Defence and Security
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Our case against AUKUS is more relevant than ever
Next Monday, Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 47th President of the United States. Continue reading »
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America preying on our universities
The US is exploiting a privileged position in our society with formalised access to powerful means for shaping Australians’ attitudes to security. It purports to be ally and friend, but where’s the respect? Continue reading »
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Will the Cocos Islands become like Diego Garcia, hijacked by the US?
The 2000 residents of Diego Garcia were forcibly removed to make way for a giant US military base. Continue reading »
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The US sees China through the dark mirror of its own unbridled aggression
As China grows and prospers many in the US want us to believe that China will follow the same path that the US itself pursued – global military aggression, the overthrow of numerous governments around the world and persecution of minorities at home. (A repost from February 2023.) Continue reading »
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Best of 2024: “I told you so”: No Aussie subs in 2030s, total reliance on the Yanks
The sweetest words in the English language: I told you so. Continue reading »
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Best of 2024: The military control of Australia
The Albanese government with their policy is likely to turn Australia into the 51st state of the United States, writes former Prime Minister of Australia, Paul Keating. Continue reading »
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Protests disrupt Australia ‘aiding and abetting’ genocide at US Pine Gap intelligence base
There’s no question that they did it: on 27 November last year, in the middle of Hatt Road, two people, Carmen Robinson and Alexandra (Tommy) Walker, locked themselves onto a barrel filled with concrete, blocking traffic on the way into the Pine Gap military base. Continue reading »
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In the fight against tyranny, don’t let your happiness depend on big wins
If you stand for truth, peace and justice in this world then it’s important not to make your happiness dependent on large-scale wins. Continue reading »
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Fear-mongering claims masquerading as facts protect AUKUS from parliament’s scrutiny
The battle is on to see which side of politics can boast of siphoning the most profits to the weapons industry – at the expense of health, education, climate and environmental action, and everything else we need – and of bowing more obsequiously before the US and its war machine. Continue reading »
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‘Nothing to see here’ says Australia as third Thales corruption case starts globally
Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy turns a blind eye to “unethical conduct” between Thales and the Defence Department despite national audit office warning of “capture” by weapons giants. Continue reading »
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Chinese scholar reveals Vietnam’s double-dealing in South China Sea dispute
When international discussions turn to the South China Sea, they often focus exclusively on China-Philippines disputes over islands and reefs, overlooking the complex web of overlapping territorial claims in the region. I seldom see Chinese media coverage or scholarly analysis from the Chinese mainland address the actions of other stakeholders in these disputes. Continue reading »
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What the Australian War Memorial should be doing about children
Give me the child for the first seven years and I will give you the man was a Jesuit maxim attributed to Ignatius Loyola. It is probably apocryphal, but it is an approach many have taken over the years to implant ideas in young minds. Continue reading »
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AUKUS is an intergenerational disaster. It will cause long term detriment to Australia’s security
Australia is a part of a hostile military alliance directed at China. “Interoperability” or “interchangeability” means we’re now a US pawn, tied to its coattails. So that’s the job of every Australian: push for more information, keep talking about why AUKUS is an utter disaster and why it commits us to a costly and dangerous Continue reading »
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Negotiate, don’t escalate
A nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought. Continue reading »
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War games? Let’s play peace
Why volunteer for the military? Academics have some answers. Continue reading »
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America, We are out of your China fight
Australia must leave the China debacle, constructively. In withdrawing from America’s aggression against China, we should offer our diplomacy as a patient bridge between China and the US. That will take time. America will become even more extreme before it considers peaceful coexistence with China. Meanwhile our action will be a moderating influence, as we Continue reading »
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Australia defies UN in defence trade with Israel
Australia is continuing to expand its relationships with Israel’s defence sector, defying the UN’s International Court of Justice. Continue reading »
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With Trump victory, is it time to shut Pine Gap?
It’s a time of major events: Donald Trump has again been elected President of the USA and its biggest foreign spy base Pine Gap features in the movie Twilight Time to be screened in Alice Springs on Saturday. Continue reading »
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South Korean support for own nuclear arsenal grows as confidence in U.S. wanes
Public distrust in the reliability of the U.S. nuclear umbrella has sharply increased, with a majority of South Koreans now supporting the development of their own nuclear weapons, a recent survey shows. Continue reading »
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Australia neither moral nor powerful
Australia is no longer a middle, nor moral, power although its political leaders think Australia is both. When did Australia lose its morality, and along with that loss, its status as a respected middle power? Continue reading »
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AUKUS confirms that we are mendicant clients of the US
A recalcitrant US government could turn-off Australia’s ability to defend itself within days. Continue reading »
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Theranos, Nokia and Dennis Richardson’s AUKUS review
Dennis Richardson has been asked by Defence Minister Richard Marles to review “governance” at the Australian Submarine Agency tasked with building AUKUS submarines because a Public Service staff census has revealed very significant problems within the Agency with staff morale and internal communications. But, is he up to the task? Continue reading »
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The AUKUS delusion just got worse
Much has been written in these pages about the AUKUS delusion: Of how it was haphazardly and secretly put together by Scott Morrison to wedge the then Labor Opposition, about the elasticity of its costings, the improbability of Australia ever acquiring any of the proposed submarines, the enormous cost of the project, the effectiveness of Continue reading »
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If you want peace, don’t prepare for war
In a series of baby but not blindfolded steps, our Government is making Australia ready for war. The latest of these appeared in the small print of a memorandum on 27 November. Continue reading »
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AUKUS harming Chinese and Muslim Australians
In electorates with high numbers of Chinese and Muslim voters, it is time for a reckoning with Labor’s AUKUS policy. Continue reading »
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Subs and secrets: Will Australia choose AUKUS or sovereignty?
Australians have become locked in to US military planning, entrenching our status as a US staging post. In this more dangerous world is a country’s sovereignty now a myth? Continue reading »
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Another nail in the coffin for Australia’s phantom defence needs
The US submarine base was always going to come first, not for the sake of supplying useless boats for Australia’s phantom defence needs, but for keeping an ever watchful US imperium stocked. Continue reading »
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A five-minute scroll
Claims Israel is aiding ISIS-linked terrorists, the UN security council fails to gain the votes to call for a ceasefire, Palestine asks in there is one rule for Israel. Jeffrey Sachs sets history straight on Europe and the Ukraine war and Senator Lidia Thorpe sets the record straight on the two-party system. Senator Hanson-Young calls Continue reading »
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AUKUS, the China threat and Chinese-Australian communities
The recent election of Donald Trump to the US presidency has cast further doubt on the feasibility of the AUKUS trilateral security partnership, particularly Australia’s acquisition of nuclear submarines under Pillar I. Yet the AUKUS trilateral security partnership has become a fait accompli without the Australian public having expressed much in the way of opposition, or even a Continue reading »
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Is AUKUS safe under Trump?
Former Labor Foreign Minister Bob Carr joins Steve Cannane to discuss: is the country’s key strategic military agreement with the US under threat from a Trump presidency? Continue reading »
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A five-minute scroll
British surgeon Nizam Mamode describes how Israel’s quadcopters target children and Norwegian physician, Dr. Mads Gilbert speaks out on 400 days of genocide. Israel, meanwhile, has passed laws allowing children under under the age of 14 to be jailed. Sarah Schwartz of the Jewish Council of Australia speaks out on the false reporting of weekend Continue reading »
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Does Australia really want to be the “tip of the spear”, projecting Western power?
AUKUS, increasingly seen as a dud deal, though an expensive one, with a $368 billion price tag, stands as the clearest example of the cognitive dissonance besetting the Australian body politic. Continue reading »
