Australia needs a larger defence force

Australia’s defence force needs bolstering to handle the rolling natural disasters and humanitarian crises it is called upon to tackle, as well as a deteriorating international scene.

Save the ADF for combat duties

The small, if highly trained, Australian Defence Force has enough on its plate without resorting to its personnel to solve every civilian problem caused by commercial greed or political maladministration.

The return of hard borders

All those in the travel and tourism industry waiting with bated breath for a ‘return to normal’ once international borders are opened to tourists once again may be in for a rude shock.

AUKUS empowers a wider regional role

The AUKUS agreement could encourage Australia to review its ‘middle power’ mentality and step up as a regional leader to help its Pacific neighbours thwart the pervasive threat of grey-zone warfare.

That sinking feeling

The vulnerability of surface ships to attacks by air and submarine has been clear since the Second World War and Australia’s small number of high value naval assets might be exposed in any future conflict with a sophisticated adversary.

A warning to the curious

Former defence minister Kim Beazley has delivered a sobering comparison between how Australia dealt with the lead-up to World War II and the complex and deteriorating strategic situation it faces now.

A strategic investment fund for advanced technology

Australia is up with the best in the science of quantum computing, but new approaches are needed to address deficiencies in our defence and intelligence technology.

Cleared hot

Businesses looking to work on sensitive government projects often have to obtain standardised security clearances for their staff, but the need for security vetting now arguably extends well beyond government contracts.

Strengthening intelligence collaboration

This is an extraordinarily rich if difficult time to be in the intelligence community, whether in Australia or in our key allies and partners.

New rules in the spy game

Cyberspace is changing spycraft, and national security agencies are being urged to adopt machine learning and open-source data to bolster their analytical capabilities.

Fighting transnational crime

Transnational organised crime (TOC) is becoming a global problem that will require international and interagency coordination, network analysis and information sharing to contain it.

Developing a national threat assessment for Australia

An annual all-threats assessment would help prepare Australians for a rapidly changing world.