PODCAST: The true costs of an ‘independent’ foreign and defence policy, with Strategic Analysis Australia’s Michael Shoebridge

Joint-capabilities
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By: Robyn Tongol

In this episode of the Defence Connect Podcast, host Steve Kuper is joined by Michael Shoebridge, Strategic Analysis Australia director, to unpack the debate about Australia’s level of defence spending and a host of other topics.

In this episode of the Defence Connect Podcast, host Steve Kuper is joined by Michael Shoebridge, Strategic Analysis Australia director, to unpack the debate about Australia’s level of defence spending and a host of other topics.

The pair discuss a range of issues, including:

  • Responding to calls for Australia to shake off the “shackles” of the Australia–US alliance to pursue a truly “independent” foreign and defence policy and posture.
  • The costs and challenges associated with pursuing such a doctrine, particularly when the government is already balking at lifting spending beyond 2 per cent.
  • The ongoing challenges facing the Australian Defence Force and its capacity to acquire the minimum level of capability required to defend the nation.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Defence Connect Team

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Listen to previous episodes of the Defence Connect podcast:

Episode 11: CONTESTED GROUND: Weak, vulnerable, backwater – Australia’s choice between strategic camps and managed decline
Episode 10: PODCAST: Undersea dominance – Australia charts the maritime future through autonomous systems and AUKUS innovation
Episode 9: PODCAST: Australian Army Cadets pathways, submarine industry growth and Australia’s fuel security
Episode 8: CONTESTED GROUND: The blind faith factor – why Australians trust an ADF they don’t understand
Episode 7: PODCAST: Defence preparedness, artificial intelligence productivity, and Australian industrial resilience
Episode 6: CONTESTED GROUND: Shots fired! Chinese missile test shatters Australia’s ‘fog of peace’, with Mike Pezzullo
Episode 5: SPOTLIGHT: Counter-drone innovation, directed energy and delivering operational outcomes, with EOS Defence Systems’ Lee Kormany
Episode 4: PODCAST: Strengthening security ties, Fiji defence pact and Australia’s counter-drone push
Episode 3: CONTESTED GROUND: Lessons from the UK in political polarisation, generational dislocation and intergenerational warfare, with Ben Dullroy, Bravo Delta Advisory
Episode 2: PODCAST: Defence Industry Development Strategy, Defence reform and Australians fighting in Ukraine