Show Notes
As the United States continues to isolate itself, the rest of the world is starting a process of realignment - with the exception of Australia, of course. More information is becoming available about how we are being turned into a giant US military base, without any public discussion. At the same time, several opinion polls are showing that even though the alliance with the US remains vital in the minds of a majority of Australians, the pattern is shifting decisively. For those under the age of 35 - the nation's future leaders - the trend is clear: increasing trust in China and decreasing confidence that the US would come to Australia's aid during a conflict. Is this shift reflected in government policy? Of course not, as we rush to further ingratiate ourselves with the flailing Trump administration. Meanwhile, China is also transforming but in an economic sense moving from a manufacturer to a creator and innovator - something APDR witnessed last week as a guest at the Asia Pacific Media Forum in Shenzhen. There could be some powerful lessons for Australia in how small, high technology, AI enabled systems can massively increase self reliance. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Australian politicians and Defence planners - please note that the US betrayal of Ukraine is worsening. On top of an illegal decision to purchase Russian diesel fuel, other sanctions have been lifted and the absolutely vital Star Shield military grade internet service to Ukraine was curtailed. During that time, launches of Russian ballistic missiles went undetected, resulting in civilian deaths - and the outrage in the US has been so strong that Donald Trump and Elon Musk are now blaming each other.
We start with the latest ongoing US betrayal of Ukraine - and it's a shocker. Following a 90 minute phone call with his best friend Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump has announced that the US will now buy diesel fuel from Russia. This is a total breach of western sanctions and not only stabs Ukraine in the back but also undercuts support for Ukraine. The consequences could be profound and demonstrate again that the Trump administration will break any alliance agreements whenever it suits them.
We start with some words about delayed flights in Australia and how this is a metaphor for obscure Defence decision-making, especially on subjects like AUKUS. Nuclear-powered submarines are great for travelling long distances at high speed underwater but there has never been any analysis of how this benefits Australia - particularly for the gigantic amounts of money involved.
A lot has been happening on the international scene with Australia's PM Anthony Albanese at the United Nations in New York partly to lobby for one of the rotating seats on the Security Council. It's not clear how much support Australia will receive since we are in the process of converting ourselves into one giant US military base.
We begin with another Defence procurement farce. Two years ago Defence abandoned a project called JP 9102 for geostationary military communications satellites with Minister Richard Marles explaining that they were too vulnerable and of insufficient capability. In an extraordinary development, Defence has just issued a tender for a satellite very similar to the one they cancelled. The problem is that we have missed at least 3 years acquiring a vital capability - and Australian industry lost more than $300 million because of the ineptitude of Defence.