Episodes over the past decade demonstrate how economic levers are being used to impose costs and reshape incentives without crossing traditional thresholds of conflict. This report argues for strengthening the connective tissue between policy, intelligence, economic and security functions so that information flows more freely, preparedness is built collectively and joint capabilities can withstand pressure.

The Australia-European Union Security and Defence Partnership was signed on 24 March 2026. The partnership represents a significant step in EU–Australia relations, elevating cooperation beyond its traditional focus on trade and investment. This explainer describes what the partnership entails and highlights what it needs to become successful and impactful.

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.

This explainer assesses how the Trump Administration’s approach to United States intelligence is affecting, and will affect in the future, Australia’s national intelligence community and by extension its national interests. It concludes that Australia should enhance the fields in which it has, or can develop, genuine sovereign intelligence capabilities and thinking.

Australia’s bid to co-host the UN climate summit COP31 with Pacific Island countries was built around a clear objective to elevate Pacific climate concerns. That objective is now at risk. The paper proposes that Australia should position the pre-COP for selected global leaders, using it to align Pacific priorities with those of other climate-vulnerable countries.