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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

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inquirerInquirer

Collins Class Submarines, HMAS Collins, HMAS Farncomb, HMAS Dechaineux and HMAS Sheean in formation while transiting through Cockburn Sound, Western Australia. *** Local Caption *** Royal Australian Navy Collins Class Submarines, HMAS Collins, HMAS Farncomb, HMAS Dechaineux and HMAS Sheean sail in formation while transiting through Cockburn Sound, Western Australia, in February 2019.

How this pandemic will shift our defence posture

The COVID-19 virus particle is 1000 times smaller than the width of a human hair, yet it has wreaked chaos and will dramatically shift our approach to national security and supply chains.

Ben Packham

CoronavirusNation

FILE - In this July 8, 2016, file photo, a pharmacist holds a package of EpiPens epinephrine auto-injector, a Mylan product, in Sacramento, Calif. On Tuesday, March 24, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned the public about malfunctions involving some EpiPens, the emergency injectors for severe allergic reactions.Â (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

Essential drugs shortage ‘critical’

The drugs regulator has warned of deadly shortages of 58 critical medicines as the coronavirus-linked demand hits supply chains.

Ben Packham

Politics

Senator Kimberley Kitching asking questions in the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee into Allegations concerning the inappropriate exercise of ministerial powers, with respect to the visa status of au pairs, and related matters at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture Kym Smith

Inquiry weighs foreign investment rules

A parliamentary inquiry will consider whether foreign investment rules should be permanently tightened.

Ben Packham

CORONAVIRUS RESPONSEDefence

Federal Defence Minister Linda Reynolds is seen during a visit to the Naval Group in Adelaide, Friday, February 28, 2020. The federal government has vowed to hold a French company to account after it pledged to spend 60 per cent of its $80 million submarine contract within Australia. (AAP Image/David Mariuz) NO ARCHIVING

Defence takes front line role in virus fight

A former special operations commander will lead the ADF’s fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

Ben Packham

TRAVELLERSPolitics

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

Stranded Aussies defy warnings to come home

Australians travellers rejecting expensive flights home are being told not to expect the government to bail them out later.

Ben Packham

Politics

South Korean police officers wearing face masks move as they guard near the U.S. embassy in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, March 20, 2020. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Sacrificing privacy ‘worth it’

Legal and privacy advocates say they’re open to South Korean-style tracking of coronavirus patients.

Ben Packham

Payne pans moveNation

China charges Australian academic

China has used the cover of COVID-19 to charge Yang Hengjun with espionage, sparking criticism from Marise Payne.

Ben Packham

Politics

Supplied picture of Steve and Caitlin McCann, from Frankston, Victoria during their trip to the USA in January. They are currently trapped in Guatemala. Source: Supplied

Fly stranded Aussies home: Labor

Labor has demanded the Morrison government provide evacuation flights to get hundreds of thousands of Australian travellers home.

Ben Packham and MAX MADDISON

Nation

This photo released on March 10, 2020 by China's Xinhua News Agency shows Chinese President Xi Jinping wearing a mask as he GESTURES to a coronavirus patient and medical staff via a video link at the Huoshenshan hospital in Wuhan, in China's central Hubei province on March 10, 2020. (Photo by Xie Huanchi / XINHUA / AFP) / China OUT - Hong Kong OUT - Japan OUT - Germany OUT - United States OUT - United Kingdom OUT / -----EDITORS NOTE---- RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - ONE TIME USE - MANDATORY CREDIT

Global ‘aid’ China PR ploy

China is seizing on the coronavirus pandemic that started there to try to enhance its international image, pledging aid to more than 20 countries.

Ben Packham

STAR SAVIOURNation

Sydney woman Nicole Burfitt-Williams (R), 26, pictured with a friend managed to escape from India before the planes were stopped. She received help from a former Bollywood actress called Kunickaa Sadanand.

Aussie’s miracle escape from India

It reads like a movie script: a chance brush with fame, a dash for the last flight out of India, and a real-life Bollywood ending.

Ben Packham

Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/author/ben-packham/page/197