August
Austal heads to debt markets to fund $440m US expansion plans
The only ASX-listed defence shipbuilder needs to finance big growth in Alabama shipyards, where it has a multi-billion dollar order from the US Navy.
- Brad Thompson
Austal fights to keep US Navy work after $35m fraud penalty
The Australian defence contractor accepted a $US24 million fine in a plea deal to avoid criminal prosecution after a long-running American investigation.
- Brad Thompson
- Opinion
- Indonesia
Government hasn’t matched Keating’s Indonesia pact
The new defence agreement with Jakarta is a welcome development, but the government claims too much too soon about its place in history.
- James Curran
- Analysis
- Refugees
Why Gaza visa attacks could backfire on the Coalition
The opposition is focusing on Gazan visas to chip away at Labor’s national security credentials – but do voters even care while hip pocket pain remains acute?
- Andrew Tillett
- Opinion
- South-East Asian economy
Thailand’s democracy is on shaky ground
Since 1932, Thailand has been through 12 successful coups (as well as many more attempted ones), and multiple constitutions.
- Karishma Vaswani
How the autocrats’ club keeps dictators in power
In place of global revolution, today’s autocrats’ prime objectives are the accumulation and preservation of power – and their own enrichment.
- Jonathan Tepperman
- Opinion
- US election
Obamas light up the convention, and the campaign
Kamala Harris’ fight for the White House is working better than Democrats dared hope. Michelle and Barack Obama have added their star power – can the dream run last?
- Jennifer Hewett
- Opinion
- US politics
Democrats now the American dreamers
Democrats have become the true believers in the American mission. Republicans will be more prudential in assessing foreign policy capacities.
- James Curran
How Labor’s Peter Khalil got caught in the crossfire
The government’s new special envoy for social cohesion is the target of pro-Palestine protesters and the Greens.
- Myriam Robin
- Opinion
- AUKUS
AUKUS partners are unlocking a future made in Australia
The UK and the US have finalised the establishment of an export licence-free environment, unlocking billions of dollars of investment and cutting red tape for Australian industry.
- Richard Marles
‘Defies parody’: Evans lashes Marles, Albanese over AUKUS
The former Labor foreign minister has offered a withering critique of the Albanese government’s embrace of the defence agreement.
- James Curran
- Opinion
- China relations
High-level dialogue shows China chill is ending
The resumed annual face-to-face meeting of government and industry has been crucial to stabilising the relationship.
- Craig Emerson
- Exclusive
- International affairs
When Keating went to war with the White House
Secret cables reveal for the first time how Keating’s right-hand man and a senior White House official engaged in an extraordinary war of words in 1992, sometimes in personal terms.
- James Curran
- Analysis
- International affairs
Washington can be a prickly and insecure great power ally
The Russell-Zoellick correspondence reveals an Australian government not afraid to talk truth to American power, an art largely lost over recent years.
- James Curran
- Opinion
- AUKUS
Albanese is losing the AUKUS debate
The government is prioritising platitudes over substance as critics question the $368 billion nuclear submarine project.
- James Curran
- Opinion
- Defence
Next AUSMIN needs to turn alignment into outcomes
This year’s ministerial consultations moved away from defence announcements. But progress on many key initiatives is yet to deliver tangible results.
- Jennifer Parker
- Opinion
- Kamala Harris
The big risk in Kamala Harris’ surprise choice for VP
Tim Walz’s down-to-earth language was transformed into the equivalent of a political magic wand, but there’s a risk in overlooking Josh Shapiro in the must-win swing state of Pennsylvania.
- Jennifer Hewett
‘You don’t embarrass the New Yorker in Trump’ says military adviser
Chris Miller, a former acting secretary of defence and Project 2025 contributor, says the AUKUS military alliance will be fine if Donald Trump wins the election, but Vladimir Putin could be in a jam.
- Kevin Chinnery
- Exclusive
- Defence
Prominent think tank fears the loss of its ‘superpower’
The rarefied world of public intellectuals and scholars is braced for a bombshell following a government review into think tank funding.
- Emma Connors
July
- Exclusive
- Defence spending
The ‘criminal price tag’ for the navy’s new warships is $4b a pop
A new fleet of frigates will cost almost $4 billion each, even before weapons are fitted, it can be revealed, making them the navy’s most expensive warship.
- Andrew Tillett
