‘My job is to assume things get worse,’ says our new defence chief

Nicola SmithForeign affairs and defence correspondent
Sep 24, 2026 – 4.55am

In the top right-hand corner of a secluded conference room at the Canberra headquarters of the Department of Defence sits a small, innocuous-looking white box. It’s placed above eight adjoined TV monitors that display a cascading list of timezones in Washington, Hawaii, Tokyo and London. When the box lights up, it’s the cue for anyone without top-secret clearance to head for the exit.

This is the “situation room” within the sprawling Russell Office complex at the heart of the national capital. The Australian Financial Review Magazine is the first media outlet to be shown inside. It resembles a standard conferencing facility, but for the fact it’s accessible only via vault-like security doors. A clue to the room’s critical purpose is the prominent wall maps of Asia, the South Pacific and Antarctica.

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Nicola SmithForeign affairs and defence correspondentNicola Smith is The Australian Financial Review’s Foreign affairs and defence correspondent. She was formerly the Canberra bureau chief and a foreign correspondent covering Asia and the European Union. She joined the Financial Review in 2025. Reach Nicola securely on Signal @niccijsmith.03. Email Nicola at nicci.smith@afr.com

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