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CONFIRMED: AUSTRALIAN WEAPONS SOLD TO ISRAEL

With the Federal government covering for them, a Canberra-based company has supplied lethal weapons to a country accused of war crimes and genocide. by Michelle Fahy | 26 Apr, 2025 The Australian counter-drone weapons system seen at a weapons demonstration in Israel recently is actually just one of a few that were sold by the…
Security without submarines: the military Strategy Australia should pursue instead of AUKUS

The Conversation – 21 April 2025. For more than a century, Australia has followed the same defence policy: dependence on a great power. This was first the United Kingdom and then the United States. Without properly considering other options, successive federal governments have intensified this policy with the AUKUS agreement and locked Australia into dependency…
‘Are peace and democracy on life support?’

Webinar, Tuesday 15 April, 6 – 7pm AEST Recent elections have raised deep concerns not only about the future of democracy but also the peace and security for millions of people across the world. We face an uncertain and challenging future with a frightening new arms race funded by slashing aid to the poorest and…
Does China threaten Australia’s future peace and security? Dr Vince Scappatura

APSF Webinar 18 February 2025 – transcipt Introduction The topic and question for tonight’s webinar is, Does China threaten Australia’s future peace and security? It’s an important question that has dominated Australia’s national security discourse for almost a decade now – if not longer – and I’m grateful to be given the opportunity tonight to…
Why we need a peace and security strategy

By Michael Walker An episode of the Five Minute Advocate, aired on community radio on 25 March 2025. APSF Board member Dr Michael Walker speaks about the Office of National Intelligence’s Climate Risk Assessment that has never been released to the public and the need for public involvement and even citizens assemblies in shaping the…
Australia-China relations: A question of trust

By Jocelyn Chey Let’s restore the trust in China that we once enjoyed. This was the key message I presented to an online forum titled Does China Threaten Australia’s Peace and Security hosted by the Australian Peace and Security Forum on 18 March. Following is a condensed version of my talk. In December 1960, the…
Webinar, ‘Constructive engagement with China’, 6pm, Tuesday 18 March, 2025.

Our government is apparently seeing China as a threat in the Asia Pacific region, hence our $375 billion AUKUS agreement with the US and UK. But is China really a threat to Australia or the region? How do other countries in the region view China and our agreement with the USA? What are our options?’…
“Will AUKUS make us safer”, Webinar, 11 February, 2025.

What are the prospects and consequences of nuclear war? Is Australia likely to be targeted in a nuclear war? Hon Melissa Parke, CEO ICAN; Allan Behm, Advisor International & Security Affairs Program, The Australia Institute; Major Gen Mike Smith (ret’d) APSF Board member. Moderator Prof Penny D Sackett
Webinar talk by Major Gen Mike Smith (ret’d), ‘Will AUKUS make us safer? In a word: “NO” ‘ 11 February 2025

Greetings from Ngunnawal country in Canberra. I add my respects to the traditional custodians of our lands, seas and waterways. I must say that the latest statistics on ‘closing-the-gap’ are shameful. Our nation will not be complete unless and until we build this bridge. So, will AUKUS make us safer? In a word: “NO” –…
Climate and security risks? Shhh, says the Albanese Government

The Los Angeles fires have again demonstrated the need for a steely-eyed approach by governments to climate risks, ensuring that the assessment of those risks is up-to-date, considers the plausible worst-case scenarios, and is made widely available so the public understands what we are facing. But the Australian Government’s work-in-progress National Climate Risk Assessment appears…
APSF Webinar, 3 December, 6pm “Water: essential for life and our security”.

Australia is one of the driest continents and water is critical for the environment, agriculture and for all Australians. Quentin Grafton is Prof ANU, Australian Laureate Fellow & Chairholder, UNESCO Chair in Water Economics; Ian Lowe emeritus professor School of Environment and Science at Griffith University; Melita Grant, water, sanitation and hygiene specialist, UTS. Moderator:…
Climate change and national security

Podcast with Dr Albert Palazzo, Adjunct Prof University of NSW, Former Director, War Studies, Army Research Centre, 6 December 2024 “Our failure to put in any meaningful policies to cut back on greenhouse gas emissions to rapidly reduce them to zero, basically dooms humanity to a very tough ride in the coming decades…We have now…
Time to talk peace: War memorial must think of kids

Tens of thousands of school students visit the Australian War Memorial every year – more than 95,000 in 2022-23 alone. For students in Years 4-12, a visit to the Memorial is mandatory for the school to receive federal funding for a visit to Canberra. The Memorial therefore plays a role in shaping what young Australians…
The real meaning of security

José Ramos-Horta – Published in The Saturday Paper, October 19 – 25, 2024 Language is a truly fascinating phenomenon – it is fluid and constantly evolving. We are barely aware that, as we are shaping its evolution, language is shaping us – individually and collectively. This is what makes it such a potent political tool. Language can be…
The Fraying of the Australian Social Contract – Dr Albert Palazzo

The Australian nation faces a convergence of events that risk the security and prosperity of its people. Some of these are well known and receive considerable attention from the government and the media, such as the consequences of China’s emergence as a great power. Others are equally well known but receive minimal attention and resources…