by Mike Kelly and Anthony Bergin | May 27, 2025 | Policy
The UN has scheduled a high-level conference on Palestine and the two-state solution in June in New York. The main aim of the conference, co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, is to obtain recognition of a Palestinian state from UN members. The General...
by Michael Shoebridge | May 27, 2025 | China, Policy
As prime minister Albanese got over the jetlag from his recent whirlwind trips to Jakarta, the Vatican and Singapore, I’d hope someone found the time in his diary to tell him about an opportunity Australia had to play a key role in reinforcing multilateral approaches...
by Michael Shoebridge | May 21, 2025 | Podcasts, Policy, Strategy & Capability
Attention Deficit disorder debuts as global foreig | RSS.com The Grumpy Strategists road test Incat’s latest product, the 130m electric ship “China Zorrilla”, while assessing the whiplash shifts in American engagement with the Middle East. They...
by Marcus Hellyer and Michael Shoebridge | May 9, 2025 | AUKUS, Defence Budget, Podcasts, Ukraine
Grumpy Strategists Popes and Prime Ministers editi | RSS.com YouTube version available here. Marcus beams in from the Vatican after running the numbers for Pope Bob, while Michael fights his way through the clouds of smug spilling from the re-elected Labor government...
by Michael Shoebridge | May 1, 2025 | Defence Budget, Policy
Australia is spending more and more taxpayers’ dollars equipping our Defence Force, but it is buying less and less. We’re in a spiralling affordability crisis leading to a shrinking Australian military and a bankrupt Defence organisation. The problem comes from the...
by Marcus Hellyer | Apr 29, 2025 | Defence Budget, Policy
Last week the Liberal Party released its defence policy (slightly) ahead of Saturday’s federal election. The initial announcement focused on the goal of growing the defence budget to 2.5% over the next five years and to 3.0% over the decade. Since then, the...
by Michael Shoebridge | Apr 28, 2025 | AUKUS, Defence Budget, Podcasts, Policy, Strategy & Capability
Episode 39 of the Grumpies is available as a video podcast here on YouTube or here as an audio version. Marcus and Michael go through the -sparse – highlights of Australia’s election campaign from a defence perspective – the Coalition’s policy...
by Peter Jennings | Apr 28, 2025 | AUKUS, Defence Budget, Strategy & Capability
At last we have a measurable and important policy difference between Labor and the Coalition with Peter Dutton’s plan to lift defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP across five years and to 3 per cent by 2035. Labor’s plan is to lift defence spending slowly to 2.4...
by Marcus Hellyer | Apr 25, 2025 | AUKUS, Defence Budget, Strategy & Capability
The Coalition’s announcement that it will increase defence spending is a long overdue acknowledgement that business as usual in national security is not a valid option. It’s intent to hit 2.5% of GDP over the next five years and 3.0% over the next ten is a much needed...
by Michael Shoebridge | Apr 23, 2025 | China, Defence Budget, Strategy & Capability
It’s been an extraordinary gap in the debate around our federal election that no one has got to grips with the need to make Australia more secure fast. We’ve watched Chinese warships sail around our country firing their weapons. And we’re seeing Russia building a...
