Between the Lines

Is the government pulling the right levers to mitigate the economic impact of Covid-19. How long can the Australian economy survive shut downs before we tip into irreparable damage? 

How the US and China have handled the coronavirus contagion and the secret history of Labor's election debacle.

Kishore Mahbubani says COVID-19 won’t put dent on China’s ascendency, and the US should work out a more thoughtful, long-term strategy for managing China’s rise. Kishore Mahbubani, Distinguished Fellow at the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore, author of Has China Won? The Chinese Challenge to American Primacy

Has Malaysia’s Machiavelli made his last power play? Ninety four year old Doctor Mahathir Mohamad shocked the world when he resigned as Malaysia’s Prime Minister last month. It was seen by some as a Game of Thrones-style power play to out-manoeuvre rivals. Has it all back fired? Bridget Welsh Senior research associate at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Honorary Research Associate at U...

Uncle Sam: homeward bound? From Donald Trump to Bernie Sanders, a growing chorus of voices in the US is calling for a strategy of global retrenchment. But what will long-time allies like Australia do if Uncle Sam goes home? Thomas Wright, director of the Centre on the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution and non-resident fellow at Lowy Institute in Sydney. Doug Bandow, senior fell...

A Pacific compact to counter China’s rise.   

Indonesia and Australia: can good neighbours become good friends? Indonesia’s president gave a landmark address to Australia’s parliament this week, calling for an end to divisive identity politics and greater Australian action on climate change. What can Australia do to improve this very important relationship?   And, Andrew Stone: making Australia great again Former Chief Economist Andrew Stone...

Caucus chaos, Bloomberg’s cash splash and Trump’s acquittal: what does it mean for American foreign policy? A surreal week in US politics, with a huge debacle counting votes at the Iowa caucus to select a Democratic presidential candidate. But was the strongest candidate even on the ballot?  Also, Trump delivers an upbeat State of the Union on the eve of the vote of his impeachment acquittal. Amid...

Soleimani killing: Was Washington's targeted killing of Iranian major general Soleimani justified?  What’s the strategy behind it, and what kind of blow back will the US face? Danielle Pletka:  senior fellow in foreign and defence policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) Amin Saikal:  Director of the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies, ANU. Author: Iran Rising: The Survival and F...

Has China lost Taiwan? We discuss the stunning election win of Tsai Ing-wen in Taiwan earlier this month. Has China lost Taiwan for good? Or does the election just make military action more likely? Hugh White, Emeritus Professor of Strategic Studies ANU. Nastasha Kassam, Research Fellow, Diplomacy and Public Opinion Program, Lowy Institute. The man who mapped the world. It’s 250 years since Captai...

We know we were colonised by the British and built by the criminals they sent here. But how much do we really understand about the very beginning of European settlement in Australia? David Hill, former managing director of the ABC and author of Convict Colony

Australia enjoys the best of both worlds- free trade with China and a strong alliance with the US. How much longer can it last? US Secretary of State says Australia can either 'sell your soul for a pile of soybeans, or you can protect your people.' Could this kind of rhetoric widen the gap between two of the most powerful nations in the world, forcing Australia to 'choose a side'? Kevin Rudd, form...

Winston Churchill inspired his fellow Britons to resist the rise of the Nazis and led them to victory in World War Two. All this in the face of a complex childhood, a love for alcohol and a self-described long battle with the 'black dog' of depression. Andrew Roberts is the author of Churchill: Walking with Destiny , the most recent and highly-regarded biography of the man who was the twice-prime...

Looking back at the shock election result, Gerard Henderson says it's no wonder the media got it so wrong. Despite the forecast by the academics, the polls and the pundits, there is no substitute for 'staying in touch' with the voting public. Will May 18 go down as the most dramatic failure of political prediction? Gerard Henderson, author, columnist for The Australian and executive director of th...

Is nationalism an excuse for world domination? If you have an arsenal of weapons like the US does, you need a more nuanced catch-phrase than 'America first' if you don't want to start a war. Brendon O'Connor, Associate Professor in American Politics, United States Studies Centre , University of Sydney, co-author of Ideologies of American Foreign Policy Joseph Sternberg explains why the challenges...

The good, the bad and the ugly of politics in 2019. Expert commentators join Tom to discuss the shock election result, China, America and the world. Will the lessons of this year roll into 2020? Jennifer Hewett, columnist with the Australian Financial Review.  Judith Sloan, columnist with The Australian. Stephen Loosely, senior fellow at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

We know we were colonised by the British and built by the criminals they sent here. But how much do we really understand about the very beginning of European settlement in Australia? David Hill, former managing director of the ABC and author of Convict Colony

Whatever you think about the Communist regime, there is no market that will replace China for decades as far as Australia is concerned. So why are we so worried about China’s intentions? Also Like most countries, Australia has a growing population of homeless citizens. Are we looking in all the wrong places for answers?

Does Australia face a 'cold peace' with China? The recent refusal of entry to two Australian politicians certainly fans that fear. James Paterson, Liberal Senator from Victoria Andrew Hastie, Liberal MP from WA Also How the Liberals become the 'surprise party' of 2019. Aaron Patrick, Australian Financial Review’s senior correspondent and author of The Surprise party: how the coalition went from ch...

Why haven't we in Australia witnessed a populist explosion? Not One Nation nor Clive Palmer can compare with the nativism now seen across Europe and the US. There have been no Trump or Brexit moments for us. Are we due for one? Sam Roggeveen, author of Our very own Brexit: Australia's hollow politics and where it could lead us , a Lowy Institute Paper and director of the Lowy Institute’s Internati...

Six months after losing the unlosable election, what now for the Australian Labor Party? Some believe that Bill Shorten took the right mix of policies to the May 18 election. Others say there should have been a shift towards the centre. One thing was clear. The voting public did not want either. Nick Dyrenfurth, executive director of the John Curtin Research Centre and author of Getting the blues:...

Islamic State mastermind Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead. Now what? After five years of his Sunni jihadist movement's caliphate across parts of Syria and Iraq, and widespread barbarism, video-recorded beheadings, mass executions and the enslavement and raping of women, what should we expect? Will the jihadists bounce back? Jessica Stern, research professor at Boston University’s Pardee School of Glob...

Joe Biden's advisor, Nicholas Burns, blames China for the 'theft of American intellectual property.' He says they have 'ripped off part of the natural wealth of the US' and that President Trump used this sentiment in his 2016 campaign. Burns was a recent guest of the Lowy Institute in Australia. He would like to see Australia step up to help ease the anguish around China's place in the world. Nich...

Winston Churchill inspired his fellow Britons to resist the rise of the Nazis and led them to victory in World War Two. All this in the face of a complex childhood, a love for alcohol and a self-described long battle with the 'black dog' of depression. Andrew Roberts is the author of Churchill: Walking with Destiny , the most recent and highly-regarded biography of the man who was the twice-prime...

What did this beauty queen do to be banned from entering China? It is the 70th anniversary of China's Communist Revolution but when it comes to human rights, how far has the regime come? Activist Anastasia Lin has learned that if you speak ill of the communist regime you quickly become a 'persona non gratis' in the eyes of the Chinese government. Also Can any one sector solve the myriad issues of...