Navigating Political Waters: A Reflection on Australia’s Military Engagements

It's been 60 years since then Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies sent Australians to fight in the Vietnam War. Since that time, the defence force has been involved in many armed conflicts and peace keeping missions around the world — but with varying degrees of public support. So how have successive Australian governments managed public consensus around military engagements? And with war once again a threat to global security, might they have to do so again?

These events were recorded at the Robert Menzies Institute at the University of Melbourne on 29 April 2025, and at the Australian Catholic University on 11 April 2025.

Speakers

Sir Peter CosgroveFormer Chief of the Australian Defence ForceFormer Australian Governor General

Georgina DownerChief Executive Officer, Robert Menzies Institute, University of Melbourne

Mia Martin HobbsAuthor, Return to Vietnam: An Oral History of American and Australian Veterans' JourneysPostdoctoral Research Fellow, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Deakin University