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Australians know we’re under threat – and underprepared

A massive new study on attitudes to national security shows that while public anxiety is rising, there is some reassuring unity in our shared priorities.

  • Rory Medcalf

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Australians want the Albanese government to cut government spending. Where they want the cuts depends very much on who they are.

Cut government spending! Just not my government spending

Australians agree the government needs to cut spending. But a new poll confirms most of us want other people to feel the fiscal pain.

  • Shane Wright
Liberal senator Sarah Henderson in Senate estimates on Wednesday.

Liberal slams $3b Defence ‘fire sale’ as officials seek to calm foreign interest fears

Defence officials have moved to quell alarm over the proposed mass sale of historic sites and the potential for foreign interests to buy the land, as the federal government pushes ahead with a $3 billion property sell-off.

  • Rob Harris
Defence Minister Richard Marles says the war between Russia and Ukraine is expected to be protracted.

‘Tap the brakes’: Wary response to Defence’s $3b asset sell-off plan

A dramatic sale of 35,000 hectares of defence real estate – including some of the nation’s most historic barracks – will bring in about $3 billion, but relocating staff could cost $1 billion.

  • Matthew Knott
Albo on the defensive.

Let’s stop pretending AUKUS makes us safer

We must have a public independent review of AUKUS. It’s time to consider alternatives that are more cost-effective and in our national interest.

  • Margaret Beavis
The USS Minnesota, a Virginia-class submarine, sails off Western Australia last month.

‘Borderline frightening’: Pentagon outlines major challenge to AUKUS

Defence Minister Richard Marles has also confirmed the deal’s sprawling second pillar will be slimmed down in light of industry complaints.

  • Michael Koziol
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Marles repeatedly declined to comment on what the US review of AUKUS actually entailed.

Marles refuses 12 times to say what the Americans want in AUKUS review

Marles and Foreign Minister Penny Wong met their American counterparts Pete Hegseth and Marco Rubio in Washington for annual talks amid what Rubio called “real momentum” in the alliance.

  • Michael Koziol and Matthew Knott
The Australian Defence Force trialling recently acquired technology at its training base in Cultana, South Australia.

‘The race is on’: Australia follows Ukraine into the drone-killing era

At a remote military site in the outback, cutting-edge drone technology pioneered in the war in Ukraine is being trialled by the Australian army.

  • Matthew Knott

Defence Department spending overhaul was long overdue

Following decades of procurement delays and costs blowouts, the Department of Defence pays the price.

  • The Herald's View
British shipbuilder BAE Systems will build six Hunter-class frigates for the navy, down from a planned nine.

Government to scrap multiple Defence agencies to fight massive blowouts

Defence Minister Richard Marles also announced the government was monitoring a Chinese naval flotilla that may be en route to the waters surrounding Australia.

  • Matthew Knott