The Obama Administration's so-called 'pivot to Asia' raises serious questions about US policy in the Middle East, at a time of great turmoil in the region. On 2 May 2013 former US Ambassador to Israel, and current Director of the Foreign Policy Program at the Brookings Institution in Washington DC, Martin Indyk, spoke to Lowy's Anthony Bubalo about US Middle East Policy in Obama's second term. Ambassador Indyk argues that events in the Middle East will require continued engagement by the US, even while it focuses greater attention on the Asia-Pacific. He also discusses current US policy towards the civil war in Syria and the Iranian nuclear program.

On 29 April 2013 the Shadow Minister for Defence, Senator the Hon. David Johnston, gave a lecture to the Lowy Institute in the lead-up to the release of the 2013 Defence White Paper. Senator Johnston outlined some the challenges a future Coalition Government would face concerning the Department of Defence and the Australian Defence Force.

On 29 April 2013, Shadow Defence Minister Senator David Johnston gave a lecture to the Lowy Institute on Australia's defence challenges in the lead-up to the release of the 2013 Defence White Paper.

Following the lecture, Senator Johnston had a chat with James Brown, the Lowy Institute's Military Fellow. The discussion ranges from the current state of the Defence budget, to the Coalition's procurement priorities and the impact of the US 'pivot' towards Asia on Australia's national security strategy.

Following the 17 April launch of the joint Lowy Institute/Australia India Institute survey of Indian attitudes towards Australia, we caught up with some attendees to record their views on the poll and what it means for Australia-India relations. Features commentary from Christopher Kremmer (Australia India Institute; 0:11), Ruchir Punjabi (Australia-India Youth Dialogue; 0:51), Dipen Rughani (Australia India Business Council; 1:42), and filmaker Anupam Sharma (2:19).

In this interview, Rory Medcalf discusses the results of the joint Lowy Institute-Australia India Institute poll of Indian attitudes towards Australia. Rory notes the 'general warmth' towards Australia revealed in the survey (0:25), before highlighting some lessons governments and commentators could take from the poll's findings (3:00). Finally, Rory answers the obligatory questions about cricket (3:18) and uranium (3:57).

On 9 April 2013 former Prime Minister the Hon John Howard OM AC gave a lecture to the Lowy Institute on the 10th anniversary of the war in Iraq.

Following his speech marking the 10th anniversary of the Iraq War, former Australian Prime Minister the Hon. John Howard OM AC spoke to Lowy Institute Executive Director Michael Fullilove about the passing of Margaret Thatcher (0:27), the cost of the Iraq war (1:34), and Australia's foreign policy priorities under a Coalition Government (3:07).

In part two of Jenny Hayward-Jones' chat with Ian Kemish, the outgoing Australian High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea highlights some of the challenges and opportunities in the near term for PNG. Mr Kemish cites population growth and corruption as two key challenges (0:30), while PNG's resource potential and current political stability are reasons to be hopeful for the future of that country (1:40).

In March 2013 Australia's outgoing High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea, Ian Kemish, spoke to the Lowy Institute's Jenny Hayward-Jones about his experiences on posting in PNG. In this first video, Mr Kemish discusses the Australia-PNG relationship, noting the supportive role Australia played during PNG's 2012 elections (1:08), while also stating that there is much room for improvement in the way Australia understands its northern neighbour (1:59).