by Michael Shoebridge and Marcus Hellyer | Jan 21, 2025 | Podcasts, Policy, Strategy & Capability
Episiode 31- Biden valedictory, Trump 2.0 prelude | RSS.com Marcus and Michael are back after a luxurious break to assess what Joe Biden ever did for us, what Trump 2.0 looks like as the rollercoaster starts, and what the unsleeping Australian Govt elves got up to...
by Marcus Hellyer | Jan 21, 2025 | AUKUS, Policy
Everybody says they want policy contestability because it tests ideas and can bring new insights and rigour to policy and decision making. But there’s one thing my years conducting contestability on Australia’s defence and strategic policy from positions inside and...
by Anthony Bergin | Jan 20, 2025 | Policy, Uncategorized
Speaking from Israel on Friday, Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus was asked what Australia’s contribution to Gaza’s reconstruction should be. He avoided a direct answer, saying it was clear there needed to be a large international effort with no role for Hamas....
by Michael Shoebridge | Jan 20, 2025 | AUKUS, China, Defence Budget, Policy, Strategy & Capability
In his second incarnation as US President, Donald Trump will be more certain of his own instincts and much more demanding than the Trump we saw between 2016 and 2020. That is big news for Australia, particularly because of President Trump’s approach to alliances...
by Anthony Bergin | Jan 15, 2025 | Policy
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, a prominent Jewish member of cabinet, is visiting Israel for about a week to help mend relations between the two countries. Dreyfus had a trip to Israel scheduled for the one-year anniversary of the October 7 terrorist attacks. It was...
by Marcus Hellyer, Peter Jennings and Michael Shoebridge | Jan 14, 2025 | Defence Budget, Policy, Strategy & Capability
No-one wants war, but the risk of conflict in our region is substantially growing, and we could well find ourselves in war whether we want it or not. The challenge now is to rapidly strengthen the Australian Defence Force with the goal that our efforts, along with our...
by Peter Jennings | Jan 14, 2025 | AUKUS, China, Indo Pacific, Policy, Strategy & Capability
If you thought 2024 was hard for defence and security, the outlook at the beginning of 2025 suggests this year will be even riskier. From 2020, all Australian defence ministers have said the strategic outlook has never been more challenging than since the end of World...
by Michael Shoebridge | Jan 10, 2025 | Policy
If 2024 was the year of global elections, 2025 is the year voters want experimentation in politics and government – and they’re willing to elect risky people to deliver it. 2024 set a clear pattern: incumbent governments were punished by being chronically weakened or...
by Gedaliah Afterman and Anthony Bergin | Jan 7, 2025 | Policy
The Middle East is experiencing game-changing developments with consequences that extend well beyond the region. Intensifying superpower competition, China’s expanding presence, and the return of Donald Trump to the White House are redefining global power dynamics....
by Anthony Bergin and Michael Shoebridge | Jan 7, 2025 | AUKUS, China, Strategy & Capability
‘Narco-subs’ are semi-submersible vessels drug lords have used for at least a decade to smuggle drugs to Europe or across the Caribbean. They sit just below the water with small chunks of the vessel above it. One intercepted by the Colombian Navy in late 2024 shows...
