Non-proliferation, infantry fighting vehicles, floods in Pakistan, Federal Budget & Defence

This week, Moscow claimed that Kyiv is planning to use a dirty-bomb, allegations that the US, UK and French foreign ministers have condemned as “transparently false”. Given the renewed focus on nuclear threats, Dr Alex Bristow asks Kelsey Hartigan about progress on non-proliferation issues, risk reduction and the links between integrated deterrence and non-proliferation. The LAND 400 Phase 3 project and the suitability of infantry fighting vehicles to the ADF’s future needs are hotly contested. ASPI’s Dr Marcus Hellyer speaks to Dr Albert Palazzo about the ADF’s proposed acquisition of the vehicles and whether the scenarios in which they might be deployed merits such an expensive purchase, something Dr Palazzo wrote about his recent ASPI report ‘Deciding the future: the Australian Army and the infantry fighting vehicle’. Pakistan recently experienced its worst floods on record – with over 9 million people displaced and over 2 million homes destroyed. Will Leben speaks to Pakistan’s High Commissioner His Excellency Mr Zahid Hafeez Chaudri, about the impacts and long-term threats of climate change for Pakistan, the role of the military in disaster response and climate compensation. This week the Albanese government delivered its first Federal Budget. Senior analyst Marcus Hellyer explains why the government has kept its defence powder dry in this week’s budget, setting the scene for some very difficult decisions in the first half of next year. Mentioned in this episode: ‘Deciding the future: the Australian Army and the infantry fighting vehicle’: https://www.aspi.org.au/report/deciding-future Guests (in order of appearance): Dr Alex Bristow: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/dr-alex-bristow Kelsey Hartigan: https://www.csis.org/people/kelsey-hartigan Dr Marcus Hellyer: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/marcus-hellyer Dr Al Palazzo: https://researchcentre.army.gov.au/about-us/contributor-biographies/albert-palazzo Will Leben: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/will-leben H.E. Mr Zahid Hafeez Chaudri: https://www.pakistan.org.au/high-commissioner/ David Wroe: @davidwroe (Twitter) Music: "The Moon Drops" by Nathan Moore