AUKUS anniversary reminder to the prime minister
Dear prime minister, How very unfortunate that you chose 14 September to announce further expenditure on submarine facilities.
Recent articles in Defence
16 September 2025
As Europe diversifies its defence, Canberra still clings to AUKUS
Anthony Albanese is about to pour more than $12 billion into a new AUKUS submarine base in Perth.
7 September 2025
When Australia defied US nuclear plans. Part 2: Sovereignty at stake
Declassified US. Pacific Command Histories, which provide much of what is now known about the Australian B-52 terrain avoidance and maritime surveillance missions, reveal that the Fraser Government was far from transparent with the public about the true stakes of the B-52 deployments to Australia – and perhaps not fully cognisant itself.
6 September 2025
SSN AUKUS – Heading for a quagmire (Part II)
In the first part, I identified the factors mitigating against the sale of 3-5 Virginia class submarines to cover the gap until the arrival of the British designed SSN AUKUS.
6 September 2025
When Australia defied US nuclear plans. Part 1: B-52s over Australia in the 1980s
It wasn’t always like this. For a brief moment Australia stood apart.
5 September 2025
The shrinking US Navy submarine force – Implications for AUKUS Pillar 1 (Part 1)
The US Navy’s attack submarine force had been predicted to reduce to 49 in 2030.
4 September 2025
Military experts warn of climate wars
“Accelerating climate disruption is the greatest threat to the human future: our safety and well-being, our homes and communities, and how and where we live and work,” a group of leading Australian military and security experts says.
4 September 2025
If you really want some subs – try this
While there is no doubt that our acquisition of nuclear subs from the US will either be massively delayed and over budget or binned on some Trumpian whim, what’s worse is that we may never get our multi-billion dollar deposit back if that occurs.
2 September 2025
Marking September 2: Lest we forget
This week marks 80 years since the end of World War II. While Europe celebrated the end of the war in May, hostilities dragged on for several months in the Far East until Emperor Hirohito announced the surrender of Japan on 15 August 1945 and this declaration was formalised on 2 September.
29 August 2025
Chasing a chimera: The political dream of AUKUS that consumes reality
For the sake of taxpayers, let's hope that the Audit Office is inspecting the AUKUS books closely.
27 August 2025
For 35 years after Vietnam, we had a self-reliant defence policy. We need it again
The US is almost always at war, not in defence of values and democracy but in its “manifest destiny” as the world hegemon.
22 August 2025
Silver foxholes: A moral argument for older soldiers
The Australian Defence Force’s recruitment efforts are targeted primarily at teenagers and young adults.
12 August 2025
Germany's arms embargo on Israel isn't betrayal, it's a moral reckoning
The arming of Israel now, so that it can carry out its plan to take control of Gaza and carry out ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity in the territory, is one of the most antisemitic and anti-Israeli measures imaginable.
