Making the most of AUKUS: capitalising on Australian competitive advantage
Opinions differ on the long-term impact of the AUKUS partnership on Australia’s military. Some see it as a chance for international collaboration and domestic defence growth, while others fear it will flood the market with foreign competition, harming local businesses. Australia’s success in this alliance depends on managing details well and leveraging its advantages in brainpower and geography, especially in hypersonics research.
The continuing decline of the ADF workforce
Despite ambitious goals, the ADF is struggling to recruit and retain skilled personnel, with all services except the RAAF continuing to shrink. The 2024 Federal Budget revealed the ADF needs a 14.8% increase in personnel by 2027-2028 but has seen a 1.4% decrease over the past five years. The RAAF is the only branch growing, while the Army and RAN have faced ongoing declines in workforce numbers.
AI Safety Summit Results in Joint Statement, Agreement From Tech Firms
Sixteen tech companies at an AI Safety Summit in Seoul agreed to identify and mitigate AI risks, commit to transparency, and pause high-risk AI systems. Representatives from 28 countries and international organizations issued a joint statement promoting AI innovation, safety, and inclusion. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak noted these voluntary agreements set a precedent for global AI safety standards, with further discussions planned for the next summit in France.
Transnational serious and organised crime: we need a white paper
While Australia has had a National Strategy to Fight Transnational, Serious and Organised crime since 2018, it’s clear that our current policies, strategies, laws and law-enforcement capacity aren’t stopping the growth in TSOC costs. Australian federal, state and territory governments need to promote public policy discourse on how we ought to respond to this challenge. A good way to start would be to commission Australia’s first white paper on TSOC.
Australia and New Zealand need an Anzac cyber incident review board
Many cyber attacks now straddle the Tasman Sea, such as last year’s data breach against Latitude, an Australian financial services provider, which affected more than 14 million people across Australia and New Zealand. As both nations focus on how to recover better from such large-scale incidents, they should combine their efforts by setting up an Anzac cyber incident review board.
Australia must rebuild its policy heft in deterrence strategy
Australia urgently needs to improve its understanding of deterrence to respond effectively to future threats. Despite past expertise, it now lacks modern deterrence skills, as highlighted in ASPI’s latest report and upcoming defence conference. To rebuild this knowledge, Australia should invest in education, foster public debate, engage in international deterrence exercises, and develop robust deterrence strategies.
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