Australia is facing its most challenging security environment since the Second World War.
Defence planners and political leaders of both major parties agree that Australia no longer has the luxury of the once operative ten-year warning time before we need to be ready for a major conflict in our region.
Yet we are unprepared for such a crisis. For at least the past decade governments of all persuasions have struggled to translate changing perceptions into decisions and action. It is time for a reboot built on a sense of urgency. The lead up to the 2025 Federal Election is an opportunity for the Australian public, the defence community, and elected representatives, to drive that change.
To aid this process the Institute of Public Affairs, an organisation dedicated to securing the freedom, security and prosperity of Australia, is partnering with Strategic Analysis Australia to produce a blueprint for what the next Australian government needs to do to ensure that Australia can help deter a major conflict in our region and/or defend our national sovereignty if deterrence fails. In a six part series to be completed before the end of 2024, the main components of the blueprint will be mapped out:
- National Security and Australia’s Northern Defence
- Supporting and Equipping the ADF
- Acquisitions and the Australian Defence Industry
- Energy and Critical Infrastructure Security
- Funding National Security
- Northern Australia and What is Required
Strategic Analysis Australia is an independent strategic consultancy with decades of combined experience at the highest levels of defence and national security policy and implementation in Australia. This collaboration between the IPA and SAA will produce recommendations that are practical, achievable, and about which decisions can and should be made in the next term of government. The focus is on dealing with the challenges we face right now. Long-term planning is always needed, but in the window of vulnerability Australia is in, long-term capabilities might not materialise in time.
This series intends not only to inform defence policy makers and all Australians of the immense security challenges we face but, just as importantly, to demonstrate that something can be done about them if we start with a bias towards action, and act with resolve.
