Intelligence; Optimised Podcast

If you caught Part 1 last week, you’ll know the supply chain picture. This week in Part 2 we test the coalition and Defence side of the ledger.How exposed is Australia if the Indo-Pacific turns hot? In this episode we map the real stress-points: crowded sea and air lines of communication through the South China Sea and archipelago; a thin domestic refining base that lifts our reliance on imported fuel via Singapore; and non-kinetic attacks that can freeze pumps, power and comms without a shot fired. We also examine the national-will question—can government and public support hold when petrol runs short and utility bills spike?From supply chain security to force posture, the discussion is blunt. The United States sees conflict risk as nearer than most Australians do. That gap matters for planning. We unpack what Australia can contribute in a coalition beyond high-end combat, how AUKUS intersects with near-term readiness, and why mixed signals to allies complicate access to scarce Virginia-class production. At home, Defence faces recruitment and retention headwinds, capability nearing end-of-life, and programs crowded out by submarine funding. Mobilisation would need to reach beyond current ADF strength—something we haven’t done since the 1940s.Strategic takeaways: identify and protect the few refuelling and import nodes that keep the economy moving; pre-plan rerouting options for SLOCs/ALOCs; stockpile critical inputs; and align messaging so industry, states and the Commonwealth move in step. In the Pacific, leaders should read intent behind infrastructure “gifts” and price the future call-ins. Commodity dependence cuts both ways—iron ore flows shape leverage—but planning on leverage is not a plan for resilience.If you lead in defence, energy or logistics, this is a working brief on what to do now: set posture, harden nodes, and rally national will before the whistle blows. Find deeper briefs inside Vaxa Bureau.

Australia’s defence planners face compressed timelines, fragile supply chains, and Indo-Pacific conflict risks.This episode of Intelligence Optimised confronts the blunt reality of what Australia must do to prepare for a conflict that could arrive sooner than many expect. Host Todd Crowley speaks with Paddy Hallinan about national defence planning, alliance cohesion, and the compressed warning times that redefine Indo-Pacific security today.Across the conversation, they test the assumptions driving Australia’s readiness. Can the nation and its Pacific partners sustain themselves if a kinetic conflict escalates? What does whole-of-nation planning look like when cyber attacks and information operations are already underway? And how do trade interdependencies with partners like Japan and South Korea shape the risks around LNG, iron ore, and critical supply chains?Key issues include the National Defence concept and plan, the balance between keeping the economy running and hardening critical assets, and the role of sovereign capability in energy and supply-chain resilience. The discussion highlights the risks of misalignment inside coalitions and how adversaries actively target those seams. It also examines how China’s missile reach and Taiwan calculus sharpen the urgency for Australia to be “match-fit” within just a few years.The episode grounds policy debate in practical takeaways: treating uncertainty as a risk–opportunity problem, prioritising alliance alignment as the first principle of planning, and recognising that any future conflict will likely reach Australian shores through cyber, economic, and physical domains. For senior officers, planners, and policy advisers, the value is clear - translate strategy into concrete next steps that lift national resilience.Intelligence Optimised Podcast cuts through Indo-Pacific noise to provide frank, usable analysis. Find deeper briefs and situational insights inside Vaxa Bureau.

In this solo episode of Intelligence Optimised, Todd Crowley unpacks why agriculture now sits squarely in the national security frame. Drawing on the Australian AgInvestment & Sustainability Summit, he maps the link between food systems, sovereign capability, and Indo-Pacific resilience. The discussion moves beyond farm practice and balance sheets to the hard questions: how do we secure critical inputs, prove natural capital outcomes, and build sovereign supply chains that stand up under pressure?Key threads include agriculture as national security “no food security, no national security”, the rise of natural capital in investment decisions, and the strategic risk in phosphate supply. Australia’s heavy reliance on imported fertiliser exposes the system; domestic projects in the north double as resilience plays that can stabilise prices and cut vulnerability. Throughout, Todd shows how leaders can fuse OSINT HUMINT - open-source data on shipping, weather, and commodities with ground truth from producers, investors, logistics operators, and planners - to move from reactive to proactive.Strategic takeaways: ✔️ Treat agriculture as sovereign capability, not a sectoral afterthought. ✔️ Build fertiliser sovereignty: diversify sources and back viable domestic phosphate. ✔️ Use natural capital to unlock capital—focus on credible measurement, not slogans. ✔️ Stand up sovereign supply chains that can absorb climate and geopolitical shocks. ✔️ Combine OSINT + HUMINT for a real-time operating picture leaders can act on.For planners, executives, and advisers working the food-security problem set, this episode offers clear next steps to protect production at scale while signalling to markets and partners across the Indo-Pacific. Secure inputs, prove outcomes, and align investment with national-interest goals - so you’re ready today and prepared for tomorrow.Find deeper briefs inside Vaxa Bureau.

