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Ben PackhamForeign affairs and defence correspondent

Ben Packham is The Australian’s foreign affairs and defence correspondent. He has been a journalist for more than 25 years and is the 2024 recipient of the prestigious Lowy Institute Media Award.

@bennpackham

Ben Packham

Latest

China tiesNation

A man wearing a hazmat suit walks along a street in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province on April 14, 2020. (Photo by NOEL CELIS / AFP)

Embassy’s sanitised COVID-19 timeline

The Chinese Embassy in Australia has released a timeline of the COVID-19 crisis which omits key information.

Ben Packham

exclusivePolitics

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison speaks during House of Representatives Question Time at Parliament House in Canberra, Wednesday, April 8, 2020. (AAP Image/Lukas Coch) NO ARCHIVING

PM pressures WHO over wet market

WHO backs reopening of China’s notorious wet markets as Scott Morrison calls for greater ‘transparency’ on cause of outbreak.

Ben Packham

manufacturingNation

Tim Wilson, Dave Sharma and Mark Dreyfus before Question Time in the House of Representatives in Parliament House in Canberra. Picture Gary Ramage

Debate looms on self-sufficiency

Australia faces a post-pandemic clash between free-market advocates and those seeking to boost our sovereign industrial base.

Ben Packham

PACIFIC AIDNation

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison reacts during House of Representatives Question Time at Parliament House in Canberra, Wednesday, April 8, 2020. (AAP Image/Lukas Coch) NO ARCHIVING

PNG’s stinging critique of Australia’s aid management

PNG has blasted the federal government’s administration of $580m-per-year in development assistance as COVID-19 hits Pacific communities.

Ben Packham

regionPolitics

Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne appears before a Senate Estimates hearing at Parliament House in Canberra, Thursday, March 5, 2020. (AAP Image/Mick Tsikas) NO ARCHIVING

Australia vows to beef up Pacific aid

Australia will ramp up support for the Pacific’s coronavirus response after Pacific nations activated crisis provisions in a regional security pact.

Ben Packham

EXCLUSIVEDefence

This computer-generated handout image released by the French industrial naval, defence and energy group DCNS on April 26, 2016 shows a 4,500 tonne Barracuda shortfin submarine. US defence contractor Lockheed Martin will supply the combat systems for Australia's new fleet of 12 French submarines, Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne said September 30, 2016. The Australian arm of the American defence giant defeated US rival Raytheon in a deal to fit out the 50 billion Australian dollar (38 billion USD) vessels. / AFP PHOTO / DCNS / HO / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT

Subs, frigates ‘will be delivered on time’

Morrison government declares rebuilding of Australia’s military capabilities will not fall victim to coronavirus.

Ben Packham

Remote workingPolitics

Zoom ban for MPs over security concerns

Many MPs are without an approved video conferencing solution, with another platform being rolled out progressively.

Ben Packham

exclusiveWorld

***BESTPIX*** JAKARTA, INDONESIA - APRIL 2: Grave workers wearing raingear as protection from virus transmission move the coffin of a Coronavirus victim in one of the two official cemeteries for Coronavirus (COVID-19) on April 2, 2020 in Jakarta, IIndonesia is struggling to contain the virus, ordering stricter social distancing measures, but stopping short of complete lockdown of the capital which has more than half of Indonesia's total coronavirus cases. (Photo by Ed Wray/Getty Images)

Jakarta chaos raises fears of unrest

The Australian government is closely watching Indonesia’s response to the coronavirus, amid fears the nation faces an economic and human crisis.

Ben Packham

Fight for suppliesPolitics

People wearing face masks stand in front of a Communist Party of China flag along a street in Wuhan, China's central Hubei province on April 2, 2020. - Wuhan, the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic, is very slowly re-emerging from more than two months of demoralising lockdown. But endless rows of plastic yellow or blue barriers now run along streets throughout the city of 11 million people, just one indication of how life for its traumatised residents remains severely disrupted. (Photo by NOEL CELIS / AFP)

Aussie media ‘defaming’ Chinese companies

The Chinese Embassy has taken aim at media groups who highlighted those that bought up medical supplies in Australia to send back to China.

Ben Packham

Wages subsidyNation

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg announces the government's $130b wage subsidy package at a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Monday, March 30, 2020. (AAP Image/Mick Tsikas) NO ARCHIVING

Banks offer lifeline to workers and business

Banks agree to bridge gap ahead of May roll-out of government’s $1500 a fortnight wages subsidy.

Simon Benson and Ben Packham

Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/author/ben-packham/page/196