1.BEGIN

Series One has its locus on a single point – Australia. The Lucky Country, a land of meritocracy and mediocrity.

Modern Australia is a country of perpetual exploitation, from the First Nations people to its stately duties in service of its motherland, Great Britain, and since World War II, the United States of America. It is a nation used by others; for resources, for political clout, for geography, for human capital. It possess nothing of particular importance, other than being an Anglosphere nation in a particularly unique, and currently important, part of the world.

The Australian Defence Force (’Defence’) is more marketing than military, an obvious cut-out of of the American military, designed entirely to be a neat, detachable sub-component mirroring American equipment, technology and doctrine. Australia does not deny America is its closest ally, but it does constantly deny that it has not lost its sovereignty in such matters. The ADF itself is an equally hilarious political bureaucracy that spends more time on reputation management than actually building a solid reputation; and whose people must exist in a state of permanent existential crisis because of the obvious reality of its purpose.

The ADF knows that it is not a real military, and cannot do, real military things. At best it recognises, that any real military action it undertakes is purely at the discretion of the United States. The ADF, therefore, is predominantly an important piece of political theatre and economic policy, to shore up political confidence and win votes. The Australian Government, obviously, is not concerned with the defence of Australia, because they know, they are defended by America. But they recognise that the military represents an important tool with which they can direct and misdirect public attention and cultivate favour amongst the public.

That the Australian Government, would never, of course, acknowledge Australia as modern vassal or protectorate state of the US is entirely unsurprising. But not acknowledging it, does not make it untrue. Claims to its prowess as a “Middle Power” are equally performative given it struggles to even sustain influence over a handful of impoverished pacific-island nations which nobody as any interest in. Beyond that, who is Australia influencing in the world? More ironically, Canada, a northern Commonwealth mirror-state to Australia, apparently has more political and economic capacity to resist the US in the face of invasion threats and aggressive trade-wars despite literally being a prime target for an actual invasion due to geography. Apparently half a world away is not enough for Australia to resist, even at the margins US preference and direction.

Adherence to the American vision is paramount for Australia, and little else can be expected from a country of third-rate leadership devoid of integrity or imagination.

It is important to explore and disassemble the narrative that the Australian Government (of all colours) and Defence has painfully attempted to construct. It should be obvious by the end of this process, that Australia, is not a nation for Autralians.