A decade at the helm: in conversation with Rory Medcalf

How has Australia’s security landscape changed over the last decade? 

How was the Indo-Pacific concept born, and how has it evolved? 

What are the biggest threats facing Australia right now? 

In this episode, Rory Medcalf joins David Andrews to look back on the past decade in which he has served as Head of the ANU National Security College (NSC). They discuss the evolution of global threats over this period and how NSC has shifted its work to respond. 

Professor Rory Medcalf AM is Head of NSC. His professional experience spans more than three decades across diplomacy, intelligence analysis, think tanks, journalism and academia.  

David Andrews is Senior Manager, Policy & Engagement at NSC 

TRANSCRIPT 

Show notes 

• Nuclear Matters podcast 
• ANU National Security College initiatives 
• NSC Community Consultations 
• Contest for the Indo-Pacific: Why China Won’t Map the Future 
• Senator the Hon Marise Payne, then Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Senator the Hon Penny Wong, then Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs launch Contest for the Indo-Pacific 
• Professor Medcalf’s first speech at NSC, March 2015 
• Speech: Mapping our Indo-Pacific future, June 2018 
• Speech: Making sense of national security, December 2022 
• Speech: Australian resilience and preparedness in the new world disorder, May 2025 

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