by Michael Shoebridge | May 11, 2024 | China, Indo Pacific, Strategy & Capability
The latest dangerous aggression by China’s military against Australia’s defence personnel – dropping flares in front of a Navy helicopter enforcing United Nations sanctions – showed us two things. Xi Jinping is happy to see his fighter pilots and ship captains acting...
by Marcus Hellyer and Michael Shoebridge | May 6, 2024 | Defence Budget, Podcasts, Policy, Strategy & Capability
The numerology of Australia’s new National Defence | RSS.com In Episode 17, Marcus Hellyer and Michael Shoebridge assess the foundations of defence minister Richard Marles’ new National Defence Strategy, looking for clarity and focus that the welter of...
by Lesley Seebeck | May 4, 2024 | Policy, Strategy & Capability, Ukraine
Years ago, a task often assigned graduates newly arrived in Defence was to draft responses to letters from the public. Responses would be composed by stitching together relevant ‘standard paragraphs’—pre-agreed words to common issues or concerns—then dispatched to the...
by Marcus Hellyer | May 2, 2024 | Defence Budget, Indo Pacific, Strategy & Capability
On Wednesday 23 April, the Albanese Government released its National Defence Strategy (NDS) and Integrated Investment Program (IIP). The NDS was foreshadowed in the Defence Strategic Review (DSR) and is meant to appear every two years, replacing Defence White Papers....
by Marcus Hellyer and Michael Shoebridge | Apr 13, 2024 | AUKUS, China, Defence Budget, Indo Pacific, Podcasts, Policy, Strategy & Capability
Devalued words and dollars damage Australia’s secu | RSS.com The Grumpy Strategists assess the state of public decisions and defence policy making in Australia: the damaging path of ‘profound’ and ‘transformative’ policies that...