Not for the first time Australia is cut off from the world. Government has an essential role in preserving a connection.

By Dr David Brewster

One of the (many) astounding things that have come out of the Covid-19 crisis is just how fragile are Australia’s connections with the outside world. The government’s role in guaranteeing Australia’s communications, whether digitally or by sea or air, is one of the things that we will need to re-think once this crisis is over.

The National Security College, with the support of the Department of Defence, is leading a two-year research project on Australia’s Indo-Pacific strategy in the Indian Ocean. As a part of this project, this paper analyses the fragility of Australia’s air connections to the outside world. This paper first appeared on the Lowy Institute’s ‘The Interpreter’ on 29 April 2020. 

This publication originally appeared in The Interpreter.