Australian Diplomacy
Australia must push for regional adoption of Arms Trade Treaty
On 24 December 2014, two decades of campaigning and several years of negotiations culminated in the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) entering into force as an internationally legally…
Australian recognised by UN's chemical weapons watchdog
A scientist and WMD expert with the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO), Dr Robert (Bob) Mathews, has been honoured by the Organisation for the Prohibition of…
Lima climate conference: Slow movement on Planet UNFCCC
As haggard negotiators left the UN climate change conference in Lima in the early hours of Sunday morning, many observers noted the contrast between the political acrimony that…
Reports
Submission to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Consular Strategy 2014-16
In response to the invitation of the Foreign Minister to make a formal submission on the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Consular Strategy 2014-16, Alex Oliver…
Peace on the horizon for Bangsamoro?
As part of the 'Sectarianism and Religiously Motivated Violence' Masters course which I run at ANU's National Security College, students were asked to write a post on a…
East Timor, Australia and the 'Timor Gap'
Tom Allard recently reported in the Sydney Morning Herald that Australia and East Timor are ready to restart talks on the maritime boundary between the two countries, with all its…
New Caledonia: Australia must show assertive impartiality
Thirty years ago to the week, New Caledonia was torn apart by violent protests. The pro-independence FLNKS boycotted an election and town halls were burned throughout the country…
Modi in Australia: An unprecedented level of engagement
Narendra Modi has just concluded his first visit to Australia, the first by any Indian prime minister in 28 years. Combined with Prime Minister Abbott's visit to India in…
The case for Pacific Island regionalism
A few months ago I stood on a beach in Tarawa, the most populous of islands comprising the Micronesian nation of Kiribati. It's long and thin sliver of land where you can walk…
'The Embassy' and DFAT's consular role: Helping Australians travel smarter
By Justin Brown, acting Deputy Secretary of DFAT with responsibility for consular, passports, corporate administration and information management. He has been Australia's High…