Naval recruits who challenged themselves to obtain a trade qualification have been awarded as much as $125,000 (US$85,900) each after a long-running legal dispute over the qualifications they were promised but did not obtain.  The final sums will be subject to negotiation, taking into account lost interest as well as income tax. New South Wales…

The thaw between Australia and China appears to be continuing after Chinese defence officials announced that they had sat down for the first time in three years with Australian defence officials. Chinese defence officials said in a media statement on March 22 that Australia and China held the eighth defence coordination dialogue in Canberra, Australia, and…

Two U.S. Senators have raised major concerns over the trilateral AUKUS deal between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, saying that the supply of U.S. nuclear-powered submarines (SSN) to Australia could weaken America’s submarine fleet. In a letter sent to the Biden Administration on Dec. 21, 2022, Senators’ Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and James…

Australia is in discussions with the United States to speed up its acquisition of nuclear submarines in a bid to sooner have the defense vessels on hand amid the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) increasing military aggression in the Indo-Pacific. “It’s important to get the capability as soon as we can,” a spokesperson for Defence Minister…

Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles on Monday arrived in India to hold a bilateral meeting with his Indian counterpart in a bid to bolster defence ties. In a post on Twitter on Tuesday, Marles praised India as a “top-tier partner” and a “close friend” to Australia. “I look forward to advancing our ongoing defence engagement…

The Australian government has offered Adelaide University $50 million (US$36.7 million) in a major collaboration between industry and academia to develop and build up the country’s sovereign defence industry in increasingly uncertain times. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the partnership, which is the second under the government’s Trailblazer program, promises to design 100 new…

In the lead up to the May election, candidates from Australia’s minor political parties have warned the nation that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) poses a serious threat to Australia in its mission to become the world’s dominant super power. Speaking at a Q & A event in Queensland hosted by Paul Murray of Sky…

The Australian government has committed $4.3 billion (US$3.1 billion) to build the first large-vessel dry docking facility at Henderson Shipyard in Western Australia. It comes as Australia’s west coast state is set to host American and British nuclear-powered submarines as part of the AUKUS partnership. Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Tuesday said the project includes…

Australia’s nuclear submarine deal under security partnership AUKUS is estimated to cost at least $116 billion (US$83 billion), a defence think tank said. In an analysis of the deal, the Australia Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) examined the procedures and issues the project would likely need to address and calculated a cost estimate according to currently…