Australia’s defence planners face compressed timelines, fragile supply chains, and Indo-Pacific conflict risks.
This episode of Intelligence Optimised confronts the blunt reality of what Australia must do to prepare for a conflict that could arrive sooner than many expect. Host Todd Crowley speaks with Paddy Hallinan about national defence planning, alliance cohesion, and the compressed warning times that redefine Indo-Pacific security today.

Across the conversation, they test the assumptions driving Australia’s readiness. Can the nation and its Pacific partners sustain themselves if a kinetic conflict escalates? What does whole-of-nation planning look like when cyber attacks and information operations are already underway? And how do trade interdependencies with partners like Japan and South Korea shape the risks around LNG, iron ore, and critical supply chains?

Key issues include the National Defence concept and plan, the balance between keeping the economy running and hardening critical assets, and the role of sovereign capability in energy and supply-chain resilience. The discussion highlights the risks of misalignment inside coalitions and how adversaries actively target those seams. It also examines how China’s missile reach and Taiwan calculus sharpen the urgency for Australia to be “match-fit” within just a few years.

The episode grounds policy debate in practical takeaways: treating uncertainty as a risk–opportunity problem, prioritising alliance alignment as the first principle of planning, and recognising that any future conflict will likely reach Australian shores through cyber, economic, and physical domains. For senior officers, planners, and policy advisers, the value is clear - translate strategy into concrete next steps that lift national resilience.

Intelligence Optimised Podcast cuts through Indo-Pacific noise to provide frank, usable analysis. Find deeper briefs and situational insights inside Vaxa Bureau.