Part 2 moves from problem to delivery. Jason Murray stay on counter-UAS and show how to field effects at pace - starting with Rooster, a physics-based round that lifts terminal effect on small drones but cuts down-range lethality. Rooster has been proved to TRL-6 and is entering staged TRL-7 work. It’s designed for in-service weapons and remote weapon stations, with fragment-on-demand 7.62 NATO settings and engagement out to ~800 m from RWS - useful around critical infrastructure, ports and urban areas where what goes up must not come down as a lethal threat.The lab builds it, but people make it real. We cover a veterans-first workforce, and the Aimpoint partnership to “grow your own” skills - an ASQA-approved munitions/EO apprenticeship, an armourer pathway through to Master Armourer, and a ballistics course in development. We outline how a multi-user, privately owned defence precinct can speed load-and-assembly work (e.g., Murray Bridge) and give SMEs building uncrewed platforms a munitions design partner they can actually access.Certification and policy matter. Australia certifies to NATO MOPI, not NATO; we propose an Indo-Pacific certification hub to avoid EU/US bottlenecks and fast-track interoperability. We also call for a DIU-style unit to back early-stage defence tech through TRL-7, plus closer government–industry embeds. COVID showed what happens when verification and supply lag reality; AUKUS Pillar 2 and universities should feed practical skills, not just papers.What to do now:✔️Back TRL-7 trials that lead to fielding, not just reports.  ✔️ Stand up precincts that let SMEs and primes integrate, test and ship.  ✔️ Fund training pathways that put veterans into armoury and ballistic roles.  ✔️ Build an Indo-Pacific certification hub so units can train with what they’ll deploy.Rooster is being launched to international buyers at DSEI London, alongside other lines (EOD disruptors; 12-gauge vehicle interdiction). The window for readiness is tight. Move now so teams can train, certify and protect what matters.Find deeper briefs inside Vaxa Bureau.

Australia’s security turns on a hard question: do we have the right ammunition, in the right place, at the right time?In this episode of Intelligence Optimised, host Todd Crowley sits down with Jason Murray, CEO of Ares Armaments Australia, to unpack how sovereign munitions - especially non-standard, mission-specific rounds - can cut exposure to overseas shocks and lift counter-UAS readiness across the Indo-Pacific. Non-standard ammunition is imported, freight can be several times the product cost, and demand from larger theatres can crowd Australia out.Key points for planners and capability managers:✔️ Build small-batch specialist lines with low MOQs that switch calibre fast.✔️ Close supply-chain gaps - primers, propellant, cases - and plan for surge.✔️ Source local training munitions so police can train more for less.✔️ Counter-UAS: the ‘Rooster’ round converts existing small arms for greater effect on small drones with lower fall-back risk - vital for urban defence and critical infrastructure.✔️ Understand how Remote Weapon Stations intersect with ammunition choice.✔️ Navigate certification: push proven concepts from TRL 6 into TRL 7 with the right backing.✔️ Collaborate across ADF, policing and allied forces in the Northern Territory and Far North Queensland (NT/FNQ); learn from US pathways like the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU).Strategic takeaways✔️ Build sovereign munitions capacity for non-standard needs.✔️ Prioritise supply-chain resilience and domestic inputs.✔️ Plan counter-UAS at the tactical edge.✔️ Use small-batch domestic manufacture to shorten lead times and lift readiness.✔️ Don’t bank on imports during global surges.References to Thales Australia, EOS Defence and the US Defense Innovation Unit (DIU).Find deeper briefs inside Vaxa Bureau.

This episode of Intelligence Optimised takes you to the floodplains of the Adelaide River in the Northern Territory, home to one of Australia’s most significant aquaculture operations - Humpty Doo Barramundi. Dan Richards - the farm’s director sits down with host Todd Crowley, to uncover how a family-run enterprise has grown into a key contributor to national food security.From the site of the failed 1950s Humpty Doo Rice Project to today’s thriving barramundi operation, we explore the lessons learned from early challenges and the practical strategies that made success possible in a tropical climate. The conversation spans production processes, market positioning, sustainability practices, and the farm’s role in building local employment and skills.Listeners will hear frank discussion on the intersection of agriculture, regional capability, and Indo-Pacific trade. We look at how a premium Australian-grown fish competes in domestic and export markets, and why sustainable production methods are central to both environmental stewardship and long-term economic viability.For agrifood industry planners and policy advisers, the episode offers clear, actionable insights into scaling operations, securing supply chains, and aligning production with strategic national interests. These lessons carry weight not just for aquaculture but for any sector seeking to lift resilience in remote and regional settings.Find deeper briefs inside Vaxa Bureau.

