Message from the Head of College: September 2026

September was a month of milestones and impact here at the ANU National Security College.

Early in the month we hosted not one but two former Prime Ministers: John Howard, for a wide-ranging and frank conversation marking the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and his leadership legacy; and Kevin Rudd, our founder, to share candid perspectives on contemporary geopolitical challenges, great-power relations and the strategic priorities for Australia. 

We sustained our annual traditions of hosting the Australian Crisis Simulation Summit, an outstanding student-led activity to develop next-generation leaders, and convening the Australia leg of the McCain Institute’s Counterterrorism and National Security Fellowship program for security practitioners from across the Five Eyes countries.

The College was also pleased for the first time to take one of its signature executive leadership programs to Indonesia, as a contribution to a strengthened relationship under the Jakarta Treaty. We’ll have more to say about that exciting development in our next newsletter. Also in outreach we sent a team to advance our engagement in Queensland, building on last year’s community consultations research and exploring opportunities to grow security capability and awareness with that State’s Government and Parliament.

The pace will remain intense for the final quarter of the year, with a suite of education offerings and continuous effort to integrate new knowledge from a changing world, on issues that matter to Australia ranging from AI to national crisis preparedness.