Defence & Security Podcast Network

What does the war in Iran have to do with Australian housing? Potentially, everything.
In this bold episode of the Contested Ground Podcast, Phillip Tarrant, Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson and leading real estate commentator Tom Panos unpack one of the most overlooked questions in Australia right now: how escalating conflict in the Middle East could reshape the nation's property market.
From fuel prices, inflation and interest rates to rents, construction costs, investor confidence and housing supply, this is a serious attempt to connect global conflict with local property pain (or, maybe, opportunity). The conversation explores whether Australia's real estate market is resilient enough to withstand another major shock, what it means for home owners and investors, and why the consequences of war can hit far closer to home than many realise.
This is not just a discussion about foreign affairs. This podcast episode is sharp, original and one of the first serious efforts to examine how geopolitics could directly shape the future of Australian housing.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Contested Ground team

In this episode of the Defence Connect Spotlight podcast, host Steve Kuper is joined by Lee Davis, senior director at Honeywell Aerospace Australia, to unpack what's being described as the most transformative industrial undertaking in the nation's history – Australia's AUKUS industrial base strategy.
At its core, AUKUS is about far more than submarines. It's about building a deeply integrated, trilateral industrial ecosystem across Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom – one that combines advanced design, nuclear propulsion expertise, and sovereign Australian industrial capability.
Kuper and Davis explore what it actually takes to stand up a domestic nuclear-powered submarine enterprise – from shipbuilding and sustainment to workforce development and supply chain integration. A key focus is how Australian industry, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, can position themselves to plug into global supply chains and capitalise on unprecedented access to allied programs.
Davis provides insight into the role of industry in driving capability, highlighting how clear demand signals and government investment are critical to unlocking scale, innovation, and long-term resilience.
The conversation also examines the policy settings underpinning AUKUS, including new export control reforms enabling licence-free defence trade between partners, and what this means for technology transfer, intellectual property, and sovereign control.
But with opportunity comes risk. The pair discuss the challenges ahead – from workforce shortages and infrastructure demands to supply-chain bottlenecks and the complexity of managing sensitive nuclear technologies.
This is more than a defence capability story, it's a whole-of-nation industrial transformation.

Enjoy the podcast,
The Defence Connect Spotlight team

In this episode of the Contested Ground Podcast, host Phil Tarrant sits down with co-host Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson to unpack the second-order effects of the ongoing Middle East conflict – and what it could mean for Australia's security environment.
The latest Contested Ground Podcast explores how the Middle East conflict could affect Australia, with a focus on cyber disinformation and proxy activity.
Tarrant highlights that influence operations are most likely to arrive online rather than on our shores, while Thompson notes the growing role of AI-driven deepfakes, synthetic media, and coordinated social media campaigns in shaping public perception.
Both hosts question Australia's preparedness to counter foreign interference, warning that disinformation could inflame social and political divisions. They also flag economic impacts, including rising fuel prices and supply chain pressures, as likely long-term effects.
A central theme of the discussion was resilience. Australians need to critically assess the information they consume, recognising that modern conflict extends well beyond traditional battlefields and into the digital domain.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Contested Ground team

In this episode of Cyber Uncut, David Hollingworth and Daniel Croft unpack the week's cyber and AI developments, from local artificial intelligence news to age verification wrinkles, and cyber conflict overspilling from the war in Iran.
The pair kick off the podcast discussion by taking a look at the latest AI news out of the Commonwealth Bank, and this time, it's good news, as the bank deployed a pair of security agents. The pair then take a look at the Australian Defence Force and its own work in integrating AI into its battle management programs.
After that, it's time for cyber security! The Handala hacking group has turned its gaze far abroad and targeted a medical technology company, disrupting surgeries and supply chains, while a mysterious hacker has targeted a Kiwi healthcare organisation with a bizarre – and disruptive – cyber attack. The pair also discuss the effectiveness of injunctions and how non-publication orders may seem like a useful tool for victims of cyber attacks but are easily ignorable by the criminals themselves.
Finally, Hollingworth and Croft finish things up by looking at the rise of VPNs in the wake of new age verification laws and discussing the new sanctions levied against Chinese and Iranian hackers by the European Union.
Enjoy,
The Cyber Uncut team

How do you explain to a six-year-old that her father isn't just "away" but serving the nation? For Hayley Boswell, the answer started with a handmade book and a story about saving sea turtles. A former lawyer and youth worker turned CEO and founder of Defence Kidz, Hayley is on a mission to ensure that one in 20 Australian children with a veteran parent are no longer the "invisible" part of the defence capability.
In this episode, Tash Taylor sits down with Hayley to discuss the emotional and practical realities of military life. From successfully lobbying for veteran identifiers in schools to shipping out hundreds of "deployment packs" designed by psychologists, Hayley shares how small tools – like a weighted koala or a T-shirt – can provide the resilience a child needs when their world is constantly in motion.
Hayley reflects on her own upbringing as a "military child", moving from Toowoomba to the Navy life, and how those early memories shaped her mission. From Adelaide Zoo connection days to the magic of a recorded bedtime story sent from Afghanistan, Hayley illustrates how Defence Kidz is rebuilding that lost sense of belonging.
The Progress Report. New voices. Real stories. Big shifts.
Enjoy the podcast,
The Progress Report team