Telstra released its 2017 Cyber Security Report this week, and it seems that cyber threats are continuing to grow at a considerable clip. The report, based on Telstra’s own data and results from 360 business …
I have always believed that our institutions should seek to reflect the diversity of our community. So you might well be expecting me to bemoan the fact that there are still too few women inhabiting …
Writing recently about Malcolm Turnbull’s decision not to seek ratification of an extradition treaty with China, the journalist Bernard Keane didn’t think it would affect the government’s political position: ‘For a start, it was in …
When I was ambassador to the United States, I used to say that Australia was allied to the US—minus one building in Washington. That building housed the United States Trade Representative (USTR). Along with the Department of …
Sea State Indonesia is continuing with its program of literally blowing up illegal fishing boats in its waters. On Saturday, authorities simultaneously destroyed 81 foreign vessels at 12 different locations, in what Maritime and Fisheries …
In November 2016, the New York Times reported that the Obama administration was set to expand its interpretation of the authorization of the use of military force to include broader authorities to strike al-Shabaab, the …
Last month it appeared that the Chinese were again on the move in the South China Sea. The provincial administrator of Beijing’s land claims in the region told Chinese state media that work would soon …
Much of the focus on domestic terrorism in the US in early 2016 was devoted to an incident that took place in late 2015, when Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik killed 14 people in …
Bitcoin is often mentioned in the media in the same breath as the now defunct ‘silk road’ dark-web trading site, and usually accompanied by a nonsensical stock photo of a laptop user wearing a balaclava. …
Two visits to Australia by the Chinese leader Li Keqiang illustrate the China sweet-and-sour. The just-completed trip by Premier Li for the annual leaders’ summit was all about the sweet. Just the fact of the …
This week’s ASPI Suggests is blasting off in three…two…one…. SpaceX gave a new meaning to reduce, reuse, recycle this morning, as it made history by successfully launching a pre-loved Falcon 9 rocket into orbital space. …
The French presidential election due on 23 April has failed to ignite much interest in the English language media, even though it represents a major political upheaval, with establishment candidates such as Nicolas Sarkozy, Alain …
Africa-based jihadist groups confirmed a trend in 2016: the developing world is bearing the brunt of terrorism. Levels of violence have been such that the bulk of CT activities have been of a military nature, …
Sovereignty is the topic du jour in defence circles. The Defence Industry Policy Statement (DIPS) 2016 has replaced the concept of Priority Industry Capabilities (PICs) with Sovereign Industry Capabilities (SICs) and the Department of Defence …
Welcome to The Strategist Six, a feature that provides a glimpse into the thinking of prominent academics, analysts, government officials, military officers, reporters and interesting individuals from around the world. 1. What are your impressions …
The Beat Drug usage in the sewage Curious about drugs in Australia? Test the sewage—at least that’s what the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission did, as it searched for drug byproducts. Initial results from the National …
The odds are high that the phrase ‘quantum supremacy’ will soon cross your desk. In mid-2016 Google engineers announced plans to achieve quantum supremacy in the near-term; the likely timescale is five years, possibly much …
Sixty years after the signing of the Treaty of Rome, France is poised to hold an election that could make or break the European Union. A victory for the pro-EU independent centrist Emmanuel Macron could …
South Asia in 2016 presented a mixed picture for counterterrorism. Excluding those in Afghanistan, fatalities from terrorist violence among all categories of victim—members of the public, security forces and, indeed, terrorists—are at their lowest levels …
Australia has long pursued nuanced foreign policy approaches to both nuclear non-proliferation and its bilateral relationship with Iran, and has clearly benefitted from full diplomatic relations and a favourable trade relationship with Tehran. We rightfully …