Luke Hunt

Myanmar junta under threat as states establish own govts- UCA News Analysts report a new brand of bottom-up federalism in Myanmar as ethnic rebels establish parallel governments in five states. Explore the territorial standoff between the junta and EAOs and the decli...

My latest from the Thai-Myanmar border
#myanmar
www.ucanews.com/news/myanmar...

Why patriotism should worry us more than it does Often treated as an unquestioned virtue, patriotism can easily slide into nationalism, exclusion and hostility towards others.

Patriotism is widely treated as an unquestioned virtue. But history shows how easily it can turn into jingoism, exclusion and hostility towards those seen as outsiders, Chas Keys writes.
#auspol #patriotism #nationalism #politics #society

Myanmar junta under threat as states establish own govts- UCA News Analysts report a new brand of bottom-up federalism in Myanmar as ethnic rebels establish parallel governments in five states. Explore the territorial standoff between the junta and EAOs and the decli...

My latest from the Thai-Myanmar border
#myanmar
www.ucanews.com/news/myanmar...

Solving the Mysteries of Southeast Asia’s Prehistory YouTube video by The Diplomat

My latest podcast is with the Canadian archeologist Dougald O’Reilly and it’s about solving the mysteries at the Plane of Jars in Laos and his latest book Empires of the Southern Ocean.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1TQ...

#ASEAN #Laos #PlainofJars #ANU #Angkor #Cambodia #AustralianNationalUniversity

Southeast Asia: The Economic Outlook for 2026 YouTube video by The Diplomat

My first podcast for 2026 is with Marcus Tantau, a senior associate at Templeton Research, and its all about how Southeast Asia economies are expected to fare in the year ahead.
#AEAN #SoutheastAsia #Economies #Outlook
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKew...

Myanmar junta’s plan for legitimacy dashed by poor poll turnout- UCA News Voter turnout hits record lows in the first round of Myanmar's military-backed election, with the USDP claiming a predicted victory. Analysts dismiss the process as rigged ahead of the second round of...

The second round of voting in Myanmar's election begins Sunday. Yes, it's a sham and here's my take on why:
www.ucanews.com/news/myanmar...
#Myanmar #Vote #war

Cambodia’s Prince Bank Founder Deported to China For Alleged Cyber Crimes Chen Zhi’s extradition follows U.S. federal indictment and the capture of Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro.

My take for what it's worth on the extradition of Chen Zhi, founder of Prince Bank in Cambodia, by China.
#Cambodia #China #Trump #Maduro
thediplomat.com/2026/01/camb...

Best of 2025 - John Menadue in conversation with David Marr In a wide-ranging discussion, P&I editor-in-chief John Menadue discusses a life full of achievement driven by conviction, and nominates seeing off the White Australia policy and establishing P&I as highlights. He is speaking with David Marr on ABC Radio National's Late Night Live.

I hope I can also age gracefully and encourage people around me to step up and for me not to be concerned that people may no longer listen to me. I'm quite pleased that I can still do a few more things, God willing. #auspol #JohnMenadue #LateNightLive #RadioNational

A history of Cambodia-Thailand Diplomatic Relations 1950-2020, by Sok Udom Deth is a must read for anyone trying to make sense of their border conflict and worthy of a second edition given the 2025 undeclared war. #cambodia #thailand #war

Conflict, Crime, and SLAPPs in Southeast Asia YouTube video by The Diplomat

Vale M. Ravi (Madasamy Ravi) a brave human rights lawyer who died on Christmas Eve. His death in Singapore is under investigation. Attached is a podcast I recorded with him in November after he defended me in an attempted defamation suit. RIP my friend.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dj-Y...

Christmas in Cambodia during a time of war- UCA News As war with Thailand rages, Cambodians mark a somber Christmas. Amid displacement and airstrikes, three women bring life-saving aid to the frontlines, embodying the spirit of the season.

Merry Christmas one and all. My final piece for the year is Christmas in Cambodia. I do hope Cambodia and Thailand can find some peace in the New Year.
#Christmas #Cambodia #Thailand #war
www.ucanews.com/news/christm...

Connecting the Concept of Dignity with Transnational Criminal Justice YouTube video by The Diplomat

Given that Christmas is here I’m reposting one of my favorite podcasts of 2025, with the barrister Craig Tuck and it’s all about the codification of the soul.
#justice #law #humanrights #lukehunt #craigtuck
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5KQ...

Cost of wind and batteries fall as CSIRO finds new way to show renewables are cheapest CSIRO’s latest GenCost report shows battery costs falling fast, wind costs stabilising and coal, gas and nuclear lagging well behind. For the seventh year running, firmed renewables remain the lowest-cost path for Australia’s electricity system.

Big batteries keep getting cheaper, wind costs are easing, and coal and gas are rising. CSIRO’s GenCost report confirms again that firmed renewables are Australia’s cheapest electricity option, writes Sophie Vorrath. #energy #renewables #auspol

My latest update with Al Jazeera on the conflict between Cambodia and Thailand which is now being referred to as a Thai invasion in Phnom Penh.

mediaview.aljazeera.com/video/MiimHg...

