This week, ASPI released the 21st edition of its annual ‘Cost of Defence’ budget brief, which is Australia’s most comprehensive analysis of Defence spending. Michael Shoebridge speaks to the report’s lead author Dr Marcus Hellyer about the biggest areas of spending for Defence and challenges for the Department, as well as the difficult choices the new government faces given supply chain disruptions, inflation and the conflict in Ukraine. Mentioned in this episode: The Cost of Defence – 2022-2023...
Jun 10, 2022•26 min
Anastasia Kapetas and Kyle Wilson take a look at Russia’s history, use of propaganda and how Putin’s invasion of Ukraine was consistent with the evolution of his rule over the past two decades. Dr Jacob Wallis and Dr Samantha Hoffman discuss China’s messaging around the conflict in Ukraine. They consider the messaging by China’s diplomats and Chinese state media at different stages of the conflict, something they explored in their recent report ‘China's messaging on the Ukraine conflict’. Mentio...
Jun 03, 2022•33 min
The floods in South-East Queensland and New South Wales earlier this year were some of the most extreme disasters in Australian history, with the Insurance Council of Australia highlighting the event as the country’s costliest flood ever. Dr Robert Glasser speaks to Dr Annika Dean about recent analysis by the Climate Council on the links between climate change and extreme weather events and insurability risks across Australia. Baseline data for the report Uninsurable Nation: Australia's Most Cli...
May 27, 2022•51 min
With the Quad Leaders set to meet in Tokyo next Tuesday, this episode explores the security and foreign policies of Australia’s Quad partners, India and Japan. Justin Bassi speaks to India expert Dr Tanvi Madan about India’s perspectives on key strategic issues, including the China-Russia partnership and regional security challenges in South Asia. The conversation highlights opportunities for the Quad to ensure stability and security in the region. Shifting focus to Japan, Dr Malcolm Davis speak...
May 20, 2022•33 min
In this episode of ASPI’s Bigger Picture series, Dr Alex Bristow, Deputy Director of Defence, Strategy & National Security at ASPI, speaks to Dr Euan Graham, Shangri-La Dialogue Senior Fellow for Asia-Pacific Security at the International Institute for Strategic Studies about the security pact between China and Solomon Islands. Their conversation considers China’s strategic objectives, the different responses to the agreement and its implications for security in the South Pacific. Mentioned in t...
May 16, 2022•23 min
In April this year, a coalition of over 60 countries released ‘A Declaration for the Future of the Internet’, a joint partnership that aims to actively support the internet as an open, free, global digital ecosystem. Karly Winkler, Jocelinn Kang and Bart Hogeveen discuss what the declaration means for human rights, sustainable development and the democratic systems of countries. On 12th and 13th May, ASEAN Leaders will meet U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington DC for a special summit. Ahead of...
May 06, 2022•40 min
This is Policy, Guns and Money, the ASPI podcast, with me, Olivia Nelson. As Russia continues its attack on Ukraine, ASPI’s Dr David Engel and Radityo Dharmaputra, PhD researcher at the Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies at the University of Tartu, consider the public response to the conflict in Indonesia and how anti-Western sentiment and Russian propaganda have shaped people’s views. Now to a different aspect of the Russia-Ukraine conflict – the information domain. Anastasia Kapetas s...
Apr 20, 2022•46 min
Recently, Peter Jennings spoke to Victorian Senator James Paterson, who Chairs the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security. They discuss the Committee's recent inquiry into national security risks affecting Australia's higher education and research sectors, the Senator's role as Chair, and Australia's foreign interference laws. Dr John Coyne and Gill Savage from ASPI’s Northern Australia Strategic Policy Centre sat down to discuss what the latest Budget holds for Northern Aust...
Apr 08, 2022•33 min
In this episode of ASPI’s Bigger Picture series, Peter Jennings speaks to Dr David Kilcullen, Professor of International and Political Studies at UNSWCanberra. They discuss the global implications of the continued conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the state of Afghanistan since the withdrawal of international forces, and the future of Australia’s defence capability versus meeting its current short-term demands. Dr David Kilcullen is a former soldier and diplomat, and a scholar of guerrilla wa...
Mar 30, 2022•26 min
In this episode of ASPI’s Bigger Picture series, Fergus Hanson speaks to India’s National Cyber Security Coordinator, Lt Gen (Dr) Rajesh Pant. They discuss the evolution of Australia-India cyber partnership, the cybersecurity threat landscape in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and India’s national security policies on 5G. Lt Gen (Dr) Rajesh Pant is India’s National Cybersecurity Coordinator. He is responsible for overseeing the development of India’s first national cybersecurity strategy....
