Government's plea for the public to 'just trust us' when it comes to claims of national security concerns is losing its power, argues ASPI analyst Danielle Cave. The answer is to empower senior officials in the arena of public debate. Read More
While government officials might privately daydream about banning certain media outlets or journalists from covering their activities, the prospect suddenly became very real in wake of the government of Nauru blocking representative of the ABC from attending the upcoming Pacific Islands Forum. Read More
Who hasn't wanted to throw an unanswerable question at a top diplomat just to test the skill set they're most famous for. Read More
Commonwealth Ombudsman Michael Manthorpe has told his former Immigration colleagues to have yet another go at fixing detention review processes after an administrative error led to a man being detained for almost four years while holding a valid visa. Read More
Tony Kevin, former Australian diplomat and author of Return to Moscow, has been a strong critic of the finger pointing at Russia by the West. In this article, he explores how the verdict came before the crime. Read More
When parliamentary efforts to codify the use of 'reasonable force' against people in Australia's immigration detention centres failed, it left a vacuum that has the Ombudsman deeply concerned. Verona Burgess reports. Read More
The South China Sea has become one of the region’s biggest potential flashpoints – but, hypothetically, what could happen if Australia were dragged into a conflict between rival powers? Read More
Also, Michael Pezzullo's new portfolio will not be taking counter-terrorism orders from a parliamentary secretary — even though it looks that way in the proposed legislation. Read More
Shape and elevate the next chapter of a leading research and capacity building institution in the Asia-Pacific region. Read More
Slavery-like practices continue to be found around Australia today, a federal joint committee has found, despite a national action plan involving 11 Commonwealth agencies. But farmers fear new legislation as the word 'slavery' could damage Australia's brand. Read More
China has shown it is willing to use its economic clout to pursue strategic interests. Its behaviour is already pushing neighbours to minimise their reliance on the sometimes belligerent state. What if Australia's relations with the new superpower turn sour? Read More
Australia faces "almost insurmountable" challenges in protecting itself against cyber attack and is underestimating China's capacity to use money to get what it wants, argues a CEDA report. Read More
As the public service head of the incoming Home Affairs portfolio, Michael Pezzullo will have to overcome more than just a bureaucratic turf war in order to achieve results. Michelle Grattan reports there is 'palpable hostility' between ministers responsible for the rule of law. Read More
Trump is unlikely to support Australia's agenda as it takes up a three-year seat on the UN Human Rights Council. Read More
A single Defence Department was brought together in the 1970s. Later, Foreign and Affairs and Trade were merged, never to be separated again. Now Australia needs a Department of Home Affairs to confront global forces of evil, according to its secretary-designate. Read More
