Food contamination has been a regular feature in news headlines over the past fortnight. The discovery of needles in strawberries and other fruit has been the main cause of concern, with incidents spreading across the …
Articles by: "Paul Barnes"
The 2002 science fiction thriller 28 Days Later, depicting the effects of an outbreak of a virulent genetically engineered plague, was described as the first great apocalyptic movie of the new millennium. The film’s narrative …
With Australia’s 2017–18 natural disaster season over, it’s timely to acknowledge the superlative capabilities of our emergency service agencies, planners and support staff, whether working full-time or volunteering, who were on-call during the season. …
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 …
The inadequacy of Australia’s liquid fuel reserves is like a bothersome itch that won’t go away. Recent reporting of serious concerns about Australia’s liquid fuel vulnerabilities by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security …
Some watershed changes have been announced across our national security domain this year. A home affairs department is being established to act as a ‘portfolio agency’ for ASIO, the AFP, the Australian Border Force, the …
Australians with more than a passing interest in the supply of electricity can’t have missed the media attention and ongoing political engagement on the findings of Australian Chief Scientist Dr Alan Finkel’s recently released review …
If you study or work in the biosciences, chances are that ‘CRISPR’ has been on your mind for the past five years. That’s Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats. Or, in plain-speak: the easiest, cheapest …
The recent establishment by the Attorney-General and the Treasurer of a Critical Infrastructure Centre (CIC) follows strong media interest in the issue of foreign direct investment in Australian infrastructure, including the leasing of part of …
A complex network of interconnected supply chains keep Australia fed, fuelled, and functioning. But recent changes to Australia’s energy supply chain mean they’re increasingly vulnerable to disruption. Australia, like most advanced economies, relies on a …
Early warnings and communication with at-risk communities before and during crises have been central to recent post-disaster evaluations in Australia. Effective risk communication ideally results from engagement with those communities before, during and after emergencies …
This piece is drawn from Agenda for Change 2016: strategic choices for the next government. Natural and technical disasters are a major strategic security challenge. Deloitte Access Economics’ Building resilient infrastructure report estimates that in …