Ben Packham

Ben PackhamForeign Affairs and Defence Correspondent

Ben Packham is The Australian’s foreign affairs and defence correspondent. To contact him securely use the Signal App. See his Twitter bio for details.

@bennpackham

Ben Packham

Latest

intelligence rowDefence

Neil Fergus, CEO of Intelligent Risk, who has worked with the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) on the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and will be working with the ODA on the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Ex-spy demands apology from ASIO

A former high-profile intelligence officer has demanded an apology from ASIO director-general Mike Burgess after raids on his home and office.

Ben Packham

SPORTS DIPLOMACYNation

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA - SEPTEMBER 25: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Papua New Guinean Prime Minister James Marape greet the players before the International match between the Australian Women's PMs XIII and PNG Women's PMs XIII at Suncorp Stadium on September 25, 2022 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

PNG calls for NRL-led visa overhaul

James Marape says he wants the country’s entry into the NRL to usher in more streamlined visa arrangements for his people to visit Australia and has vowed to make Port Moresby a safer destination for fans.

Ben Packham

PM seeks to mend fencesPolitics

China, Russia … Israel: Wong on affront foot

Jewish leaders have accused Penny Wong of waging a ‘deeply cynical’ and obsessive campaign against Israel after she compared the actions of Benjamin Netanyahu’s democratic government with those of dictators Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping.

Ben Packham

DEFENCEDefence

HMAS Brisbane fires a Tomahawk Weapon System off of the cost of San Diego, United States of America. *** Local Caption *** The Royal Australian Navy is accelerating the Tomahawk Weapon System installation in Surface Combatants culminating in a live firing from a Hobart class destroyer 2024. This is aligned to Government Direction announced in the 2023 Defence Strategic Review and in the 2024 National Defence Strategy.

Australia joins exclusive club with long-range missiles

The navy has taken a massive leap forward in its long-range strike capability, firing a Tomahawk cruise missile for the first time.

Ben Packham

PACIFICDefence

CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA - NewsWire Photos - December 9, 2024: President of the Republic of Nauru,ÃÂ His Excellency David Ranibok AdeangÃÂ and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hold a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Security veto in Nauru treaty sidelines China

Australia will be able to block visits by Chinese warships to Nauru and get a veto over the country’s future security, banking and telecommunications relationships.

Ben Packham

ISRAEL AT WARPolitics

CANBERRA, Australia - NewsWire Photos - October 7, 2024: Mike Kelly attends the October 7th vigil at the Israeli Embassy in Canberra. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

‘Join the dots’ on violence, PM urged

Former Labor minister Mike Kelly has linked Anthony Albanese’s support for pro-Palestine motions in the UN with the torching of a Melbourne Synagogue on Friday, urging him to ‘join the dots’.

Ben Packham and Sarah Ison

Ripponlea attackNation

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA. NewsWire Photos. 6 DECEMBER, 2024. Police and fire crews mop up after a fire at a synagogue at East St Kilda. The Adass Israel Synagogue, an ultra orthodox synagogue in Ripponlea, was attacked about 4am on Friday December 6, Picture: NewsWire/ Andrew Henshaw

Police seek two masked men who set synagogue ablaze

Melbourne’s Jewish community is in shock after Adass Israel Synagogue was ‘deliberately’ set alight in what has been described as ‘another shocking escalation of hate’.

James Dowling, Cameron Stewart, Mohammad Alfares and Ben Packham

exclusiveDefence

YOKOSUKA, JAPAN - NOVEMBER 06: The Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force stealth frigate JS Mogami (FFM-1) participates in an International Fleet Review commemorating the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force at Sagami Bay on November 6, 2022 off Yokosuka, Japan. The Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF) is commemorating the 70th anniversary of their founding today. (Photo by Issei Kato - Pool/Getty Images)

‘Strategic case’ made for Japanese frigate

Former Japanese ambassador Shingo Yamagami has urged Anthony Albanese to prioritise the nations’ ‘quasi alliance’ by choosing his country’s Mogami frigate.

Ben Packham

MIDDLE EASTNation

Australia's UN Ambassador James Larsen addressing the General Assembly 46th plenary meeting on December 3, 2024, at UN headquarters in New York. Picture: United Nations

Labor condemned over UN vote on Palestine

Peter Dutton has accused Anthony Albanese of selling out Israel to claw back votes in western Sydney after the government switched its vote in the UN to support Palestinian statehood.

Ben Packham and Noah Yim

EXCLUSIVEPolitics

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and PNG Prime Minister James Marape are both NRL fans. Picture: PMO

China ‘irrelevant’ to PNG NRL deal

Papua New Guinea will get an Australian taxpayer-funded NRL team without having to explicitly rule out a future security agreement with Beijing, PNG Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko has revealed.

Ben Packham

Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/author/ben-packham/page/3