Strategy to win hearts and minds cautiously received

Deborah Snow and David Wroe Defence white papers only come along every few years and Friday's - just the second since 2000 - was pitched carefully to a domestic as well as an international audience.

Officials broke rules on Zygier as case was flicked to ASIO

David Wroe, Tom Allard Two of Australia's highest ranking foreign affairs officials knew of the jailing of Melbourne man Ben Zygier - dubbed ''Prisoner X'' - in Israel but left his consular care in the hands of spy agency...

Failure to intervene: why Canberra turned its back on Prisoner X

David Wroe and Ruth Pollard A government inquiry has reignited concern over the Prisoner X affair.

No help from home as official account changes

David Wroe NINE days ago, the office of the Foreign Minister, Bob Carr, sent written questions to the minister's department seeking advice for a TV interview Carr would record the following evening on the...

Danger does not compute in cyber war

David Wroe The number of serious cyber attacks investigated by Canberra's defence spy agency doubled last year, new figures show, as security experts warn of dangerous complacency in the Australian community...

Comments 4

Coalition blockade against law, UN says

Bianca Hall, David Wroe THE United Nations and international law experts say a Coalition plan to block every Sri Lankan asylum seeker boat from reaching Australian waters, without first testing their passengers' refugee...

Police join hunt for alleged Australian bomb-maker

David Wroe Australian police join hunt for man involved in alleged Hezbollah terrorist attack in Bulgaria.

Australian diplomat 'aware Zygier being held'

David Wroe and Ruth Pollard An Australian diplomat knew that Melbourne man Ben Zygier was being held in an Israeli prison before he died in his cell, the government has admitted, amid explosive reports that Mr Zygier was a...

'We failed our duty' to Prisoner X

David Wroe Melbourne man dubbed 'Prisoner X' received no consular assistance from Australian officials despite the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade having been told of his detention by Israeli...

Department relied on Israel over 'Prisoner X'

David Wroe THE Melbourne man dubbed ''Prisoner X'' received no consular assistance from Australian officials despite the Department of Foreign Affairs having been told of his detention by Israeli authorities...

PM blasts Liberals on voluntary voting

David Wroe Prime Minister Julia Gillard has accused the Liberal Party of trying to make democracy ''the plaything of cashed-up interest groups'' after the Queensland government opened the door to the abolition...

Abbott adviser in gender firing line

David Wroe and Nicole Hasham Labor has accused Tony Abbott of trying to jack up his standing with female voters after his top adviser, Peta Credlin, gave an interview defending her boss against sexism claims and talking about...

Students bomb in exercise

David Wroe It was one thing for trainees at the elite military police bodyguard unit to miss two fake bombs hidden in a car's glove box during an exercise.

Sex attack cadets still in military

David Wroe About 10 defence force members suspected of involvement in rapes of female cadets at the Australian Defence Force Academy in the 1990s are still serving in the military, the Chief of the Defence...

Navy security review after heist

David Wroe, Judith Ireland The navy has begun a review of security across its fleet after an intruder broke into a Darwin naval base, overpowered a guard and stole weapons.

Defence inquiry to hand investigation findings to police

David Wroe AN INTERNAL Defence Force investigation is poised to hand over material to police that could incriminate serving military members in cases of rape, either as alleged perpetrators or witnesses who...

Huawei wants equal treatment for NBN suppliers

David Wroe Local arm of Chinese telecom firm hits back at exclusion from national broadband network.

Huawei hits back at NBN deal rejection

David Wroe The local arm of Chinese telecom firm Huawei has hit back at its exclusion from the National Broadband Network by calling for independent cyber spying checks on all foreign-made technology used in...

Comments 8

Tasmania mining talks collapse

David Wroe Tasmania's Tarkine wilderness is set for a Franklin Dam-style showdown after talks between green groups and unions over disputed mining projects collapsed yesterday.

Murray plan to launch a new wave of brawls

David Wroe, Tom Arup The Gillard government faces a fresh brawl with the eastern states over its Murray-Darling basin plan after yesterday placating South Australia with a $1.