AICC(WA) Exclusive Lunch Event with Mr Gregory R. Copley AM

Ms Robyn McClellan, former US Consul General to Western Australia, Mr Stuart Crocket, former Trade and Investment Commissioner to China with Mike Deeks

Managing Director Mike Deeks CSC was invited to attend the Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce (WA) Inc’s Exclusive Lunch Event on Monday 23 May 2022.

The event featured Mr Gregory R. Copley AM, President, ISSA - The International Strategic Studies Association, Washington DC, USA speaking on “Australia at a point of critical decisions”

Mr Copley is based in Washington, DC and, in a private visit to Western Australia, he generously made time available for a boardroom briefing to a small group of AICC(WA) supporters representing some of Western Australia’s most senior business and political leaders.

With five decades as an adviser on strategic issues to national, military, and intelligence leaders around the world, the Perth-born (and sixth-generation Western Australian) Mr Copley is a Member of the Order of Australia and has many academic and global decorations. Amongst them, Mr Copley was bestowed with a hereditary title in 2020 as the Marquess of Tana for decades of service to the Ethiopian Crown.

He observed that Australian culture has remained passive in the wake of dramatic global change. He challenged that the values of Australia are insufficiently defined beyond “mateship” leaving Australia exposed to unpreparedness in the years ahead.

Mr Copley also observed that the AUKUS Pact is important to Australia’s defence industries and defence services but has not yet been fully valued or embraced at the political level, particularly by the incoming Government. The importance of the AUKUS relationship has intensified due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in particular compromising India’s foreign alliances. Australia needs to think through its military doctrine and readiness for change when confronting geopolitical alliances. With respect to foreign ownership of defence and strategic assets, and industry decision making, greater domestic control needs to be asserted.

The lunchtime event provided an engaging dialogue and touched on topics such as cryptocurrency and the future of monetisation, energy security, the prospect of a thorium fuelled nuclear energy capability for Western Australia, and intelligence breaches of Australian sovereignty.

 In conclusion, Mr Copley cautioned that Australia is currently consumed by public discourse towards what we wish for and not necessarily what we need. He noted that foreign issues were barely reflected in the recent election campaign and did not influence its outcome.