Mar 24, 2022•22 min
The ASPI special series ‘SBY’s tears: From managing crisis to managing process in Australia-Indonesia relations since the fall of Suharto’ has explored the changing nature of the Australian-Indonesian relationship since the fall of Suharto, as seen through the eyes and experiences of its ambassadors to Jakarta. In this final episode of the series, Dr David Engel and Hillary Mansour revisit some of the themes explored throughout the series, such as Indonesia’s foreign policy, its relationship wit...
Mar 15, 2022•42 min
In this episode of ASPI’s Bigger Picture series, ASPI’s Anastasia Kapetas, Daria Impiombato and Katja Theodorakis explore the nexus of climate change and gender, considering the official 2022 International Women’s Day theme, ‘Changing Climates: Equality today for a sustainable tomorrow.’ They discuss the disproportionate gendered impacts of climate change, the agency of women in climate and security narratives, and focus on the intersectional dimensions of the climate movement within different r...
Mar 08, 2022•27 min
In this episode of ASPI’s Bigger Picture series, Brendan Nicholson speaks to the Embassy of Ukraine’s Chargé d'Affaires, Mr Volodymyr Shalkivskyi, on the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Russia’s invasion has sent shockwaves across Europe and the international community, with countries pledging humanitarian aid and military assistance to the Ukrainian government. They discuss how the conflict is currently unfolding, the different war-fighting capabilities of Russian and Ukrainian for...
Mar 04, 2022•16 min
This week, Russia continues its assault on Ukraine despite widespread international condemnation, including a vote by 141 member states of the UN condemning the invasion. Michael Shoebridge and Dr Marcus Hellyer explore how Russia’s attack has intensified, Ukraine’s long-term war-fighting capability and the potential off-ramps for this conflict. Dr Teagan Westendorf speaks to Professor Lyria Bennett Moses about the ethics of artificial intelligence in policing. They explore different ethical fra...
Mar 03, 2022•37 min
In the penultimate episode of ASPI’s special series ‘SBY’s tears: From managing crisis to managing process in Australia-Indonesia relations since the fall of Suharto’, Dr David Engel, Head of ASPI’s Indonesia Program and Hillary Mansour, former ASPI Research Intern, speak to Greg Moriarty, who was ambassador to Indonesia from 2010 until 2014. Their conversation explores Indonesia’s foreign policy under SBY, the bilateral economic relationship and cooperation in the area of counter-terrorism. The...
Feb 28, 2022•30 min
In this episode of ASPI’s special series ‘SBY’s tears: From managing crisis to managing process in Australia-Indonesia relations since the fall of Suharto’, Dr David Engel, Head of ASPI’s Indonesia Program and Hillary Mansour, former ASPI Research Intern, speak to Gary Quinlan AO, who was Ambassador to Indonesia from 2018 until 2021. Their conversation explores developments in the Australia-Indonesia economic relationship, the development of Indonesia’s democracy and the relationship between rel...
Feb 23, 2022•34 min
This week, ASPI released the report ‘Taking the low road: China's influence in Australian states and territories’ which maps out the changing nature of China’s engagement with Australian states and territories, local governments, city councils, universities, research organisations and non-government organisations. Peter Jennings is joined by report editor Emeritus Professor John Fitzgerald for a conversation on the report’s findings. So far, 2022 has been full of strategic challenges; Covid-19 i...
Feb 18, 2022•51 min
In episode 4 of ASPI’s special series ‘SBY’s tears: From managing crisis to managing process in Australia-Indonesia relations since the fall of Suharto’, Dr David Engel speaks to Bill Farmer AO, Ambassador to Indonesia from 2005 until 2010. They discuss the pivotal moments in the Australia-Indonesia relationship, SBY’s presidency and the Global Financial Crisis, and Indonesia’s foreign policy. They also talk about the Lombok Treaty, people smuggling and counterterrorism and how Australia should ...
Feb 08, 2022•25 min
Fergus Ryan speaks to China expert Joanna Chiu about her new book ‘China Unbound: A new world disorder’. They discuss the changing attitudes towards China in Western countries and the importance of developing China expertise. Critical and emerging technologies are quickly becoming a key focus area of geopolitical competition. Karly Winkler speaks to Bonnie Glick about the newly established Center for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue and the links between technology advances and national interests. Anast...
Feb 07, 2022•43 min
In this episode of ASPI’s Bigger Picture series, Peter Jennings speaks to Emeritus Professor Paul Dibb and Kyle Wilson from the Australian National University about the Russia-Ukraine crisis. They consider the likelihood of an invasion, Putin’s long-term strategy and whether sanctions can deter Russian military action. Guests in this episode (in order of appearance): Peter Jennings: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/peter-jennings Emeritus Professor Paul Dibb: https://researchprofiles.anu.edu.au/en/pe...
