Australia’s national intelligence community (NIC) has grown and evolved significantly in recent years. But its key oversight and accountability mechanisms have remained comparatively unchanged and legislatively constrained. By their very nature, intelligence agencies need to …
As part of the Australian government’s Pacific push, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced an Australian infrastructure financing facility to support essential infrastructure development in the region. The move echoes earlier calls from the Labor …
In Australia, there’s a tendency to see Israel purely through the lens of the Palestinian issue and the peace process. But there’s really no country in the Middle East whose interests are more closely aligned …
As a backgrounder to the APEC meeting in Port Moresby this week, we recently set out in The Australian some of the broad maritime and border security issues Papua New Guinea faces. Here we’d like …
There are more than 120,000 licensed security guards in Australia. No one knows the exact number as each jurisdiction has a different way of defining security operators and determining who should be licensed and how. Some …
Victoria Police’s recent release of its new counterterrorism strategy for the next three years was timely. There have been seven terrorist attacks and 18 disrupted attacks in Australia since 2005, and Melbourne was the target of nearly half of …
The devastating floods we’ve recently seen in Japan are an indicator of the kinds of challenges we’re facing as a result of a changing climate. The landslides and flooding across much of western Japan killed …
Remote Antarctica is becoming more accessible. Tourist numbers down south have grown significantly, along with calls for greater regulation. China’s Antarctic program is moving ahead: it will build its fifth research station on Inexpressible Island …
Scarcity of food and energy is a growing problem due to the effects of climate change. Some arid areas may run out of water and food. The graph above shows per capita water supply in water-stressed countries …
It’s a game changer. In the next few years, there’ll be year-round access to our polar real estate. Last Friday the Minister for the Environment and Energy Josh Frydenberg and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop announced …
Established late last year, the Department of Home Affairs has initiated changes in both governance arrangements and thinking about national security in an all-hazards context. The changes continue apace. Last month the Minister for Law …
Pacific island states face a pressing need to understand more about what’s happening in the waters that surround them and to work more closely to deal with threats and crises. Maritime security-related issues represent some …
