Mainstream coverage of the major parties campaign reveals a narrow-minded, forgetful and somewhat inward-looking stand. While this federal election is heavily focused on cost-of-living pressures, Australia also faces urgent international relations challenges that candidates cannot ignore.

As a major trading nation, Australia’s wealth and standard of living are highly contingent on what is happening overseas. Where Australia positions itself on the international stage is a salient question.

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History tells us that we can be more independent and that we have stood up against authoritarianism and fascism.

There are profound ideological and geopolitical shifts taking place in addition to extreme weather events, the result of the climate emergency.

We are witness to ongoing genocidal wars, widespread civil wars and conflicts continuing without end.

There is a marked and discernible return to authoritarianism and fascism. Simultaneously, there is a sudden collapse in faith in international law and international institutions.

A chaotic and isolationist second Donald Trump administration has upturned a world order already shaken by the COVID-19 pandemic.

A number of destabilising events over the last decade have tested any belief that Australia could be immune, or insulate itself, from the wider world.

The catastrophic 2019–20 long bushfire season, or Black Summer, induced great fear and resulted in a direct loss of 33 lives and damages estimated at more than a staggering $200 billion. This and more recent extreme weather events have alerted many once complacent people that global warming and climate change must be treated seriously.

The global COVID-19 pandemic revealed Australia’s vulnerability to interruptions to........

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