ARTICLES
What if the Melbourne protesters got what they want?
There’s a whole set of political and ethical issues wrapped up in whether protesters like the ones gathered against Melbourne’s large Land Forces defence industry conference are right to confront police with anger, volleys of horse poo and tomatoes and even fires to...
AUKUS subs aren’t about jobs and growth
Among all the claims made about Australia’s plans to acquire nuclear-powered submarines (SSNs) under the AUKUS partnership, one of the most misleading is the suggestion from its supporters that it will generate economic growth. This is fundamentally incorrect. Defence...
Australia’s missing nuclear debate – it’s not about subs
Recently, the nuclear debate, such as it is in Australia, has been captured by two significant developments. There are the plans for nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS arrangements. That will entail new skills, capabilities and operational practice on the part...
Makin’ missiles, a business insurgency & schedule as comedy – Episode 24
Makin' missiles, a business insurgency & schedule | RSS.com Marcus and Michael catch up on news about makin' missiles, assess whether the secret to change in Defence is a cashed up billionaire, and are bemused by the new 'Schedule is King' mantra for everyone but...
Terrorism threat system must be improved
Australia is facing a rising terror threat. This requires our terrorism alert system to be as effective as possible.This month the terrorism threat level was raised from “possible” to “probable”, in our five-level scale of not expected, possible, probable, expected,...
Australian security needs a ‘Future Made in Australia’ too
One of the spurious reasons for not using Australian industry in Australian platforms is that there are very few Australian original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of the equipment installed in ships, vehicles and aircraft. Yet Defence’s insistence on dealing...
Megaprojects & mega holes: sublime lessons for Australia’s submarine enterprise
Earlier this year I started looking at what Bent Flyvbjerg’s analysis of megaprojects can teach us about the Department of Defence’s gigaproject: its efforts to acquire a nuclear-propelled submarine capability (SSN). I’ve wanted to get back to Flyvbjerg for some time,...
Has our weak visa process already put us in danger?
On security checks of refugees from Gaza a lot of weight is being put on a handful of sentences uttered by ASIO head Mike Burgess in his recent television interview. Burgess is a smart public servant, defending his own organisation and not seeking to speak for...
In national interest, Labor must repair Israel relationship
The Australian government’s trashing of relations with Israel undermines our strategic interest in the Middle East, damages intelligence co-operation, blunts trade and investment and – uniquely, in our view – puts domestic politics ahead of diplomatic interests. This...
Disappearing tanks, $million missiles, SNAUKUS & the bear behind the US election – Episode 23
Disappearing tanks, million dollar missiles, SNAUK | RSS.com SAA's Marcus Hellyer and Michael Shoebridge cover the Australian Army's tank gap, the Navy's celebration of missile test firings, and the fact free Frankenstein imagery on AUKUS subs out of Navy officials...
A US dose of reality shows Australia must meet more of our own needs
We’ve had recent announcements from AUSMIN and AUKUS, the two acronyms describing our peak US-Australia alliance system that combine to show Australia’s defence strategy in action. Together, they demonstrate that Australia’s plan is to rely on US industrial...
Two ministers, two defence policies — same old delusions
The Albanese government has given us two defence ministers: Richard “Call me Deputy Prime Minister” Marles and his tireless workmate, Pat Conroy. No one should be surprised to learn the government also has two defence policies. First there is the policy of expanding...
An inflection point for Israel, Iran, Washington – even Australia
Israel has not acknowledged the role it played planting the bomb which killed Hamas leader Ismael Haniyeh in an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ safehouse in Tehran. Take it as read: this was a Mossad operation and one that will put the fear of the Old Testament God...
Words on terrorism threat matter but they must say something
Anthony Albanese stressed that “words matter” in Monday’s media conference announcing that ASIO boss Mike Burgess had lifted the National Terrorism Threat Level from “possible to probable”. The Prime Minister was mostly taking a swipe against the Greens and Labor...
Binskin report exposes more flaws at home than in Israel
Former Chief of the Australian Defence Force Mark Binskin’s report into the tragic killing in Gaza on 1 April of Zomi Frankcom and six other aid workers from the World Central Kitchen informs us that he received close Israeli military and government cooperation in...
