In a world of worry, the Australian government needs to demonstrate its seriousness about taking a truly integrated approach to national security, writes geopolitical analyst Rory Medcalf.
In recent years our world has seen chilling insecurity from Kyiv to Kabul, from Hong Kong to the Himalayan Galwan Valley, from Wuhan to a thousand corridors of COVID-19, to bushfires in Australia and rising waters around the globe.
Security is not just about barriers and weapons: it is a state of mind that reduces our anxiety by engaging confidently with risk. It is freedom from fear.In Australia, our security is inseparable from our proud national values and identity as a democracy and a multicultural society, where the rights, freedoms and equal opportunities for all are advanced and respected.. It is now intensely contested.
So, a challenge for the Australian government now is to demonstrate its seriousness about taking a truly integrated approach to national preparedness and security. This should look at how to integrate security with other vital dimensions of the national interest – prosperity, supply chains, cohesion, sustainability; and with the principles of Australian identity – equity, inclusion, dignity and democracy. It should take a long view focused on how these goals can reinforce one another.
The true value of a strategy would be a narrative for leadership to ready the whole nation – across political lines, federal borders, the private sector and into our diverse civil society – for the tough decisions they will need to share. Within the next decade, Australia will not credibly provide for its security without radical changes to our thinking about whose job it is. It is only a matter time before some form of national service will need to be considered.
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