The Australian Government has just effectively banned Huawei from participating in the building of the country’s next-generation 5G mobile network.

A joint media release by the Departments of Home Affairs and Communications states that “the government considers that the involvement of vendors who are likely to be subject to extrajudicial directions from a foreign government that conflict with Australian law, may risk failure by the carrier to adequately protect a 5G network from unauthorised access or interference.”

This decision highlights the increasing tension in balancing Australia’s economic, diplomatic, and national security interests against the backdrop of rapid technological and geopolitical shifts.

The banning of Huawei will have major ramifications for Australia’s technological future. Indeed, Huawei is a test case for Australia in balancing the risks and rewards of importing technology from non-traditional sources, especially China.

Take refuge from the current political theatre, and join our panel of top experts as we examine the ramifications of the Government’s latest decision for Australia!

Sarah Logan is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Faculty of Law at the University of New South Wales. Her research interests include the geopolitics of the internet, online counterterrorism policy and computational social science methods. Her most recent publications focus on the entry of Chinese search giant Baidu in to Thailand and Vietnam. Prior to entering academia Sarah worked for the Office of National Assessments and in the Australian Parliament.

Tom Uren is a Visiting Fellow in the International Cyber Policy Centre at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (seconded from the Department of Defence). He is currently researching and writing on international and domestic cyber issues. He has worked in various analytic and operational areas in Defence and has diverse expertise across internet and cyber issues.

Roger Bradbury leads the Strategy & Statecraft in Cyberspace research program for the National Security College at The Australian National University (ANU). He is a Professor of Complex Systems Science, with a particular interest in cyberspace as a strategic domain. He has extensive experience working in the Australian Intelligence Community on the strategic analysis of international science and technology issues.

Moderated by:

Adam Ni is a Visiting Fellow at the Strategic & Defence Studies Centre, ANU. His areas of interest include China’s international relations, strategy and security issues. He has worked in various China-related positions in academia, government and the private sector.

This forum is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served from 6pm for a 6.30pm start.