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Inside Canberra’s Quiet Diplomacy: How Tennis Courts, Cocktail Parties and Living Rooms Shaped a Nation
Byline: Michael Keating ⸻ The hidden architecture of Canberra’s power At first glance, Canberra in the 1950s looked like a sparse, unfinished capital — more paddock than power centre. Yet behind the official façades of government departments and embassies, a very different city was taking shape — one defined not by institutions alone, but by dense, informal…
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Australia’s Defence Industry Surges — But Still a Small Slice of the Economy
Fresh data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics offers a revealing look at the scale—and limits—of Australia’s domestic defence industry, just as Canberra embarks on its most ambitious military build-up in decades. The latest Australian Defence Industry Account (experimental estimates) shows a sector growing rapidly in jobs, output and strategic importance—but still modest in its…
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Australia’s defence reset: Marles stakes historic spending on a more dangerous world
A strategic pivot under pressure At a consequential address to the National Press Club of Australia, Acting Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles delivered a stark message: Australia is entering its most dangerous strategic environment since World War II—and the government is responding with the largest peacetime defence build-up in the nation’s history. The launch of the 2026…