We are very excited to bring you a special interview this episode with Rebecca Skinner, Associate Secretary of Australia’s Department of Defence, and therefore one of the most senior women working on Australia’s national security. It is a wide-ranging conversation that covers topics including the nature of the Associate Secretary role, civil-military relationships inside the department, the never-ending question of reform, gender issues, and contrasts between private and public sector organisations. Allan and Darren also pose big picture questions on the disrupted strategic environment and how to better integrate Australia’s national security community. On the lighter side, the $400 ash tray from the TV show “The West Wing” and (perhaps) its Australian equivalent – a flute – also come up.
As always, we invite our listeners to email us at this address: australia.world.pod@gmail.com We welcome feedback, requests and suggestions. You can also contact Darren on twitter @limdarrenj
Our thanks go to AIIA intern Charlie Henshall for his help with audio editing, Rory Stenning for composing our theme music, and Martyn Pearce for technical assistance in setting up this episode.
Relevant links
Rebecca Skinner’s biography: http://defence.gov.au/leaders/MsRebeccaSkinner.asp
The West Wing: “Four hundred dollar ashtray”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7R9kH_HOUXM
Ep. 30: Australia’s High Commissioners to Solomon Islands and Samoa discuss diplomacy in the Pacific
Ep. 29: PM Morrison visits the Trump White House; prisoners in Iran; energy security; a visit by Fiji’s PM; climate change
Ep. 28: PM’s trips to Vietnam & the G7; alliance management in the Gulf; Kashmir; PNG
Ep. 27: Clare Walsh, DFAT Deputy Secretary on multilateralism, aid and development
Ep. 26: AUSMIN; Hastie op-ed; HK protests in Australia; Pacific Islands Forum
Ep. 25: David Gruen, Australia’s G20 Sherpa
Ep. 24: Director-General of ASIS in his first ever interview
Ep. 23: Morrison’s Asialink-Bloomberg speech; Lowy Poll; G20
Ep. 22: Hong Kong protests; Shangri-La Dialogue; US-Iran tensions
Ep. 20: Huawei and decoupling; PNG; four elections; new ambassadors; Bob Hawke
Ep. 19: An incoming government brief: What will the election winner face in the new term?
Ep. 18: Terrorism and counter-terrorism in the wake of the Sri Lanka attacks
Ep. 17: Geoeconomics; Australia’s consular operations
Ep. 16: Brexit, more Brexit, & new funding for Australia-China relations
Ep. 15: Towards reinvigorating Australian foreign policy studies (LIVE @ ANU)
Ep. 14: North Korea after Hanoi; India-Pakistan crisis deescalates; Indonesian FTA
Ep. 13: Five eyes and 5G infrastructure; problems for Aussie coal
Ep. 12: What we learned from 2018, looking ahead to 2019
Ep. 11: Dennis Richardson
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