During the recent pro-Palestine and pro-Israel protests in Sydney and Melbourne, many Australians have demanded an end to the conflict in Gaza, lawfully exercising their freedom of speech. A small number of protestors, however, have …
Articles by: "John Coyne"
A significant focus in the 2023 defence strategic review was the north of Australia. While it had the expected references to northern Australia’s military and geographical advantages, more importantly, the review highlighted that a lot …
Australia’s foreign policy and place in the world have long been considered the domain of diplomats, defence officials and national-security decision-makers in Canberra. There are no departments of foreign affairs or defence, or intelligence agencies, …
Since the 2023 defence strategic review, discussion of northern Australia and its maritime and air approaches has reached its highest tempo since the 1940s. The declassified version of the review released in April mentioned northern …
Spoiler alert: This article references successful procurement changes and positively recognises the work of Australia’s defence ministers. It’s easy to criticise defence procurement initiatives, and the ministers who oversee them. From the Whitlam government’s frigate …
Rare-earth elements (REEs) and critical minerals are the world’s building blocks for emerging and future technologies and are essential to manufacturing, clean energy production, semiconductor production, and the defence and aerospace industries. Their supply and …
Two weeks ago, it appeared that Vanuatu’s then prime minister, Ishmael Kalsakau, had survived a parliamentary no-confidence vote. It turned out to be simply a stay of execution. Last week, the Pacific island nation’s parliament …
Misogynist ideology, beyond individual criminal behaviour, has fuelled violence against women worldwide. Predominantly English-language, open-source data suggests that these attacks may have led to or been associated with 58 deaths—63 deaths if attacker suicides are …
Much of the public policy discourse on AUKUS, the security partnership between Australia, the UK and the US, has focused on nuclear-powered submarines (Pillar 1). Far less attention has been paid to Pillar 2, which …
Countering terrorism while preserving essential freedoms and holding together a stable and harmonious community isn’t an easy task, but it has been managed effectively by successive Australian governments and their agencies. The Albanese government’s focus …
While the AUKUS agreement and the defence strategic review have focused strong interest on the massive task of building, crewing and operating Australia’s future nuclear-powered submarines, the government has also agreed in principle to sizeable …
Nations must regularly ask themselves how they are to meet the challenges of their strategic context. The defence strategic review commissioned by the Australian government set out to assess Australia’s force posture, structure and capability. …