Australian Perspective

First look at the Budget: DFAT, aid and defence
So here I am at the budget lockup, deep in the bowels of Treasury, with the idea of getting a much-anticipated preview of the Foreign Affairs and Trade budget for this, the…
Should Australia buy armed drones?
Fairfax defence correspondent David Wroe had what his editors labelled an exclusive in the weekend Sydney Morning Herald: Royal Australian Air Force chief Air Marshal Geoff Brown…
National Commission of Audit: When you've cut DFAT to the bone…
Every sector is speculating on how it will be hit by next week's federal Budget following the National Commission of Audit's recommendations on cost cutting. As Alex Oliver…
Abbott-SBY: It was just a courtesy call, not a mending of ties
This morning, eminent University of Indonesia law professor Hikmahanto Juwana issued a press release in response to Prime Minister Tony Abbott's telephone call to President Susilo…
Defence budget: 2% target essential for Australia's alliance
Ric Smith, Andrew Carr and Peter Dean all present a compelling case as to why a 2% of GDP target for defence spending does not constitute a strategy. But this completely…
Commission of Audit: 5 questionable recommendations (and 3 good ones)
My previous post analysed the Commission of Audit's recommendations on defence, foreign affairs and aid. Below, some of the less prominent recommendations made by the Commission…
Defence budget: 2% is not a strategy
Andrew Carr is a Research Fellow, and Peter Dean is a Senior Research Fellow, at the Strategic & Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University. There's much we can agree…
Defence, foreign affairs, aid: What the audit commission said
Plenty has been said about the Government's National Commission of Audit's recommendations on domestic policy. But what are the potential ramifications for the agencies…
Interview: Malcolm Fraser on 'Dangerous Allies'
Yesterday I had a long and fascinating talk with former Australian prime minister Malcolm Fraser, who has just released Dangerous Allies, his new book calling for a substantially…
Why Bob Carr's book matters
It was all a trick. A simple scam played on a clueless tabloid media to sell more books. And didn't they oblige! As soon as Bob Carr's Diary of a Foreign Minister hit the shelves…