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Knights in shining armour: AFVs in the Australian Army
Jim Molan | September 1, 2018The Australian army has always been curiously reluctant to commit tanks and armoured vehicles to the battlefield, but far from being obsolete, armour continues to play a vital role in modern counter-insurgency and warfare.
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4 reforms to improve leadership stability
Heath Pickering | August 31, 2018Australian prime ministers now struggle to survive a term in office, falling at the hands of their own nervous MPs before they can face the electorate a second time. How could party rules to changed to ease the churn of the top job in the country?
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Alcohol firms try advertising booze as a health drink
Open Forum | August 31, 2018Australian alcohol companies are now promoting their products as ‘pure’, ‘fresh’, ‘natural’ and ‘sugar-free’ to encourage more health conscious Australians to purchase them, new research led by Curtin University has found.
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In defence of nuclear deterrence
Rod Lyon | August 31, 2018Deterrence is not without its problems—it’s merely the defence doctrine of choice for a competitive, heavily armed world. Is it going to save us from all war? No. But hopefully it can save us from the most serious sort of war, namely great-power war.
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Assessing the Bishop era of Australian foreign policy
Nick Bisley | August 30, 2018As time goes by, we will notice the opportunity Julie Bishop missed to make a decisive impact in charting Australia’s course during a period of historical importance.
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Huawei ban part of global move to set limits on Chinese influence
Michael Shoebridge | August 30, 2018Banning two big telcos tells Beijing that its drive to gain strategic and economic advantage through the next wave of internet technologies can’t happen in a way that undercuts Australians’ national security.
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Malcolm Fraser’s political manifesto would make good reading for the Morrison government
Tony Walker | August 30, 2018In their calculations about how to rebuild the Coalition’s shattered credibility, Morrison and Frydenberg should remind themselves that a lot of Australians are fed up with politics as usual.
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Finding Australia’s soft power
Caitlin Byrne | August 29, 2018Australia must engage neighbouring nations more strategically through official and public diplomacy if it is to remain a ‘persuasive voice’ in its own region.
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Making cities a better home for everyone – and everything
Kirsten Parris | August 29, 2018It’s the urban age for people – and for other species too – so it’s time to start planning for all the plants and animals that call our cities home.
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Chemical contaminants threaten wildlife more widely than thought
Open Forum | August 29, 2018An international team of scientists led by Monash University has warned that the danger to wildlife through chemical pollution is a wider problem than previously thought as the effects of indirect contamination are not being factored into discussions.
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More efficient irrigation doesn’t help the environment
Open Forum | August 28, 2018Increasing the efficiency of irrigation by lowering evaporation and leakage should lower consumption, but in practice farms simply use more water for their crops, with even less being returned to the environment.
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Knee replacement rehab in private hospitals is costing us all
Open Forum | August 28, 2018Rates of inpatient rehab after total knee replacement are increasing in Australia at a time when they are declining overseas, despite evidence that for most people it is no better than home- or community-based rehabilitation, according to Australian researchers.