ABSTRACT
Australia is responding to the shift towards a Third Nuclear Age with a mix of continuity and change, but also a growing interest in advanced conventional weaponry. Recent developments in Australian defence and security policy suggest a move away from the type of hedging and balancing described in the section above. Instead, Canberra is doubling down on its existing defence posture of conventional deterrence backed by the extended nuclear deterrence offered by its formal ally, the United States. However, part of this includes a far greater reliance on high-end strategic non-nuclear capabilities such as hypersonic missiles, theatre missile defences and research into military uses of AI. It also includes embracing a new and controversial position on proliferation safeguards through its pursuit of nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS security pact. While officially eschewed by the government, the prospect of a more contested Asian security environment has ensured that even a future Australian nuclear weapons capability is once more a subject of serious public debate.
