No worries? What Australians think about security, risk and resilience
From The National Security Podcast by ANU National Security College
April 2, 2026 · 45 min
About this episode
The episode discusses Australian attitudes towards national security and the perceived risks and resilience in the community.
Why do Australians place peaceful and safe communities above more traditional security priorities? Why are AI-enabled attacks, economic crises, supply chain shocks and disinformation rising above more conventional threats in public concern? Why do many Australians want more transparency and information from trusted agencies, while also feeling overwhelmed by the information environment? Why do so few Australians think the country is fully prepared for major threats, and what does that preparedness gap mean for government and industry? In this episode, Rory Medcalf, Tom Rogers and Tim Wilford join Sally Bulkeley to discuss the findings of NSC’s Community Consultations Report – Australia's first comprehensive research report, examining Australian attitudes to national security, and perceptions of risk and resilience. Professor Rory Medcalf AM is Head of the ANU National Security College. His professional experience spans more than three decades across diplomacy, intelligence analysis, think tanks, journalism and academia. Tom Rogers is the former Australian Electoral Commissioner and a Distinguished Advisor at NSC. Tim Wilford is Director, Community Consultations at NSC…
People in this episode
Host: Sally Bulkeley
Guests: Rory Medcalf, Tom Rogers, Tim Wilford
Topics covered
- Australian national security
- public perception of risk
- community consultations
- preparedness for threats
- transparency in security
- AI-enabled attacks
- economic crises
Keywords
- national security
- Australia
- risk perception
- community consultations
- preparedness
- AI attacks
- disinformation
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: ANU National Security College
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