helenfielder

Abstract Australia’s commitment to the AUKUS partnership represents one of the most significant defence and industrial policy decisions in its modern history. While framed as a necessary response to evolving strategic conditions in the Indo-Pacific, AUKUS embeds Australia in a multi-decade program centred on nuclear-powered submarines and advanced defence technologies. This article argues that the legal, regulatory and industrial complexity of AUKUS risks locking Australia into a capability...

Australia is fast becoming a serious destination for artificial intelligence infrastructure. Billions of dollars are being directed toward data centres, compute clusters and energy-intensive AI systems. Proposals such as the reported $7 billion OpenAI–NEXTDC campus in Western Sydney highlight the scale of investment now in play. At first glance, this looks like a clear economic win. But a more important question sits beneath it: who is actually capturing the value? If you examine how AI...

The integration of digital‑asset institutions into central‑bank payment infrastructure may represent one of the most significant structural shifts in financial market architecture since the introduction of modern real‑time gross settlement systems. In March 2026, the cryptocurrency exchange Kraken announced that its banking subsidiary, Kraken Financial Bank, had been granted a Federal Reserve master account by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.¹ This approval allows Kraken Financial...