The Defence 2023-24 Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements (PAES) were published on Thursday 8...
Lavishly funded but broke: Australia’s Defence Department needs a zero-based budget
The Australian Defence Department is broke. That must sound outrageous to almost every other...
2024 with a bang: Escalating war with de-escalating words, May Budget expectations & broken disposals
by Marcus Hellyer and Michael Shoebridge
2024 with a bang: Escalating war with de-escalating words, May budget expectations & broken...
Indicators & warnings for a troubled Defence Force – & an unwanted but necessary Christmas gift
by Marcus Hellyer and Michael Shoebridge
The Christmas-New Year Edition - indicators and warnings for the Defence Force - and a Christmas...
2024: elections in a fragmenting world; Future Fund forgets Australian industry – & export controls, again
by Marcus Hellyer and Michael Shoebridge
Episode 9 - 2024: global elections bring a fragmenting world, investing everywhere but into...
Awkward truths about US and UK AUKUS challenges
Three reports over the past two months are required reading for anyone involved in or scrutinising...
A glimpse of things to come – AUKUS hastens slowly
Last weekend the three AUKUS defence ministers met in California to reflect on what their joint...
As Defence’s core functions fail, what’s the plan for change?
A defence force has to have three things work well to be effective: it has to recruit and retain...
Landing craft create paths for shipbuilding
Finally there is some good news in the defence shipbuilding space. On Thursday 24 November, the...
AUKUS Plan B: delivering greater military power faster – the B-21 Raider
After the release of the damning – self-written – summary of the Defence leadership’s failed...
The Travel and Accountability edition: Tuvalu, leadership failure and the Hunter frigates – and the B-21
by Marcus Hellyer and Michael Shoebridge
The Travel and Accountability Edition: Tuvalu, leadership failure & the Hunter frigates, and the...
Hoping no one joins the dots: what Mr Albanese’s three visit journey shows the world
You have to wonder what Joe Biden, Xi Jinping and Cook Islands’ Mark Brown make of prime minister...
Aust-US alliance is thriving in new areas, less healthy at its military core
Anthony Albanese’s visit to America has done three things. It has broadened the ambition for the...
Grumpy Strategists: The Estimates Edition
by Marcus Hellyer and Michael Shoebridge
The Estimates Edition: a recruitment crisis, fragile fleets & lessons from America | RSS.com In...
Defence budget gloom sinks in
“Gentlemen, we have run out of money, now we have to think”, is a quote attributed both to the...











