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The Big Fix: Rebuilding Australia's National Security
The character of war is constantly changing, and so too must the approach to national security. But Australia’s defence policy is broken. Successive governments have not approached the nation’s security with the intelligence, resoluteness and seriousness it requires.
After more than 120 years of defence policy centred on dependency, the geopolitical situation demands new thinking by politicians and policymakers to secure the nation for the future. In light of technological progress, the shifting balance of power in the Pacific and the worsening danger of climate change, Australia needs a new approach in order to charts its own course.
In The Big Fix, defence strategist Albert Palazzo proposes a defence policy centred on the strategic defensive, which presents the best military fit for Australia, given its geography and the current state of military technology. Crucially, he elevates climate change to primacy in the national security hierarchy and explains how we cannot afford to ignore it as a security factor. And he what is stopping Australia’s leaders from seriously considering other options for the nation’s security?
After more than 120 years of defence policy centred on dependency, the geopolitical situation demands new thinking by politicians and policymakers to secure the nation for the future. In light of technological progress, the shifting balance of power in the Pacific and the worsening danger of climate change, Australia needs a new approach in order to charts its own course.
In The Big Fix, defence strategist Albert Palazzo proposes a defence policy centred on the strategic defensive, which presents the best military fit for Australia, given its geography and the current state of military technology. Crucially, he elevates climate change to primacy in the national security hierarchy and explains how we cannot afford to ignore it as a security factor. And he what is stopping Australia’s leaders from seriously considering other options for the nation’s security?
- GenresNonfiction
218 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 16, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 8, 2026
Clear and concise, well sourced, and boldly ambitious in its recommendations for a future Australian Defence Force, this book is excellent.
It picks up and expanding on the alternate thread of Australia's strategic thinking - defining what does Strategic Defense look like for Australia in the 21st century. The book is fantastic at situating itself amongst previous works on this topic, drawing on other works in this 'school' of thought by Allan Behm, Andrew Fowler, Allan Gyngell, Clinton Fernandes, Rebecca Strating and Joanne Wallis, Hugh White and even back to David Martin's "Armed Neutrality for Australia". The description of what Defence policy is, why its important, and how to structure such thinking (p71-79) is a particular standout, and exceptional in its clarity and readability.
The book's grappling with climate change and its implications in particular is stellar. The description of the threat of the effects of climate change (p45-51) is both vivid and compelling. While the section on implications for force structure (p136-138) is novel and a first in Australian strategic dialogue, as far as I'm aware, it is a little too short, given the scale of the threat that's articulated! And completely absent is any section on the implications of climate change for force posture. But these are minor quibbles. This is an expert in their element, and many of the points made have only become more salient with the US starting a war with Iran.
The only minor shortcomings of the book was its citations. While vast and deep, many of the citations felt like they did not support the proposition they were supposed to be citing.
And some minor quibbles with the arguments. The author's apparent support of AUKUS Pillar 2 (see p27-28), despite being "underdeveloped, undefined and lack[ing] an endpoint" and suggestion that an AUKUS Pillar 3 focused on asymmetric warfare might've been useful (p90) is interesting...but confusing in the context of his broader argument about the US relationship generally. And its not clear what the implications are for his argument on US bombers based in Australia, joint intelligence collection facilities or the marines on rotation through Darwin.
Otherwise, this is a timely and highly valuable contribution to understanding and grappling with what Australian defence policy and the Australian Defence Force need to think about in the age of climate change.
It picks up and expanding on the alternate thread of Australia's strategic thinking - defining what does Strategic Defense look like for Australia in the 21st century. The book is fantastic at situating itself amongst previous works on this topic, drawing on other works in this 'school' of thought by Allan Behm, Andrew Fowler, Allan Gyngell, Clinton Fernandes, Rebecca Strating and Joanne Wallis, Hugh White and even back to David Martin's "Armed Neutrality for Australia". The description of what Defence policy is, why its important, and how to structure such thinking (p71-79) is a particular standout, and exceptional in its clarity and readability.
The book's grappling with climate change and its implications in particular is stellar. The description of the threat of the effects of climate change (p45-51) is both vivid and compelling. While the section on implications for force structure (p136-138) is novel and a first in Australian strategic dialogue, as far as I'm aware, it is a little too short, given the scale of the threat that's articulated! And completely absent is any section on the implications of climate change for force posture. But these are minor quibbles. This is an expert in their element, and many of the points made have only become more salient with the US starting a war with Iran.
The only minor shortcomings of the book was its citations. While vast and deep, many of the citations felt like they did not support the proposition they were supposed to be citing.
And some minor quibbles with the arguments. The author's apparent support of AUKUS Pillar 2 (see p27-28), despite being "underdeveloped, undefined and lack[ing] an endpoint" and suggestion that an AUKUS Pillar 3 focused on asymmetric warfare might've been useful (p90) is interesting...but confusing in the context of his broader argument about the US relationship generally. And its not clear what the implications are for his argument on US bombers based in Australia, joint intelligence collection facilities or the marines on rotation through Darwin.
Otherwise, this is a timely and highly valuable contribution to understanding and grappling with what Australian defence policy and the Australian Defence Force need to think about in the age of climate change.
July 17, 2025
Defence analyst Albert Palazzo’s latest book is a timely review of Australia’s approach to national security. And the bigger threat is not military, but climate change. His review of current military and future defence is alarming: hugely expensive, but with mediocre capability.
He argues that the despite a succession of defence reviews and an unpredictable US, we remain subordinate to a much larger country with different objectives and a different world view. There is a critical need for the government to entirely re-think how we secure Australia.
See the full review at: https://www.queenslandreviewerscollec...
He argues that the despite a succession of defence reviews and an unpredictable US, we remain subordinate to a much larger country with different objectives and a different world view. There is a critical need for the government to entirely re-think how we secure Australia.
See the full review at: https://www.queenslandreviewerscollec...
October 5, 2025
The author seriously questions current defence policies for the defence of Australia. Does the government have the right priorities, are they getting value for money and should they get closer to the Americans or distance themselves? Is AUKUS a good deal for Australia?
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews