AQ: Australian Quarterly

For over 90 years AQ: Australian Quarterly has been packing its pages with the debates that have shaped Australia and the world, tackling the big topics in science, politics and society. Grounded in evidence, yet written in a style accessible to everyone, AQ is unique in Australia’s publishing landscape, pushing back against the trends of subjective truth and media spin. If it matters to Australia then it matters to AQ.

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AQ: Australian Quarterly

Resources Tax and Australia’s Sovereign Defence • Late in 2025, the US government released its National Security Strategy. Considered alongside Trump’s America First policy, it is clear that Australia requires far greater self-reliance. The United States’ incursion into Venezuela and Iran, and Trump’s assertion that the only check to his power on the world stage is “my own morality” and that “I don’t need international law” removes any doubt that the post-WWII rules-based global order is ending.1

Reforming Procurement to Rebuild Sovereign Capability • The Australian Government spends approximately $100 billion annually on procuring goods and services.1 The intention is to improve efficiency and quality of service, to support day-to-day government operations and to deliver value for taxpayers – all good purposes. However, numerous independent reviews and audits have consistently found waste, inefficiency, and failure to deliver benefits. The Government’s procurement track record has been shown to be abysmal.

Critical Minerals & New Australian Export Industries • In October 2025, without a great deal of fanfare, Australia and the United States signed an agreement to develop Australia’s considerable store of critical minerals. The deal, called the ‘United States–Australia Framework for Securing of Supply in the Mining and Processing of Critical Minerals and Rare Earths’1 undertakes to bilaterally underwrite the mining and processing of critical mineral deposits in Australia.

The Need for an Australian National Resilience Framework • Australia faces an uncertain future. The global climate is more prone to extreme weather events and becoming more challenging for the current way of life. The risk of another pandemic is ever-present. The geopolitical situation is changing in an unfavorable way. We are seemingly unprepared to fend for ourselves.

From Strategic Vulnerability to Economic Power: A Roadmap • The challenges facing Australia have been well documented across this AQ Special Edition, with a range of solutions proposed. Yet if we are to be more systematic about providing a framework for change, what would it look like, and where do we start?

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