Key development, diplomacy and defence policies have called for Australia to take a “whole-of-nation” approach to

its engagement with the world.

This moves beyond a “whole-of-government” approach to involve a range of other actors including business and investment, science and technology, education, sports, culture, media and civil society.

At a minimum, a whole-of-nation approach implies that global engagement is not just the domain of core international

policy actors but is the role of a far wider constituency. 

The global information environment is part of modern Australian political, economic and social life, bringing with it

new kinds of connectivity and opportunity. At the same time, it is a vector for serious threats to Australia’s national

interests, such as foreign interference in the country’s democratic political system, as well as to global stability

more broadly.  

This paper suggests the following pathways for Australia to use all tools of statecraft in the information environment.