In July 2022, Queen’s College at the University of Melbourne played host to a gathering of historians and foreign policy experts, including both scholars and practitioners from the professions of politics, diplomacy, intelligence, and business. The purpose of this Dialogue – convened by the Robert Menzies Institute with the support of Asialink – was to take stock of Australia’s current moment in history by evaluating Australia’s present policy challenges against those of approximately seventy years ago, when the Menzies government was in office and contending with the onset of the Cold War.

While the author alone is responsible for the views and recommendations expressed in this paper, they are significantly informed by the proceedings of the Dialogue, which included the participants listed in the appendix. While the Chatham House Rule prevents their individual remarks being expressly identified, RMI and Asialink owe them all a debt of thanks for the generous sharing of their wisdom and expertise.