The strategic importance of northern Australia to our national security has long been recognised by successive governments, but policymakers have struggled to develop a coherent long-term plan for the defence of the north. Until recently, …
The Strategist on: "North of 26° south"
In April, in the lead-up to the federal election, Labor leader Bill Shorten pledged that if his party won government, it would ‘undertake the first review of Australia’s force posture since 2012 as one of …
In the past decade, the concept of urban resilience has become integral to the development and design strategies of city planners and decision-makers around the world. As cities have grown larger, there’s been a concerted …
Last month, Stephen Kuper highlighted his concerns about the security of the global supply chain for rare-earth elements (REEs), particularly as it relates to sustaining the US defence force. Right now, it’s a bleak outlook. …
The idea of the north of Australia being central to the new concept of the defence of Australia in the 1970s derived from the key strategic fact that the only country in the region with …
The geographic and economic landscape of northern Australia, as well as its history and ecology, differ in fundamental ways from southern Australia with its large cities and well-connected inhabitants. Sparsely populated, the north typically has …
Each of Australia’s border security domains presents unique threats and operating challenges. Whether searching for illicit drugs in Sydney’s mail centre, processing passenger arrivals at Melbourne’s international airport or inspecting shipping containers in Fremantle, the …
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced that more Royal Australian Navy vessels will be built at the Henderson shipyard south of Perth, and the plan appears to have bipartisan support. The 2016 defence white paper …
In a recent Strategist article, Dr Paul Barnes raised the issue of water management and water scarcity in the Top End. He argued that access to water as an essential service may be underrated in …
Australia faces a rapidly changing—and worsening—defence and security outlook that is increasingly at odds with the policy assumptions that underpinned the formulation of the 2016 defence white paper. That reality demands a rethink of our …
It’s hard to argue against the importance of a modern coastal city in Australia’s Top End to geopolitics, the economy and the nation’s security. Darwin’s long history as a military post attests to that. Populations …
Mention the term ‘space coast’ and the image of launch pads and gantries at NASA’s John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida come to mind. It’s a true spaceport that not only launches rockets but …