Writer
Andrew Farran
Andrew Farran in his younger days was a diplomat, Commonwealth civil servant and law academic (Monash). His subsequent business interests included international trade, intellectual property and publishing, and wool growing. He was a regular contributor to Pearls & Irritations from 2017 – 2020. Writes extensively on international affairs and defence, contributing previously to major newspapers (metropolitan and rural). Formerly director of major professional publishing company; now of a major wool growing enterprise.
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ANDREW FARRAN. More troops to Afghanistan: at best a patch job; at worst perpetuating futility
Whereas economic globalisation might seem for a time to be on the wane, in the military sphere globalisation is on the rise. Regional alliances are being transformed into global alliances. ANZUS has been merged de facto into NATO, and where NATO is persuaded to go so shall we. Australia has been involved in Middle East Continue reading »
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ANDREW FARRAN. Stirring a Witch’s Brew – Selling military equipment to Saudi Arabia.
Australia is busily involved in selling military equipment to Saudi Arabia which is engaged in the civil war in the Yemen whose features exceed in brutality and crimes against humanity those in Syria. Has the government clearly thought through where this might lead, and does the risk of adverse consequences outweigh a few commercial contracts Continue reading »
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The hideous Syrian tragedy
Our armed forces have been deployed abroad opportunistically, even cynically, for decades. This must be avoided in future if they are to serve Australia’s true defence interests in future. Continue reading »
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ANDREW FARRAN. The Tactical Strike Force fighter to stalk terrorists – really!
Why does the Prime Minister extoll our expensive F-35s as instruments for killing terrorists in irrelevant conflicts when their purpose is to protect the nation against threats of strategic dimensions were they to arise, not now but in the decades to come? Continue reading »
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ANDREW FARRAN. Some good news on trade at last.
The WTO’s long awaited multilateral Trade Facilitation Agreement has at last received the required number of ratifications and entered into force on 22nd February. It will expedite the movement and clearance of goods at the border and at airports, and significantly reduce time and costs for traders. Continue reading »
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ANDREW FARRAN. To TPP or not to TPP? – Trade negotiators need to get back to first principles,
If the compounding mess of the global trading ‘system’ is to be overcome, trade negotiators need to get back to first principles. Continue reading »
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ANDREW FARRAN. Molan v. Woolcott: The rough and the smooth in regional diplomacy
Molan writes that this sensitive touch in relations with Indonesia is reflected in a long tradition of Australian diplomats putting Indonesia’s interests and the views of Indonesians ahead of our own. Indeed he implies that but for geography Indonesia would be of little or no importance to us at all. Continue reading »
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ANDREW FARRAN. New series. We can say ‘no’ to the Americans.
We should have a very clear and unromantic view of what we conceive to be the ‘national interest’. Continue reading »
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ANDREW FARRAN. ANZUS – Reality check coming soon! Quo vadis series.
Quo vadis – Australian foreign policy and ANZUS. Summary. We need diplomacy of the highest order, not military interventions which, as we have seen, generally make conflict situations worse. Continue reading »
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ANDREW FARRAN. Under Trump – A moment of truth may be approaching
Indications are that a Trump Administration will expect America’s allies to pay their way to a greater extent than former President Nixon’s expectations were pursuant to the Guam Doctrine of 1969 mid-point in the Vietnam War. By and large it could be argued that Australia has paid its way – through Vietnam, Afghanistan and Continue reading »
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ANDREW FARRAN. The legal spat in Canberra – more serious than we may think.
Legal advice on a government decision to go to war. The legal spat between the Commonwealth Solicitor-General and the Attorney- General is potentially more serious than it might appear. It is not uncommon that certain actions or proposed actions by governments raise either constitutional or international legal issues of questionable validity. In this context Continue reading »
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ANDREW FARRAN. ‘We must get out of Syria’
A comment in support of Richard Woolcott’s blog: “Australia’s Shambolic Policy on Syria – Up Shi’ite Creek Without a Paddle. – We must get out of Syria” Richard Woolcott has stated with clear reasons why we should get out of the Middle East conflict which threatens to broaden and involve us in an expanded Continue reading »
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Defence & Australian Strategic Policy Institute – Joined at the Hip
Following on John Menadue’s recent item in which he dissected the funding of Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) and the pervasive influence of the ‘Australia/US Defence and Intelligence Complex’ of which ASPI is a part, he questioned whether ASPI as a supposedly independent source of strategic advice could provide the advice necessary to get the Continue reading »
