Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s six-day visit to China, now underway, comes on the heels of two other critical moments: the cancellation of a planned meeting with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit, and Albanese’s delivery of the 2025 John Curtin Oration just days earlier. The three events together tell a story about diplomacy and, importantly, national intent.

In his speech, Albanese invoked Curtin not just as a wartime leader but as a symbol of Australia’s independent strategic thinking. He spoke of a nation that chose its own path, anchored in the region, guided by its own interests and unafraid to act when those interests were imperilled. That principle is as relevant today as it was in 1942. But sovereignty is something that’s demonstrated, not declared.

This brings us squarely to northern Australia. If Curtin’s message was about speaking and acting for ourselves in times of peril, then today’s equivalent is building credible deterrence at our northern edge. That’s where any regional conflict would touch us first and where our geography gives us a strategic advantage. And yet, despite decades of talk, northern Australia remains underutilised, underinvested, underprepared and politically underestimated. This is the real missed message: that the north, rather than just a line on the map, is our operational frontline.

The United States is already leaning forward. Through the Force Posture Initiatives, Marine Rotational Force-Darwin and expanded prepositioning, Washington is embedding its presence where it matters most: on Australia’s northern doorstep. These deployments form the forward scaffolding of deterrence in an increasingly contested Indo-Pacific. The US recognises that if conflict or crisis emerges, it will not start in Canberra; it will begin in the north.

But does Canberra recognise that too?

The government’s consistent messaging around the Darwin Port is a case in point. Even while in Beijing, Albanese reaffirmed his commitment to finding an Australian buyer for the port, an act that will express not hostility but resolve. This is about being pro-sovereignty, not anti-China. It sends a clear signal that Australia will protect its critical infrastructure and strategic assets regardless of external sensitivities.

Maintaining such a stance during high-level diplomatic engagement with China reflects maturity, clarity and strength. Sovereignty, after all, is not just about what we say in Canberra; it’s about the decisions we’re willing to stand by, even in the most delicate diplomatic settings.

The Defence Strategic Review and the National Defence Strategy both call for a hardened, networked and agile Australian Defence Force posture. On paper, we are shifting from a defence-of-Australia model to one of forward engagement and regional deterrence. However, while the documents mention Darwin, Townsville, Cairns and Katherine, investment is slow, fragmented and largely southern-centric.

Northern Australia is still often treated as a place we transit through, rather than from.

State and territory governments aren’t waiting. The Northern Territory is investing in the Middle Arm Sustainable Development Precinct to align infrastructure with strategic industry. Townsville is emerging as a hub for the logistics and defence industries. The territory and the state are acting with urgency and strategic clarity. Canberra, in the name of independence and sovereignty, should match them.

That means putting real capability on the ground: scalable sustainment contracts; fuel and logistics nodes; and resilient command-and-control infrastructure. It also means treating the north not as a frontier but as our forward shield—our first line of deterrence and response.

Washington understands this. But behind closed doors, there’s mounting frustration at Canberra’s inertia. Key assets are still being stored and maintained in southern states, thousands of kilometres away from the theatre where they would be needed.

If we’re serious about sovereign capability, forward engagement, and integrated deterrence, then the north must be treated as operationally central, not geographically peripheral.

Albanese’s John Curtin Oration rightly celebrated independence of thought and leadership in adversity. Curtin didn’t wait for permission from the great powers; he made tough choices in tough times. He spoke plainly, acted decisively and placed Australia’s interests at the centre of every decision.

That’s the lesson. And that’s the standard.