Feb 01, 2022•26 min
In this episode of ASPI’s Bigger Picture series, Anastasia Kapetas speaks to Dr Fiona Hill, senior fellow in the Foreign Policy program at Brookings and deputy assistant to the president and senior director for European and Russian affairs on the National Security Council from 2017 to 2019. They consider the state of US democracy, rising authoritarianism, US-Russia relations and the Russia-Ukraine situation. Dr Hill recently published the book ‘There is Nothing for You Here’ and this conversatio...
Jan 28, 2022•27 min
In episode 3 of ASPI’s special series ‘SBY’s tears: From managing crisis to managing process in Australia-Indonesia relations since the fall of Suharto’, Dr David Engel and Hillary Mansour speak to David Ritchie, Ambassador to Indonesia from 2002 until 2005. During his time as ambassador, David dealt with a number of crises, including the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami, a terror attack on the Australian Embassy and the arrest of the Bali Nine. They discuss Australia-Indonesia cooperation and how the bi...
Jan 25, 2022•30 min
In this episode of ASPI’s Bigger Picture series, Peter Jennings speaks to Taiwan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Joseph Wu. They discuss Taiwan’s foreign policy priorities, Cross-Strait relations and threats to regional security, including rising authoritarianism. They also reflect on Taiwan’s relationship with Australia and the impact that recent events in Hong Kong have had on Taiwan’s thinking. Dr Jaushieh Joseph Wu is Minister of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan, previously he was Secretary-Gener...
Jan 23, 2022•35 min
In this episode of ASPI’s special series ‘SBY’s tears: From managing crisis to managing process in Australia-Indonesia relations since the fall of Suharto’ Dr David Engel and Hillary Mansour speak to Ric Smith AO, PSM, who was Australia’s Ambassador to Indonesia from 2001. The conversation explores economic reform after the Asian Financial Crisis, the end of Gus Dur’s presidency and the beginning of Megawati’s presidency, and the state of Australia’s relationship with Indonesia during Smith’s te...
Jan 17, 2022•23 min
This special series ‘SBY’s tears: From managing crisis to managing process in Australia-Indonesia relations since the fall of Suharto’ explores the history of Indonesia since the fall of Suharto and Australia’s part in it through the eyes and experience of its ambassadors to Jakarta over this period. The series will look at democracy, counterterrorism, natural disasters and economic developments, and how Australia’s relationship with Indonesia has changed over the years. In this episode, David E...
Jan 11, 2022•24 min
In September this year, the Australian Government announced it would join a new security pact with the UK and US – AUKUS – and detailed its plans to acquire nuclear-powered submarines. In this special episode, Michael Shoebridge speaks to Andrew Nicholls and Dr Marcus Hellyer about their new report ‘Implementing Australia’s nuclear submarine program’. They consider the costs and challenges of delivering this large-scale project and choosing the right strategic partner to help deliver the submari...
Dec 27, 2021•20 min
Russia’s military build-up along the country’s border with Ukraine has seen tensions rise between the two countries, leading the United States, the EU and the UK to warn Russia against invasion. Anastasia Kapetas speaks to Russia expert Professor Mark Galeotti from University College London about the likelihood of a conflict, Russia’s diplomacy approaches, Putin’s game plan and what the objective would be if Russia were to invade Ukraine. This week, South Korea and Australia signed a billion-dol...
Dec 17, 2021•34 min
Brendan Nicholson, Executive Editor of The Strategist and Anastasia Kapetas, National Security Editor of The Strategist break down some of the key developments in international politics and security this year. From Covid-19, to the Capitol riots, to a coup in Myanmar and the announcement of AUKUS – it’s been a big year. This episode will take you through some of the strategic highs and lows of 2021, and details developments to watch in 2022. Guests (in order of appearance): Brendan Nicholson: ht...
Dec 10, 2021•34 min
This week on Policy, Guns and Money’s Bigger Picture series, Michael Shoebridge speaks to Dr Tanvi Madan, senior fellow in the Project on International Order and Strategy in the Foreign Policy program, and director of The India Project at the Brookings Institution in Washington. They discuss India’s foreign policy interests, strategic partnerships including the Quad and the complexities of India’s relationships with China and Russia. Mentioned in this episode: https://warontherocks.com/2021/10/i...
Dec 03, 2021•26 min
This week, ASPI released the report ‘Collaborative and agile: Intelligence community collaboration insights from the United Kingdom and the United States’ which details the lessons learned for Australia’s intelligence communities from key partners, the United States and United Kingdom. Two of the report’s authors Michael Shoebridge and Dr John Coyne discuss their key findings and some of the shared challenges that the intelligence agencies are facing. ASEAN’s response to the Myanmar coup in Febr...
Nov 26, 2021•43 min
