Here are my three pointers on how to apply Australian statecraft in the South Pacific.

Latest thoughts on the monarchy v republic debate.

Prince Philip, it was said, had one duty above all others – to never let the Queen down. Her majesty, who has sadly passed away aged 96, aspired to never let people down. It’s not well known, for example, that on the same morning of Michael Fagan’s 1982 Palace break in – where Fagan threatened to slit his wrists with an ashtray at the foot of the Queen’s bed – she insisted the 11am investiture ceremony – literally only hours later – still proceed. No one would be left disappointed on their big day. Indeed, it is a small but […]

Here is an edited version of my remarks at Caboolture Historical Village on 3 September 2022 regarding the unique and ongoing relevance of Australia’s National Flag.

The recent PNG elections were, for many, a cause for concern. Here’s a short summary I wrote for The Spectator. What just happened in PNG?!

Here I was proud to publish my first piece in the Small Wars Journal – a publication I’ve followed closely since my days with the UN in 2010. The piece looks at US Vice President Kamala Harris’ recent remarks to the Pacific Islands Forum and what her commitment to a US South Pacific Strategy needs to consider. https://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/what-does-united-states-need-its-south-pacific-strategy

A short piece for the Dipomatic Courier ahead of PNG’s July 2022 national elections. The PNG Election in the Shadow of Great Power Competition

A short piece of mine, based on a recent presentation to the Australian Institute of International Affairs. Re-vamping the Pacific: will Australia ‘step up’ or ‘step out’?

Back in high school days, at a model United Nations conference, a group of fellow students once rankled conference organisers by suggesting – through mock UN security council resolution – that the long-running Kashmir conflict be resolved by a winner-take-all One Day International between India and Pakistan. While partly facetious (some of our mob were serious), it appears the Australian Republic Movement has put forward a similarly cricket-inspired theme in its proposed Australian XI or ‘Australia Choice’ model. Under the model unveiled this week, Australian republicans are proposing that, to select a head of state, the states and territories nominate […]

At the very start of 2021, while still in New Zealand, I took a moment to read Geoffrey Robertson’s autobiography ‘Rather His Own Man’. Robertson’s politics are very different to mine. But he is one of Australia’s most well-known legal figures, living a cosmopolitan life applying practical liberal legal doctrines on a global scale. “Commonwealth courts that have one thing in common,” he writes, “they are bound by constitutions that direct them to respect the rule of law.” This observation isn’t simply academic for Robertson, who has made a career out of taking down war criminals, packaging complex legal arguments […]