Australia

Ensuring the “Future Made in Australia Act” doesn’t add to a global subsidy arms race
Ensuring the “Future Made in Australia Act” doesn’t add to a global subsidy arms race
The “Future Made in Australia Act” set out by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signifies a shift from a neoliberal to a mission-driven approach, aiming to tackle grand challenges…
Girt by sea: Redrawing Australia’s mental map
Girt by sea: Redrawing Australia’s mental map
Book Review: Girt by Sea: Re-Imagining Australia’s Security, by Rebecca Strating and Joanne Wallis (La Trobe Press, 2024) It’s no secret that in recent years, there has…
Is the EU Australia’s blind spot in the Indo-Pacific?
Is the EU Australia’s blind spot in the Indo-Pacific?
Seen from Australia, the European Union may seem very distant and somehow disconnected from the Indo-Pacific. Yet, the strategic space in which Australia and the European Union…
Economic diplomacy: Made in Australia with new energy
Economic diplomacy: Made in Australia with new energy
Elbows out Is there a better case study in the curious politics of geo-economic fragmentation than Australia’s latest effort to revive manufacturing? Prime Minister Anthony…
Is South Korea’s Indo‑Pacific Strategy a diplomatic lame duck?
Is South Korea’s Indo‑Pacific Strategy a diplomatic lame duck?
When South Korea’s Yoon Suk-yeol administration released its Indo-Pacific Strategy in late 2022, many Australian commentators hoped the time had finally come for the…
Western banks are vacating the Pacific, and Nauru is turning to China
Western banks are vacating the Pacific, and Nauru is turning to China
Nauru has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Bank of China “to explore solutions and options to its banking issues”. The China–Nauru MOU will cause further…
The Translator: “Like-minded countries”
The Translator: “Like-minded countries”
Heard diplomats or analysts using a new turn of phrase only to wonder, “What does that mean?” Today we ask … What are “like-minded countries”? Commentators and academics use…
What are China’s long-term Antarctic ambitions?
What are China’s long-term Antarctic ambitions?
The recent opening of China’s Qinling base, its third permanent Antarctic station, has worried some Australian and American observers. Their concerns suggest it may be time…
Economic diplomacy: Hanging on in ASEAN
Economic diplomacy: Hanging on in ASEAN
Passing lane Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says Southeast Asia is “where Australia's future lies” and Treasurer Jim Chalmers says even more enthusiastically that …
Reflecting Australia as a career ambassador
Reflecting Australia as a career ambassador
After 29 years of service, last week I retired from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. I am an unlikely Australian diplomat, having joined DFAT as a graduate trainee in…