Thailand opens nine fronts amid Cambodian border incursions- UCA News Trump to hold phone talks as fighting and aerial bombardments enter fourth day

My latest update on the Thai incursions into Cambodia:
www.ucanews.com/news/thailan...
#Thailand #Cambodia #War

Thailand opens nine fronts amid Cambodian border incursions- UCA News Trump to hold phone talks as fighting and aerial bombardments enter fourth day

My latest update on the Thai incursions into Cambodia:
www.ucanews.com/news/thailan...
#Thailand #Cambodia #War

Cambodia bombed, Thai general vows to crush its military capabilities- UCA News Fighting intensifies on the Thai-Cambodia border for a third day as Thailand launches airstrikes and tank incursions. At least eight are dead, with thousands fleeing as tensions escalate.

Update on the Thai Cambodia border conflict.
www.ucanews.com/news/cambodi...
#cambodia #thailand #war

Heavy fighting forces thousands to flee Thai-Cambodian border- UCA News Heavy fighting between Thai and Cambodian forces escalates, killing one Thai soldier. Thailand scrambles F16 jets as thousands flee. Both sides blame each other for breaching the ASEAN truce.

For what it's worth. Will update in the morning.
www.ucanews.com/news/heavy-f...
#Cambodia #thailand #war #Trump #malaysia #ASEAN

Reposting given the fighting along the Cambodia/Thai border has reignited.

From coal to solar: a new manufacturing bet in the Hunter A company headed up by one of the legends of Australian solar research and development has won more than $150 million in federal Solar Sunshot funding to build a commercial-scale PV panel manufacturing plant in one of the nation’s biggest coal hubs – the New South Wales Hunter Valley.

A $171m federal–NSW investment will see solar panels manufactured in the Hunter Valley, signalling a shift from coal to clean energy industry. #Auspol #Energy #Renewables

Climate uncertainty grows as COP30 progress collides with shifting global politics - UCA News Expert Peter Kiernan analyzes COP30 outcomes, the $1.3 trillion finance pledge, and how the return of Trump and the oil lobby are impacting the global fossil fuel transition.

Worthy Read: Climate change policy analyst Peter Kiernan, gives his take on COP30 and what it really meant and how the world is shaping-up.
www.ucanews.com/news/climate...
#COP30 #COP31 #Brazil #Turkey #Australia #ClimateCrisis #ClimateAction #ClimateRisk

Climate Change, COP30, and Where the World Goes From Here YouTube video by The Diplomat

My latest podcast is with climate change analyst Peter Kiernan who unpacks COP30 and details what worked and what didn't at the UN's annual climate change conference in Brazil. #COP30 #COP31 #Brazil #Belem #Turkey #Australia #ClimateCrisis
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tu0...

Corruption in politics isn’t just a moral lapse – it’s a response to a system that rewards access, loyalty and survival over the public good, writes David Higginbottom.
#AustralianPolitics #Corruption #Democracy #Transparency #Power

Led Zeppelin, my band that never ‘made it’, and the lost art of failure Our culture treats success as virtue and failure as personal flaw. Older traditions – from Greek tragedy to Christian thought – saw failure as meaningful. Recovering that wisdom may be essential to living with dignity in an age of burnout.

Our culture treats success as virtue and failure as a personal flaw – a sharp break from older traditions that saw failure as meaningful and transformative. We need to recover that wisdom in an age of burnout.
#Culture #Philosophy #MentalHealth #Burnout #Neoliberalism #Arts #Society

Making First Nations prisoners visible in Labor politics Despite Western Australian Labor’s rhetoric on equality and Closing the Gap, incarcerated First Nations people remain politically invisible. Without formal representation and lived-experience voices in party deliberations, meaningful reform is impossible. The 2027 State Labor Conference is the moment to change that.

Incarcerated First Nations people remain politically invisible in WA – and that invisibility is driving the state’s incarceration crisis.
Real reform demands lived-experience voices.
#AusPol #WApolitics #ClosingTheGap #FirstNations #Justice #HumanRights

Conflict, Crime, and SLAPPs in Southeast Asia YouTube video by The Diplomat

Weekend Listening: My latest podcast is with the international human rights lawyer M. Rav and it's all about conflict, crimes and the law in Southeast Asia. #ASEAN #Cambodia #Thailand #war #SLAPPs #scams
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dj-Y...

Thailand set to rearm border after Cambodian truce breaks down- UCA News Thailand has suspended its historic peace deal with Cambodia and halted the planned release of 18 POWs after a landmine blast injured four Thai soldiers. Bangkok is reportedly sending tanks back to th...

For what it's worth. www.ucanews.com/news/thailan...

Australia’s fragile multicultural consensus under threat Anti-immigration rallies around Australia in late August and mid-October exposed public divides over migration, social cohesion and national identity.

Though Labor is likely to remain in government for at least one more term, it is still struggling to move beyond rhetoric and appears far from having a coherent strategy to counter the surge of the far-right. #auspol #Multiculturalism #Socialcohesion

Asian Aviation: Post-COVID Trends YouTube video by The Diplomat

My latest video podcast is with Matt Driskill, editor of Asian Aviation. What's hot, what's not and how are the airlines faring given the state of the global economy.

#Aviation #ASEAN #Asia #Bali #Vietnam #Airlines
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Veqj...

In Photos: Life on Cambodia’s Front Lines Soldiers stand guard in Oddar Meanchey as civilians make the best of things after being evacuated to displacement camps during the border fighting in July.

Photo Essay: Cambodian Frontlines. From a tour of the disputed Thai border. Despite difficult conditions, particularly in the camps, the honesty of those enduring the worst of an unnecessary conflict was refreshing.
#Cambodia #Thailand #conflict #war #ASEAN

thediplomat.com/2025/10/in-p...