Australia in the World
Does Australia’s walk match its talk about helping Pacific women advance?
Last year, I shared Samoan Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa’s call to action on gender equality. In her keynote address to the first Pacific Islands Forum Women Leaders Meeting…
Australia and space: A step together for the whole nation
Australia’s reliance on space-based and space-enabled technologies is integral to the country’s way of life, especially in navigating the varied challenges presented by the…
Sonar reports much more than a blip in Australia’s relations with China
China’s Navy has been accused of using sonar pulses in an incident last week that caused injuries to several Australian navy divers from HMAS Toowoomba during work to clear…
What roles should sport play in Australia’s image and diplomacy?
For those with an interest in sports diplomacy and the Indo-Pacific, it is hard to go beyond a recent swathe of mega sports events. In July and August, Australia and New Zealand…
Pacific Aid Map: Big data gaps are skewing the story about women
To outsiders, reporting could be the most boring part of development work, but it’s arguably one of the most essential – if done accurately. On cross-cutting issues, like women’s…
China’s sonar pulse poses another test of Australia’s will
China’s harassment of Australian warship HMAS Toowoomba off the coast of Japan, which reportedly caused minor injuries to naval divers attempting to clear a fishing net from the…
Australian development cooperation: Urgent and important, but “not a priority”
Foreign Minister Penny Wong is not one for hyperbole, so when she states that the “coming decade will be decisive for peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific”, in her…
Albanese is right to reject fossil fuel phaseouts
Earlier this month, a group of 15 countries, known as the High Ambition Coalition, called on leaders at the COP28 Climate Summit to deliver an “urgent phaseout of coal-fired power…
The foreign policy case for the PM to spend more time at home
Nick Bryant, former BBC correspondent and now Sydney resident, made a case this week against “the dreary parochialism” too often evident in Australian politics – the latest…
How China’s media reported Albanese’s visit
In Australia’s media, Anthony Albanese’s visit to China last week was highly anticipated, the first by the country’s prime minister in seven years, with journalists and analysts…