A new volume on the country’s interwar foreign policy decisions takes us back to the future.

Canberra should look beyond the Quad and to its own backyard for an all-weather strategic friend.

In order to adjust to an unpredictable United States, Canberra needs new habits.

Menzies era rationalism offers insight into Australia’s pragmatic approach to security partnerships.

The language around the who, what and how of Australia’s defence strategy needs an overhaul.

If the ADF deploys for more humanitarian operations in the Pacific, its budget, equipment and personnel will be stressed.

The most effective way for the DG ONI to influence agencies and their parent departments would be to have some control over the National Intelligence Community budget.

Both of those functions were envisaged in the legislation establishing ONA, enacted 40 years ago in 1977, after the seminal report by Justice Hope into the AIC.

Critically in Canberra power terms, the Director General ONI’s capacity to wrangle the other larger agencies like ASD and ASIS would be boosted.

<p>The ultimate issue will not be the politics of allocation of agencies to a new portfolio, but the increased effectiveness of the Australian Intelligence Community through the early implementation of these reforms.</p>

The Dutton appointment has given an element of domestic political intrigue to the Prime Minister’s announcement.

One of the significant growth areas in the Commonwealth sector over the years since 9/11 has been the disproportionate increase in the number of highly-paid senior managers.

Intelligence organisations cannot assume their job is done once a report is delivered but should instead seek to add value through expertise, focus, and access.

Does the AIC provide a sufficiently independent source of intelligence, or are we still largely reliant on our allies?