2500 US Marines will be deployed near Darwin in coming years, but we could also see an expanded American military presence elsewhere in northern Australia.
AAP/Malone
Negotiations are underway that could see some the US military’s most advanced drone aircraft based on the Australian Indian Ocean territory of the Cocos Islands. Combined with discussions around having…
The Tsar Bomba nuclear test is the largest ever nuclear explosion recorded, measuring 50 megatons and generating a 64km high mushroom cloud.
flickr/andy_z
As the Australian Labor Party contemplates opening sales of uranium to India, it would be wise for our policy-makers to think more broadly about the long-term possibilities for Australia as a provider…
Opposition leader Tony Abbott has had a good political year but is the political wind shifting against him?
AAP/Lukas Koch
At the start of the year Prime Minister Julia Gillard promised that 2011 would be a year of “decision and delivery”. Despite such a grand vision, the majority of the year was a shocker for the government…
Spy agencies in Australia have a big job, but does the job match the budget?
Flickr/ocularinvasion
In an era of evolving threats, judgment calls will continue to rely on the provision of accurate, timely intelligence. But this intelligence does not come cheap. In order to be well-prepared and well-organised…
Peter Slipper made an impact in his first day as Speaker.
The dramatic surprise resignation of Harry Jenkins as Speaker, on what was meant to be the final sitting day of the year for the House of Representatives (coincidentally also the fourth anniversary of…
Mussolini made the trains run on time. But having a strong leader is risky.
Flickr/Galaxy FM
“If I Ruled The World” was a tune made famous decades ago by English comedian and singer Harry Secombe who sang of making every day the first day of spring as well as other miraculous improvements. It…
Asylum seekers held in detention centres like Villawood have been protesting that the current system doesn’t work.
AAP/Dean Lewins
With the collapse of offshore processing, and the likely increase in boat arrivals into a politically charged environment, a cross-road may have been reached regarding asylum policy in Australia. Now would…
Julia Gillard made a “special case” for exporting uranium to India.
EPA/Guillaume Horcajuelo
Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s decision to overturn the Australian ban on exporting uranium is aimed at re-balancing our relationship with the world’s largest democracy and a rising economic power in the…
A warm welcome for the President from Julia Gillard and the Governor General, but Australia should take care not to give too much away to the Americans. AAP/Stuart McEvoy.
It’s third time lucky for President Obama. He’s cancelled his trip to Australia twice before, but now he has finally made it to Canberra. Julia Gillard has struck up a friendship with the US President…
Julia Gillard has enjoyed mixing with Barack Obama on the foreign policy stage.
AAP/AusPic Howard Moffat
*When President Obama begins his long-awaited visit to Australia today, he’ll have a keen tour guide in Julia Gillard. They’ve developed an apparently firm friendship in recent months. But should the Prime…
There are fears that Australian uranium could be put to military uses by India.
AAP
Prime Minister Julia Gillard today announced that the Australian Labor Party will debate its opposition to exporting uranium to India. India, which is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty…
Would you be out for a duck in the citizenship test?
Flickr/R@VITH
The Australian citizenship test has just turned four. Its birthday passed without fanfare but this is not surprising. Soon after its introduction, a Labor government review addressed early concerns that…
It would be foolish for anyone to underestimate Bob Katter’s Australia Party. Its brand of socially conservative views blended with economic and trade protectionism are not “far right” but rather proven…
Australia would do better to shed light on Indian affairs. Media coverage of the country is dominated by corruption scandals, terrorism or cultural festivals like Diwali.
EPA/Sanjeev Gupta
CHOGM As Julia Gillard chairs the Commonwealth Heads of Government in Perth, she would do well to pay special attention to her Indian colleague at the table, Vice-President Hamid Ansari. Brian Stoddart…
Shooty Vikadan died in Villawood Detention Centre before the Commonwealth Ombudsman could review his case.
AAP/Torsten Blackwood
The asylum seeker who committed suicide in Villawood detention centre this week should have been interviewed by the Commonwealth Ombudsman to establish whether he should have been released into the community…
Symbolic minefield: the Australian Navy escorts intercepted asylum seekers to land. AAP/Josh Jerga.
The public’s openness to asylum seekers depends largely on the perceived threat that would-be immigrants pose to traditional Australian values, new research has found. Academics from Monash University…
Unhappy with politics in this country? You’re not the only one.
AAP/Alan Porritt
Australians are more dissatisfied with the way democracy works now than they were after the Rudd government was elected, a poll has found. According to the ANU poll of 2001 people, there has been a 13…
Opposition leader Tony Abbott has signalled a shift towards Japan in our foreign and trade policy - but is this the right direction?.
AAP Image/Alan Porritt
Opposition leader Tony Abbott’s comments in the Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian newspapers point to a shift in Coalition trade policy that would give Japan higher priority over China. So why would…
Mike Rann waves goodbye on his last day in office at Parliament House in Adelaide.
AAP/James Baker
Mike Rann has handed the South Australian Premiership to Jay Weatherill, after nine years in the State’s top job. Labor Party power brokers tapped the man who had led their party for 17 years on the shoulder…