In the 1920s and 1930s, Australia entrusted its security to Britain's Royal Navy. In 1941 that proved to be a big mistake. Are we making the same mistake now with America and AUKUS?

John Seymour's new book 'Australia's Naval Alliances: Lessons of History' tells how Australia continued to depend on the Royal Navy for its naval defence in the decades between the two World Wars, in the face of ever-mounting evidence that Britain had neither the means nor the will to fulfil the promises it was making to us. This misplaced dependence distorted the development of Australia's own forces and left us largely defenceless when the crisis came in 1941 and 1942. That experience has important lessons for Australia, as we once again face rising strategic risks in our region while we look to America for our defence and should shape our own forces accordingly – including through AUKUS.

In this talk John Seymour, joined by Professor Hugh White of ANU, will explore Australia's experience of alliance failure in the past and what lessons we might draw for the big strategic questions that face us today.

Image credit: Australian battlecruiser HMAS Australia in 1914, Alan C. Green, State Library Victoria