Time to rethink our approach to national security: expert

Rory Medcalf is the Head of the ANU National Security College. The Head of the ANU National Security College has called for the appointment of a sovereignty commissioner to lead a public conversation on Australia's approach to national security. Speaking at the National Press Club today, Professor Rory Medcalf said Australia needed a national security strategy, which would work best if it is supported by this public discourse.  "It's time for a national security strategy - or perhaps more accurately a national interest strategy," he said. Professor Medcalf said the new strategy could look at how to integrate security with other vital areas of policy related to the national interest: prosperity and social cohesion. "This national strategy should address the tensions between security and prosperity, or between security and cohesion in our multicultural society," he said. Professor Medcalf said the national security conversation would need to grapple with the true nature of security as being about confidence and inclusion, rather than fear and exclusion. "National security officials are not ideally placed to lead this conversation," he said.