Northern Australia sits at the centre of Australia’s defence strategy. Defence activity in the north is increasingly tied to regional economic stability, infrastructure development and the growth of defence-supporting industries. Yet Australia’s northern defence posture has moved through cycles of attention and neglect. This report introduces a new conceptual framework to close that gap.

The report warns Australia’s social cohesion is under sustained pressure. It argues that social cohesion should be treated as a core pillar of national security, aligning leadership, policing, education, regulation and community investment around three objectives: protecting freedom while maintaining order, enabling disagreement without disorder and rebuilding a shared sense of belonging.

This compendium examines Australia’s counterterrorism trajectory from the immediate post-9/11 period to a more complex contemporary threat environment. Drawing on articles originally published in The Strategist, the collection explores domestic and international terrorism, radicalisation, antisemitism, lone actor violence, youth extremism, and the growing intersection between terrorism, technology and statecraft.

This report brings together 14 maritime-focused articles highlighting Northern Australia’s pivotal role – and particularly Darwin’s emerging position – as a base for maritime power projection, an Indo-Pacific sustainment hub, and a focal point for regional cooperation and defence investment.

Northern Australia is central to the nation’s future. This report reframes northern Australia as a developing economy within a developed nation. Drawing on a detailed analysis of the Northern Territory and extending to northern Queensland and northern Western Australia, the report presents a comprehensive, evidence-based argument for nation-building through targeted investment.