by Michael Shoebridge | Mar 5, 2026 | Featured, Policy
It’s time to notice big changes in our world when it comes to how Australia equips its military and spends the $59 billion annual defence budget. As ministers Marles and Conroy put the finishing touches to their brand new National Defence Strategy, they also...
by Marcus Hellyer and Michael Shoebridge | Mar 4, 2026 | Featured, Podcasts, Policy, Strategy & Capability
Iran War: bad guys, rose petals and donuts – Trump | RSS.com Marcus and Michael reflect on their wisdom in modifying the Grumpies bunker to hold thousands of litres of diesel and 8 pallets of tinned tomatoes, as the war escalates in the Middle East. They set out...
by Michael Shoebridge | Mar 3, 2026 | Featured, Policy
America’s approach to the world has changed fundamentally. The era of its failed wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is over, along with the big idea behind them. That was then Secretary of State Colin Powell’s famous line “You break it, you own it”, based on the...
by Michael Shoebridge | Feb 27, 2026 | AUKUS, China
Kevin Rudd’s 3 years as Australian ambassador in Washington have shown he can ride rollercoasters and survive. In 3 short years, Kevin Rudd has had a box seat not available to any other Australian to watch the whiplashing changes in the US – and in American...
by Marcus Hellyer and Michael Shoebridge | Feb 26, 2026 | AUKUS, China, Podcasts
Plumbing new depths in politics. And Chinese sub n | RSS.com Marcus goes diving to try to find rock bottom in Australian political discourse, but has to come up for air. He at least found the curious case of a Canberra cafe that police found had put up satirical...
by Michael Shoebridge | Feb 23, 2026 | Policy
How is it that Australians – and our political leaders across the spectrum – seem so afraid of 34 women and children who have been living in a camp in Syria for 6 years? And why do we lazily talk about them as “ISIS brides” when the majority are...
by Marcus Hellyer and Michael Shoebridge | Feb 19, 2026 | Defence Budget, Podcasts, Policy
Mindboggling! celebrating $30 billion on sub sheds | RSS.com The Grumpy Strategists boggle at the sheer chutzpah of PM Albanese and State Premier Malinauskas announcing as a triumph spending $30 billion & taking until 2040 to build submarine construction sheds...
by Michael Shoebridge | Feb 13, 2026 | Defence Budget, Policy
You know a family is in trouble when they start flogging off the furniture to fund their lifestyle. First, it’s bits of the family silver and grandad’s stamp collection, then the holiday house. But as the trouble deepens, it’s mum’s jewels and then the family home....
by Marcus Hellyer and Michael Shoebridge | Feb 10, 2026 | Defence Budget, Featured, Podcasts
Australia’s defence budget update: a sugar hit fol | RSS.com The Grumpy Strategists pan for gold in 234 pages of dense, incoherent Government paperwork setting out the Albanese Government’s revised plans for our nation’s defence, and find some rather...
by Marcus Hellyer | Feb 10, 2026 | Defence Budget, Featured, Policy
The Defence portfolio’s mid-year budget update, the Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements (PAES), has dropped and will be discussed at upcoming Senate estimates hearings. The PAES is meant to disclose any changes to the funding picture since the Portfolio Budget...