Why Australia should be concerned if our major banks withdraw from the Pacific
The Albanese government recently pledged an extra $6.3 million to prevent the loss of banking services in the Pacific at the Pacific Banking Forum in Brisbane. The Forum identified areas for collaboration between commercial banks, central banks, regulators and...
Kill the cult of integration to grow Australian military power and industry
$800 million developing ‘Ghost Bat’, which was meant to be ‘Australia’s first locally designed combat aircraft in 50 years’, turns out to now be being spent on a platform that will carry sensors instead of weapons. This is an own goal, with a firehose of public...
PM’s reshuffle a recipe for blame shifting
Anthony Albanese’s ministerial reshuffle weakens the Department of Home Affairs, gives Defence two ministers in cabinet – a recipe for blame shifting – and leaves the Prime Minister without policymaking heft across national security. Instead, we have a gaggle of...
The Great Debate series: a (civil) nuclear debate?
The Great Debates: a civil nuclear debate | RSS.com Episode 1 of the Great Debate series - on topics in Australia that need discussion but are reduced to shouting matches from inside closed bubbles. Green shirted Marcus is Mr Renewables and black suited Michael is the...
AI revolutionises maritime intelligence
Piracy, drug trafficking, people smuggling and illegal fishing are among the many maritime security challenges faced in the Indian Ocean. Many littoral countries are increasingly aware of the importance of Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) as a foundation for effective...
The Naval tsunami that’ll swamp industry and starve the rest of the ADF
There’s a tsunami coming. It’s the huge surge of work needed to deliver Australia’s naval capability plan. Unlike most tsunamis, however, we have some idea of the size of what’s coming. It’s already visible on the horizon. Whether we are prepared for it is another...
Post-shot US election update, Ukrainian & Ozzie drones, spies and public money
Post-shot US election update, Ukrainian & Ozzie dr | RSS.com Marcus and Michael discuss the US election & the alliance post debate and failed assassination, before covering Ukraine military assistance and the alternative realities in Australia's contribution to...
Parliament House protest should be treated as a serious breach
Peter Jennings highlights the problems of protecting Australia’s Parliament House in the light of pro-Palestine protestors gaining access to the roof. Total security can be achieved but only at a cost to the operation and image of the site. The key is finding an...
Success with armed drones comes from numbers and domestic production, not small US contracts
Australia’s Department of Defence has found a way to buy a small number of small Switchblade armed drones from a US company. In the world of drone warfare, our military will need many different types of drone and they will use and lose lots of them in any...
SSN-AUKUS: a ‘mature’ design…just with many defining things not settled.
What is SSN-AUKUS? This is not a metaphysical question along the lines of what is the meaning of life, or even that other perplexing one, namely what is AUKUS? It’s a straightforward question about what the design of the nuclear-powered submarine that Australia and...
Anthony Albanese’s chronic inertia on Palestine fans the flames of violence
Australia’s “new” Parliament House was designed to be an open building where citizens could literally walk over the heads of their elected representatives along two sweeping plains of grass that define the Senate and House of Representatives’ offices. Completed in...
A changed America and a less constrained President
The latest US Supreme Court decision granting US Presidents wide ranging immunities even when committing criminal acts will further divide America, but it also empowers the Trump campaign. It will encourage Trump to wield Presidential power without constraint if he is...
Grumpy Strategist Makers’ Series – the workforce edition with KINEXUS
The Grumpy Strategists | RSS.com In Episode 5, SAA's Marcus Hellyer talks with Rob Kremer, Kinexus' Director and Defence Sector lead about defence industry prospects and pressures. Rob puts the workforce demands by Defence into a wider economic and societal...
Forget the media circus, Julian Assange put our brave soldiers’ lives in danger
Julian Assange emerged from his charter jet in Canberra on Wednesday night in a dark suit, white shirt and thin tie, raising his right arm in a clenched-fist salute. Perhaps Assange wanted to echo the image of Nelson Mandela walking out of the Victor Verster prison on...
Consequences, consequences: budget settings starve the Air Force & a bureaucracy avoids scrutiny
Structural troubles ahead: a starving Air Force & | RSS.com The Grumpy Strategists outline the structural consequences for the Air Force from the new permanent spend on ships & subs in the Defence budget. They cover another structural issue damaging Australia's...