Message from the Head of College: May 2025

This month has framed a clear sense of where Australia is headed politically for years ahead, with the resounding 3 May electoral victory for a majority Labor Government under Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. It was also a reminder that Australians are privileged to have a peaceful and decent political culture, with a gracious acknowledgement of the result from defeated Opposition leader Peter Dutton. The nation's values and stability are reflected in and reinforced by one of the world’s most effective, fair and secure systems of electoral democracy, with compulsory voting a safeguard against extremism and a preferential system that maximises the value of every ballot.

The relative lack of attention to security and international issues during the election campaign may prove at odds with their impact on Australia’s interests in the months and years ahead. Last week in the 2025 Plimsoll Address, a major annual public lecture at the University of Tasmania, I encouraged the Federal Government to begin a frank conversation with the public about the need for preparedness and resilience against strategic shocks. I also used the opportunity to launch a landmark initiative by the ANU National Security College – our first ever Community Consultations. Through written submissions, attitude surveys and meetings all around the country, we aim to build a comprehensive picture of what Australians think about security. This will be a resource for governments, parliaments and other institutions as they look ahead to hard policy choices. I encourage you to please help us engage the widest range of responses, including through sharing our new Issues Paper to encourage submissions.

In other ways, the mission of the College continues apace, including delivery of professional education in Sydney and a wide-ranging executive program for EL2 officials, who will shortly travel to learn from our strategic partners in Japan. We are also preparing a geoeconomics program to deliver to officials in Indonesia. Our consultations in Tasmania, meanwhile, underscored the growing appetite for NSC work from State Governments. Bit by bit, colleagues are making real contributions to whole-of-nation resilience and a diversification of our nation's partnerships, vital building blocks for security in a contested world.