Media and Publications Library
Commentary, writing and public appearances.
Nuclear weapons: a dangerous global outlook
Jane gave a detailed presentation on ideas for Australia’s response to the rise of nuclear weapons at the Australian Institute of International Affairs in Canberra.
Diplomacy, first and foremost, is about influence: Jane steps through her journey in foreign affairs
Jane spoke with PIVOT, the flagship publication of the Monash International Affairs Society, exploring her three-decade long career within diplomacy and DFAT.
Why Australia Funds Foreign Aid
Writing for the Daily Straits, Jane examines why Australia's foreign aid program is a strategic investment rather than a simple outflow of capital.
Sky News Weekend News Day
Jane appeared on Sky News Weekend News Day with political reporter Reuben Spargo to offer analysis of the federal budget and Australia's evolving strategic environment.
Former Australian diplomat says budget 'preparing for very difficult times ahead'
Jane joined presenter Sally Sara on ABC Radio National Breakfast to discuss the federal budget's $53 billion commitment to defence spending over the next decade.
ABC NSW Statewide Drive Radio
Jane spoke with presenter Jess McGuire on ABC NSW Statewide Drive about the federal budget's role in navigating a "disconcerting" global landscape.
Young Diplomats Society
Jane spoke about all manner of diplomatic experiences with Poppy Bell from the Young Diplomats Society.
‘Quiet achievers’, diplomatic fumbles and wins: the power of strategic messaging
Jane analyses the potential power and pitfalls of strategic messaging via formal bilateral diplomatic statements - many of which she has drafted for ministers and prime ministers during her 3 decade-long diplomatic career.
The Heritage of Namatjira: The Watercolourists of Central Australia (Revised and Expanded Edition)
Flinders University colleagues refreshed and reframed the book Jane co-edited nearly thirty years prior, with a new publication launched and lauded.
The Heritage of Namatjira: The Watercolourists of Central Australia (First edition)
Prior to joining Australian Government service, Jane worked on art history issues with colleagues at Flinders University in South Australia, and tapped into the generous and insightful people of Adelaide and Central Australia who knew indigenous Arrente artist Albert Namatjira as his beautiful watercolour artworks became world-famous in the 1950s. Namatjira in many ways laid the foundations for today’s renaissance in Australian Aboriginal art.
ASEAN top diplomats hope for breakthrough to ease conflicts in SCS and Myanmar in Cebu meet
Jane is a regular contributor to articles by Philippines journalist Michaela del Callar, focused on long-standing concerns about China’s activities in the South China Sea.
An Australian diplomat’s lessons from 30 years with North Korea
In the last two years, North Korea has emerged as newly weaponised and more deeply integrated with China and Russia. How did we get here? Jane reflects on these and other questions - going back to her first official visit to Pyongyang in 2001 - surrounding a dangerous strategic situation which has continued to evolve close to home.
The world is watching closely to see whether a US–North Korea summit will take place in 2026
Jane was interviewed by Yoshihiro MAKINO, who writes for a major Japanese daily newspaper the Asahi Shimbun, about the signals coming from North Korea, and prospects for another Trump-Kim summit.
What I learned about North Korea’s nuclear paranoia in Pyongyang
The first of two articles about reading the tea-leaves in North Korea, Jane reflects on her experiences as a diplomat visiting Pyongyang more than two decades ago, and what we might have heard wrong.
The two Koreas: Could a North-South summit be in the works?
The second of two articles about emerging signals from a nuclear-armed North Korea and President Trump’s personal connection to its leader Kim Jong-u, Jane speculates about the drivers for another Trump-Kim summit.
The trouble the shutdown is causing a NATO ally
Jane is a regular contributor to articles by POLITICO journalist Phelim Kine in Washington, and comments on the impact of US domestic politics and President Trump’s trade wars on the Australia-India-Japan-US Quad.
Three Kims: Narratives, Nukes and Negotiations
What did we see and hear in Pyongyang, and hear from North Korean officials, through the hopeful days of the 2000s, when we joined with close allies to try to convince the Kim Jong-il regime to give up nuclear weapons and to open up the country’s economy Vietnam-style? Clearly we failed. Kim’s son, Kim Jong-un has technology and nuclear material enough for 50 warheads, cyber hacking on an industrial scale and swathes of North Koreans live in poverty and servitude.
China's aggressive actions can now be seen beyond South China Sea
Jane is a regular contributor to articles by Philippines journalist Michaela del Callar, focused on long-standing concerns about China’s activities in the South China Sea.
Democracy Sausage: Axis of upheaval
Jane discusses with the ANU’s Professor Mark Kenny Chinese leader Xi Jingping’s strategic jamboree with the world’s most powerful autocrats, who in September 2025 all stood with Xi on a balcony overlooking Tiananmen Square, in a photo-op straight from 1949.
USSC Briefing Room: A NATO Summit amidst global turmoil
Jane joined United States Studies Centre colleagues to analyse the significance of the 2025 NATO summit, as President Trump’s verbal attacks on the world’s largest military alliance escalated.