines (SSNs) that is at the heart of …
The advantage historians have over journalists is that the passage of time offers them a perspective not available to those with immediate deadlines. But the year is about to end, which constitutes a firm deadline …
As 2023 draws to a close, how should we assess progress on the government’s stated objective of ‘stabilisation’ in Australia–China relations? On the face of it, the Australian government has built significant momentum this year …
As the strategic environment continues to darken, the defence force built by Australia in the decades after the Vietnam War is being completely reconfigured. Long gone is the reliance on light infantry combat capabilities that …
There’s growing awareness that Australia’s international development program is one of the tools of national power that Australia can use to shape the world around it. The danger is that if ‘influence’ becomes an unstated …