Category: Defence

Former Liberal prime minister John Howard used to be often contemptuously referred to as the deputy sheriff for the US in the Pacific region when George W. Bush was in power. (more…)

The federal government’s secret hiring from 2015 of numerous former US Navy officials to advise on Australia’s submarine procurement was exposed by The Washington Post a fortnight ago. (more…)

Another call to arms has been issued by Washington. The venue that features the recipient of such lethal generosity is not new. (more…)

We have been shocked, angered, and disturbed about what we learnt from The Washington Post about the secret insertion of senior US defence officials and Admirals into the Australian defence establishment. At least one served in a very senior decision-making role within The Australian Department of Defence as an American citizen. (more…)

If Australia is serious about detecting and exposing corruption in arms deals and other defence contracts, the National Anti-Corruption Commission bill needs to be significantly strengthened. (more…)

More than 500 retired U.S. military personnel — including scores of generals and admirals — have taken lucrative jobs since 2015 working for foreign governments, mostly in countries known for human rights abuses and political repression, according to a Washington Post investigation. (more…)

Those who hate Russia the most are the ones who embody everything they claim to hate about it: they’re all pro-war, pro-censorship, pro-propaganda, pro-trolling operations, and support Ukraine in banning political parties and opposition media. They are what they claim to hate. (more…)

It’s time to inter the Hollywood ANZUS which has deceived Australians into believing a US security guarantee is necessary and unquestioningly available should we be attacked. (more…)

The Washington Post has disclosed that a group of US Navy admirals critical to shaping secret negotiations for the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal had undeclared conflicts of interests. This is indefensible and must be subject to a public review. (more…)

It will come as no surprise to readers of Pearls and Irritations that AUKUS continues to arouse contention while organised public opposition mobilises. (more…)

Of all the face-meltingly stupid narratives that have been circulated about the US proxy war in Ukraine, the dumbest so far has got to be the forthcoming budget should be judged principally in terms of how well it sets us up to solve these fundamental fiscal problems facing the nation. (more…)

After the election, Prime Minister Albanese hightailed it to Japan for a QUAD meeting with Jo Biden, Narendra Modi and Fumio Kishida to join them in anti-Chinese posturing. (more…)

In the late 1960s I was a student at the University of California, Berkeley. It was a time of strong anti-war sentiment among students opposed the war in Vietnam. (more…)

Early this year the Ideas and Society Program at La Trobe University that I have convened for the past thirteen years invited Paul Keating to speak to our online audience on Australia and China. We invited Professor James Curran, a Professor of Modern History at the University of Sydney, to act as interlocutor. We decided to hold the event after the federal election. Nothing was more certain than that Keating would speak outside the bipartisan consensus on Australia’s relations with China and that the tired and threadbare Morrison Government would seek to wedge Labor by claiming, preposterously, that Keating represented the ‘real’ opinions of Anthony Albanese and Penny Wong. (more…)