Parbery breakfast briefing: Unpacking attitudes to Australia’s national security, risk and resilience

A few years ago, Parbery’s breakfast briefings brought together clients and colleagues to share insights around issues in our industry and community. We recently restarted this series to bring connection and spark fresh thinking beyond our everyday work.

For our first briefing back, we hosted a presentation from Tim Wilford, Director, Community Consultation at the ANU National Security College. Tim presented findings from the college's research into Australian attitudes towards national security, risk and resilience. Clients and colleagues from across the Defence and national security community joined us for the presentation.

The research provided food for thought about how Australians understand national security and the risks facing our communities. The research draws on nationally representative surveys involving more than 20,000 respondents, focus groups and community consultation.  

Here are highlights from the presentation:  

Security in everyday life

One of the key themes from the research is the importance Australians place on safe and peaceful communities, which ranked as the leading national priority among those surveyed. The research also points to security being understood through the lens of maintaining the continuity of everyday life.  

Australians are increasingly concerned about security

The findings also show that Australians are becoming increasingly concerned about national security, with growth in concern among younger Australians.  

At the same time, Australians are thinking about security across a wide range of risks like AI-enabled attacks, economic crises, critical supply disruption, disinformation and foreign interference.  

Preparedness and communication matter

While Aussies anticipate various threats, fewer than one in five respondents considered Australia to be very or fully prepared. The research also found that Australians believe government shares too little information about security threats.

The session made for an engaging discussion among our guests and staff to unpack the findings and provide more context around the responses and what could be motivating them.  

A big thank you to Tim and the ANU National Security College for the rigorous research and thought-provoking presentation.

You can access the full report here.