Writer

Dr Mike Gilligan
Dr Mike Gilligan worked for 20 years in defence policy and evaluating military proposals for development, including time in the Pentagon on military balances in Asia.
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Australia’s defence strategic review – facts and fallacies
In preparation for the Defence Strategic Review the government has not informed Australians of any threat which challenges our security, much less a spectrum of them up to “most concerning”. Continue reading »
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Deceiving cabinet colleagues on submarines? Surely not
Which Australian Defence Minister convinced the Hawke Cabinet to create a submarine production industry at Port Adelaide with no commercial prospects, its product being of only marginal benefit to our defence, with zero local construction expertise, at extraordinary cost to taxpayers yet available economically elsewhere – while obscuring the finding by his Department that submarines Continue reading »
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Our Defence Minister spurns realism, imperilling Australia
Behind the militarese the professionals know this means that Australia will cough up as much money and forces as necessary to fight China in a high-intensity war on China’s doorstep. Continue reading »
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It’s time – for a top-down review of defence
Labor has a big reputation to protect on defence reform. At historic turning points in Australia’s security it was mostly Labor governments which turned up and delivered. Continue reading »
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Oh, for a Prime Minister honest about Australia’s security
How did it come to this? Australia’s defence policy has been baldly sacrificed to US interests via AUKUS with little public discourse. Continue reading »