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 »
Defence and Security
The significance of US strategic bomber deployments:Defence Minister Richard Marles played down revelations in late 2022 that up to six US B-52 strategic bombers are to be forward-deployed to Tindal Air Force Base, telling reporters at the time that ‘everyone needs to take a deep breath here.’ Marles implied that there was nothing new about Continue reading »
A monumental transformation: There has been a great deal of public criticism of Australia’s decision to acquire a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines (SSNs) via the AUKUS security partnership. The criticism has been both broad and deep, spanning political and industrial challenges, budgetary consequences, safety and environmental concerns, strategic risks, and the erosion of national sovereignty. Continue reading »
The AUKUS agreement is controversial. It covers advanced military technologies whose future is contested by experts. There is also a vigorous discussion over whether the agreement has compromised Australia’s autonomy on strategic policy making and implementation. Yet this latter debate completely misses why AUKUS is at risk of failure. AUKUS’ “Tier One” objective is to Continue reading »
Successive Australian governments have allowed the United States to carry out a program of militarisation in Western Australia which has made it a vital U.S war-fighting base and thus an inevitable target for retaliatory strikes should hostilities commence, for example between the U.S and China. Continue reading »
Richard Marles and his mate, the US defence secretary, are beginning to wilt under the weight of sustained comment in Australia critical of the AUKUS arrangement. Marles, unable to sustain a cogent argument himself, has his US friend propping him up in London to throw a 10,000-mile punch at me – and as usual, failing Continue reading »
Australia is blanketed in a climate of secrecy with over 800 secrecy offences criminalised with jail terms and large fines under nearly 200 pieces of legislation. Peter Cronau, investigative journalist, former producer for ABC’s Four Corners, Gold Walkley winner, co-founder of the website Declassified Australia, independent publisher, discusses largely hidden stories that reveal the big Continue reading »
Could the Alexander Downer who accuses me and Paul Keating of appeasement possibly be the same Alexander Downer who recently wrote in The Australian that if he had a vote in the US Presidential election it would be for Donald Trump? The same Donald Trump whose willingness to accommodate Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine makes Continue reading »
Those espousing our embrace of America’s war against China start with the assertion that it is China’s aggression and aim for regional hegemony which must be resisted. No doubt China sees that in reverse – America as an overbearing, deeply hostile power perched on the edge of Asia pursuing hegemony at each end of the Continue reading »
I’m guessing that anyone who reads Pearls and Irritations knows that Land Forces, Australia’s largest weapons expo, was held in Melbourne from 11 to 13 September in the face of strong opposition. Given the blanket coverage, it’s likely the great majority of those in the city also knew this was happening, as well as a Continue reading »