Framing Australia’s defence strategy

The National Defence Strategy due for release next year needs to give Australians clarity about security priorities and reassurance that challenges in the region can be met.

Beware of quick fixes

If Bondi becomes just another episode of blame followed by forgetfulness, we’ll have failed ourselves. If instead it becomes a catalyst for serious, evidence-based reform, Australia may yet emerge stronger and more resilient.

Australia’s security shake-up

Australia’s law enforcement and intelligence agencies are to be reviewed in the wake of the Bondi massacre which they singularly failed to predict or prevent.

Never again

The worst terrorist attack on Australian soil specifically targeted Jewish Australians after two years of rising anti-semitism and a royal commission is required to ensure such an atrocity never happens again.

Australia’s stress test

The dreadful terrorist attack at Bondi Beach on Sunday should be understood not only as an act of violence against Sydney’s Jewish community but as a stress test of Australia’s security, social and policy systems.

A long time coming

The terrorist attacks which murdered 15 people at Bondi beach came after huge increase in online antisemitism in the wake of the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel two years ago.

The case for civil defence

The escalating geostrategic threats to Australia demand more than military might in response and a resilient, united and proactive civil defence framework could help safeguard citizens and build national resilience.

The Australian case for US power

As criticism of the United States grows louder in Australian circles, many are quick to declare the end of American leadership without considering what comes next.

Red lines in the grey zone

Constant grey-zone aggression by China and Russia has allowed them to further their strategic aims in the Asia-Pacific and eastern Europe with little consequence and it’s time for the West to draw clear lines to deter further transgressions.

Defending the nation

In an age of heightened geopolitical competition and the real prospect of high-intensity conflict, Australia must embrace a whole-of-nation approach to national defence.

Industrial mobilisation

Industrial mobilisation is the ultimate test of national resilience. It is a recognition that the sinews of a nation’s economy are, in extremis, the lifeline of its armed forces. We cannot afford to wait for the conflict to begin before we start priming the pump.

The counter-hybrid playbook

The lesson for the Indo-Pacific from Europe’s increasing efforts to counter Russian hybrid-warfare incursions is clear: investments in defence and resilience matter, but countering hybrid threats also requires unity, coordination and resolve to defeat authoritarian aggression.