Australia's federal election has produced a significant majority for PM Anthony Albanese. While most of the campaign was dominated by domestic issues, the shadow cast by the Trump administration's highly destabilising policies was long.

The re-elected government faces the most complex international environment in decades with the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza, an America led by a mercurial President who appears intent on wrecking the liberal international order and an ambitious and confident China.

This panel will discuss the most immediate international challenges facing the newly elected government, how it is likely to approach these issues and what new direction a more confident and emboldened Labor government may take.

Panel:

Recorded 13th May, 2025

The past six months in South Korea have been eventful - a declaration of martial law, the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol, but the country continues and now there is an election on the 3rd June. The election is heated, and there are still protests on the streets of Seoul.

How the votes could go, what is on the agenda, and how this will affect the world are all topics of debate.

Guest:

Dr Duyeon Kim (Adjunct Senior Fellow, Indo-Pacific Security Program, Centre for New American Security)

Recorded on 29th February, 2025.

It is two weeks until an Australian federal election in which the presiding Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, will meet the challenger Peter Dutton in a campaign that has been dominated by domestic issues, but overshadowed by Trump.

Guests:

Recorded on 16th April, 2025.

Late last year the Chinese government announced it had approved the world’s largest and most expensive, hydropower project on the Yarlung Tsangpo River in the Eastern Himalaya, near its disputed border with India. The project would generate around 60 gigawatts annually, nearly three times the capacity of the Three Gorges Dam, and help them meet their energy transition goals.

What they actually intend to build and the impact it could have on the surrounding landscape and the people who call it home is the subject of much debate.

Guests:

Recorded on April 1st, 2025.

As President Donald Trump leads his second term, relationships between the US and Asian countries continue to evolve under his administration’s policies.

While there has been much focus on Europe's reactions to a more transactional leadership style in the US, less has been discussed about how it will affect trade negotiations, military alliances, and geopolitical tensions in Asia.

The United States, once a reliable ally to many, now represents a wild card, and how Trump views Asian nations including China, North Korea, Japan, and India, will have a measurable impact on trade, security, and diplomacy.

Panel:

Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested on March 11, 2025, by the Philippine National Police and Interpol, acting on a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC). The warrant charges Duterte with crimes against humanity related to his administration's controversial "war on drugs," which resulted in thousands of deaths.

Guest: Associate Professor Kerstin Steiner (La Trobe Law School, La Trobe University)

Recorded on 18 March, 2025.

Australian headlines in late February were dominated by the activities of the Chinese navy’s Task Group 107 as it progressed south along the Australian coast and conducted a series of live-fire exercises.

To the media and a segment of politicians this is a big deal, and at the very least it signals a message that China is trying to send to Australia.

Guest: Professor Bec Strating (Director, La Trobe Asia)

Recorded on 3rd March, 2025.

The global south is struggling with extreme weather patterns and how to respond, with the Philippines being no exception. Since the devastation of the 2013 Haiyan typhoon, more than 15 thousand households have been relocated from the coast to Tacloban North, and this climate gentrfication has caused inequalities amongst the residents.

Guests:

Associate Professor Brooke Wilmsen (Social Enquiry, La Trobe University)

Recorded on 21st February, 2025.

For years China has claimed historical rights in the South China Sea, enforcing this by establishing the expansive ‘nine-dash line’ encompassing around 90% of the sea and challenging the maritime claims of neighbouring states in Southeast Asia.

The Philippines in particular has contested China’s claims, concerned about the implications for national security, sovereignty, sovereign rights, and maritime jurisdiction.

What can the Philippines and other nations in do to support the maritime rules-based order? How can bodies like ASEAN and the United Nations assist in these areas? What kind of deterrence and diplomacy might help manage or resolve these disputes?

Panel:

In his first month as the newly sworn in President of the United States Donald Trump signed a raft of executive orders, one of which was the near total freeze of all foreign aid, and the drastic reduction of the United States Agency for International Development. This move will have lasting repurcussions for the welfare of many of the world's poorest populations, not to mention the international reputation of the United States.

Guest:

Associate Professor Lisa Denney (Director, Centre for Human Security and Social Change, La Trobe University)

Recorded on the 18th February, 2025.