Leadership today is too often confused with visibility. But being seen isn’t the same as being effective. In northern Australia, where the challenges are uniquely complex and the solutions must be collaborative, performative politics cannot …
The Strategist on: "North of 26° south"
In 1940, with much of Europe under fascist domination, US president Franklin Roosevelt declared that the United States must become ‘the great arsenal of democracy’. US industry mobilised, producing ships, aircraft and ammunition on an …
The Australian Army’s amphibious capability is evolving, but not without turbulence. Determining the right force posture, basing arrangements and partnerships for this capability is no easy task, and the consequences of getting this wrong will …
Signing the new Australia–US critical minerals agreement on 20 October was the easy part. The real test will be its implementation. The challenge, and opportunity, is to turn diplomatic intent into industrial capability and national …
The new United States–Australia Framework for Securing of Supply in the Mining and Processing of Critical Minerals and Rare Earths is a game-changer for both countries and for producers such as Arafura Resources in the …
Australia’s northern air bases are vital to national defence, yet improving their resilience remains a work in progress. And the progress is incremental. This isn’t a new task. The 2023 Defence Strategic Review (DSR), putting …
As Defence prepares the 2026 National Defence Strategy, Mungalulu Truscott Airbase should be recognised as a multi-user critical infrastructure asset—a forward node complementing Darwin that enables logistics, personnel dispersal and operational resilience across northern Western …
AUKUS is reshaping the development of HMAS Stirling in Western Australia to facilitate hosting of allied nuclear-powered submarines. Such efforts shouldn’t end there. Certifying facilities in Darwin Harbour for nuclear-powered warships would deliver redundancy, strengthen …
Northern Australia is where national ambition meets national vulnerability. It is the frontline of defence posture, a hub for resource development, and a testing ground for service delivery in some of the most remote communities …
Energy, not algorithms, will decide who leads in artificial intelligence. At the AI Horizons Summit in Pittsburgh last week, the United States’ largest natural gas producer, EQT, made the case bluntly: the real contest is …
Thirty-three years ago, Deng Xiaoping said that ‘The Middle East has oil, but China has rare earths.’ Today, that rings truer than ever. Critical minerals and rare earths are no longer niche commodities; they are …
The wars of the future will be won by those who train together in live, networked and constructive environments that reflect the full complexity of modern conflict. Australia’s training infrastructure has not fully kept pace …