Source: BEN PACKHAM The Australian Newspaper’s Foreign Affairs & Defence Correspondent – September 13, 2022 Defence has avoided an inquiry into the accountability of senior commanders for war crimes ­despite the findings of an independent panel, which said it failed to face up to its “corporate responsibility” for the murders of Afghan civilians and prisoners identified in […]

Should Defence press ahead with its investments in next-generation land combat capability or is it time to reallocate resources elsewhere to reflect changes in modern warfighting? Last month, the Albanese government  launched the Defence Strategic Review, touted as the largest assessment of the Australian Defence Force’s structure, force posture and ­preparedness in 35 years. According to […]

Professor Paul Dibb wrote the 1986 Review of Australia’s Defence Capabilities and was the primary author of the 1987 Defence White Paper Defending Australia. When announcing his Defence Strategic Review on August 3, Richard Marles stressed that the strategic changes we are facing are accelerating at a rate faster than anticipated in the 2016 defence […]

A joint venture between government and the private sector has produced a new treatment for PTSD sufferers. Joint research between the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, Department of Defence and the Phoenix Australia Centre for Posttraumatic Mental Health has informed the development of a new treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), involving intensive exposure therapy. The Rapid Exposure […]

The appointment of former Labor defence minister Stephen Smith and former CDF Angus Houston to conduct of a strategic review of the Australian Defence Force does not inspire confidence among those Australians with recent memories of senior defence administration.  If any review of future Australian strategic preparedness is to be effective, it needs to be […]

With a former chief of defence and defence minister set to lead the largest review of the Australian military in decades, reactions toward the announcement have been divided. This week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles held a press conference in Canberra to announce the launch of […]

A former chief of the defence force and a former defence minister are set to lead the largest review of the Australian military in over three decades.  Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles have announced the launch of a strategic review of the Australian Defence Force, set to be […]

“There is only one overriding standard for military capability: lethality.” Many Americans, particularly our most senior politicians and military leaders, seem to have developed a form of dementia when it comes to warfare. The result is confusion or denial about the essential ingredients of a competent military force, and the costs of major power conflict. The […]

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles has promised to boost the power of Australia’s military to avoid a “catastrophic failure of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific, reassuring the US the new Labor government was totally committed to an ever closer partnership with Washington as the two allies seek to counter Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific. In remarks Beijing is likely to perceive […]

The heads of Australia’s defence force have agreed to have their terms extended by two years, as the Albanese government declares it wants “some continuity” in delivering key procurements such as the next generation of submarines. Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles announced Chief of the Defence Force Angus Campbell, Vice Chief of the Defence Force […]