For all your international security and defence reading, look no further than ASPI Suggests! Tomorrow’s ANZAC Day (25 April) will mark the 100th anniversary of the first major military action fought at Gallipoli by Australian and New …
The First Principles Review of Defence called for abolition of the Capability Development Group (CDG) and Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO). The review recommended a new oversight structure for Defence capital equipment procurement and sustainment, but …
The strategic origins of the Gallipoli operation are to be found in the determination of the First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, to use the navy decisively to influence the war on land, in …
Andrew Davies: It’s been a few weeks since the release of the First Principles Review into Defence. Yesterday ASPI released its ‘review of the Review’, and it’s now time to think about what comes next—implementation …
Confronted with the First Principles Review’s 70 recommendations, it’s easy to lose sight of the forest for the trees. Viewed from arm’s length, the two most important outcomes aren’t actual recommendations but the decisions—one explicit, …
This week in The Beat, alarming rates of corporate corruption in Australia, the UN Crime Congress in Doha, and the Boston bomber’s guilty verdict. And this week in CT Scan, terrorism cheat sheets, Saddam’s ties to …
In their recent piece on The Strategist, Natalie Sambhi and David Lang suggested that the US rebalance to the Asia–Pacific will be ‘saved’ by Hillary Clinton should she win the US presidency. While I don’t …
Hands up if you agree that Anzac encapsulates ‘the unique qualities that gave birth to our national identity: courage, mateship, sacrifice, generosity, freedom and a fair go for all’. I can see almost all hands …
When Charles Bean first envisaged his plan to build a memorial to commemorate the commitment and sacrifice of Australia’s servicemen and servicewomen, he wanted to ensure that the people making the decisions to send Australians …
Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s recent announcement of a National Ice Task Force is long overdue given the reported severity and significance of the problem. The task force will have the colossal task of examining all …
The Washington-based Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA) recently released a couple of reports that should be required reading for anyone thinking about future force structures. Although looking at different domains—one concerns itself with …
Previously on the Life cycle of the Australian defence review we explored the life pattern of this robust herd animal from conception to gestation, birth, infant years and the review’s emergence into full maturity. This time …
In a recent op-ed, I drew attention to the Sea Shepherd’s recent encounter with the toothfish vessel, the Thunder. Economic losses from illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing are estimated to be between US$10 billion …
Flight path It looks as if Russia isn’t just flexing its muscles in Eastern Europe. Last Wednesday, Japan reported Russian incursions in its northern skies. Along with Chinese combat aircraft in its southern airspace, this …
Malcolm Fraser was the last Australian Prime Minister who thought the Commonwealth could be a major instrument of Australian foreign policy. Some of Fraser’s successors—Hawke, Howard and even Gillard—believed the Commonwealth could do useful work …
If the venerable British naturalist David Attenborough was to make a television series entitled The life cycle of the Australian defence review, he would say that reviews are to Defence what the Gnu or Wildebeest …
More evidence of Tony Abbott’s policy stance on the next generation of Australian submarines was revealed with the release of the RAND report into Australia’s Naval Shipbuilding Enterprise. By ignoring an Australian build for …
Andrew Davies’ three First Principles Review (FPR) posts on contestability (here, here, and here) make interesting reading for anyone who has been on both sides of capability arguments. While I agree with most of what …
If there was an award for most audacious title for a blog, Peter Layton’s ‘Shortcomings of the next defence white paper’ would surely take the prize. It was posted just months after the 2013 edition …
Despite press and broadcast reporting that largely focused on the omission of submarines, the RAND report on naval shipbuilding in Australia is a valuable contribution to the discussion of this important public policy issue. No …