As Australia awarded itself an ill-thought-out peace dividend at the end of the Cold War, the impact fell hardest on the Navy’s surface combatant fleet. Arguably no element was thought through more thoroughly for the …
Tag Archive for: "Kim Beazley"
On page 27 of National defence, the report of the defence strategic review, is a map of Australia’s strategic geography. It superbly situates us and perfectly explains why a power in the distant reaches of …
When I was Australia’s ambassador to the United States, I visited General Dynamics Electric Boat in Groton, Connecticut, one of two yards constructing the Virginia-class submarines. A Virginia was the backdrop in San Diego last …
Kim Beazley recalls the 1980s when he oversaw a restructuring of Australia’s military establishment comfortable in the knowledge that no major attack was likely in the coming decade. That luxury is gone, he says. Beazley, …
In a chapter of a book marking the 75th anniversary of Australian representation in the US, I noted that a key challenge for any ambassador is keeping up with direct communications between ministers and principals. …