On 29 April 2013, Shadow Defence Minister Senator David Johnston gave a lecture to the Lowy Institute on Australia's defence challenges in the lead-up to the release of the 2013 Defence White Paper.

Following the lecture, Senator Johnston had a chat with James Brown, the Lowy Institute's Military Fellow. The discussion ranges from the current state of the Defence budget, to the Coalition's procurement priorities and the impact of the US 'pivot' towards Asia on Australia's national security strategy.

Following the 17 April launch of the joint Lowy Institute/Australia India Institute survey of Indian attitudes towards Australia, we caught up with some attendees to record their views on the poll and what it means for Australia-India relations. Features commentary from Christopher Kremmer (Australia India Institute; 0:11), Ruchir Punjabi (Australia-India Youth Dialogue; 0:51), Dipen Rughani (Australia India Business Council; 1:42), and filmaker Anupam Sharma (2:19).

In this interview, Rory Medcalf discusses the results of the joint Lowy Institute-Australia India Institute poll of Indian attitudes towards Australia. Rory notes the 'general warmth' towards Australia revealed in the survey (0:25), before highlighting some lessons governments and commentators could take from the poll's findings (3:00). Finally, Rory answers the obligatory questions about cricket (3:18) and uranium (3:57).

On 9 April 2013 former Prime Minister the Hon John Howard OM AC gave a lecture to the Lowy Institute on the 10th anniversary of the war in Iraq.

Following his speech marking the 10th anniversary of the Iraq War, former Australian Prime Minister the Hon. John Howard OM AC spoke to Lowy Institute Executive Director Michael Fullilove about the passing of Margaret Thatcher (0:27), the cost of the Iraq war (1:34), and Australia's foreign policy priorities under a Coalition Government (3:07).

In part two of Jenny Hayward-Jones' chat with Ian Kemish, the outgoing Australian High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea highlights some of the challenges and opportunities in the near term for PNG. Mr Kemish cites population growth and corruption as two key challenges (0:30), while PNG's resource potential and current political stability are reasons to be hopeful for the future of that country (1:40).

In March 2013 Australia's outgoing High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea, Ian Kemish, spoke to the Lowy Institute's Jenny Hayward-Jones about his experiences on posting in PNG. In this first video, Mr Kemish discusses the Australia-PNG relationship, noting the supportive role Australia played during PNG's 2012 elections (1:08), while also stating that there is much room for improvement in the way Australia understands its northern neighbour (1:59).

Following the release of her Policy Brief, Consular conundrum: the rising demands and diminishing means for assisting Australians overseas, The Lowy Institute's Alex Oliver was interviewed on Sky News. Alex's paper can be read here: www.lowyinstitute.org/publications/consular-conundrum-rising-demands-and-diminishing-means-assisting-australians-overseas

Following the release of her Policy Brief, Consular conundrum: the rising demands and diminishing means for assisting Australians overseas, The Lowy Institute's Alex Oliver was interviewed on Channel 10's 'The Project'. Alex's paper can be read here: http://www.lowyinstitute.org/publications/consular-conundrum-rising-demands-and-diminishing-means-assisting-australians-overseas