How AI in government cuts queues, enables 24/7 support, and strengthens disaster planning without getting stuck in procurement?Artificial intelligence is no longer a “someday” tool. In this episode of Intelligence Optimised, host Todd Crowley sits down with Curtis West to unpack how AI in government can lift service delivery across councils and small national governments alike. We cover where machine learning fits (forecasting, anomaly detection, asset planning) and where AI agents change the game - moving beyond basic chatbots to actions that help residents complete payments, renew permits, or lodge applications.The discussion starts with first principles: ML for optimisation and decisions from data; generative tools and agents for natural, human-centred interaction. From there, we go straight to use cases: ✔️Licensing and permit renewals to cut queues; ✔️24/7 citizen support that answers and acts; ✔️Predictive maintenance using IoT and vision (even pothole detection on garbage trucks); ✔️Disaster logistics that model options in seconds rather than weeks. Brisbane City Council provides the scale reference;✔️Mauritius and Sri Lanka show how smaller Indo-Pacific nations can leapfrog through agile moves and targeted investment.We also deal with the hard bits that stall projects - procurement cycles that lag fast-moving tech, and data silos that starve models. The remedy is a measured pathway: run small, measurable pilots; communicate results; and build from there. Curtis’ Eliminate - Support - Extend model helps leaders stage the work: eliminate manual, error-prone tasks; support staff with decision tools; then extend capability with new services like 24/7 assistance.If you lead a state or local agency, or run service delivery in a council, this episode gives you a clear starting point: pick high-volume, low-complexity pain points, design a pilot with hard metrics, and address procurement and data issues up front. The national-interest payoff is real - faster services, better resilience, and citizens who see government work for them across Australia, New Zealand and the wider Indo-Pacific.Find deeper briefs inside Vaxa Bureau.

How much capability is Australia leaving on the table by chasing “zero-risk” procurement?In Part 1, Aaron Pollard laid out why real security starts with culture, not compliance and how SMEs often carry the biggest burden.Now, in Part 2 of this Intelligence Optimised conversation, host Todd Crowley goes deeper with Aaron to expose the cost of risk aversion and the internal blockages slowing down delivery.Key threads✔️ Security culture v clearance culture – why risk-based controls beat a decades-old tick-box mindset.✔️ Defence-industry friction – uneven implementation costs, secret-material rules that hit SMEs harder than primes, and the dreaded “frozen middle” that stalls projects.✔️ Sovereign capability at stake – guided-weapons supply crunch, AUKUS submarine delays, and the talent shortfall throttling shipyards and drone lines alike.✔️ Practical fixes – drip-feed training, message-of-the-month comms, walking the factory floor, and a simple “yes—if” policy that turns security into an enabler.✔️ Effect-based procurement – ditch equipment wish-lists; start with the effect the war-fighter needs, then weigh options against risk, cost and timeline.📍 Why it mattersDefence planners and security managers will recognise the rising strategic tempo in the Indo-Pacific. Continuing to treat security and procurement as exercises in risk elimination leaves forces waiting - and adversaries watching. A risk-based approach, woven through supply-chain, ICT and workforce policy, can deliver guided weapons, autonomous systems and submarines faster, while still protecting classified data and national credibility.Whether you sit in CASG, an SME cyber team or a prime’s bid office, this episode builds on Part 1 to frame clear steps that lift security culture and keep capability on schedule - vital for Australia’s sovereign capability edge in a contested Indo-Pacific.Find deeper briefs and tools inside Vaxa Bureau.

Hit Essential Eight, guard IP, and keep your Defence contracts - practical tactics for Aussie defence SMEs.Small and mid-sized firms sit at the sharp end of Australia’s defence supply chain. They build smart kit, hold sensitive data and keep prime contractors moving - yet many still treat security as a box-ticking chore. In this episode of Intelligence Optimised, host Todd Crowley sits down with veteran security strategist Aaron Pollard to spell out what “good” now looks like. Key talking points✔️Why cyber security outranks physical guards and gates in 2025.✔️The jump from Top 4 to Essential Eight maturity level 2 and what it costs.✔️Using Defence Industry Development Strategy grants to fund your uplift.✔️Mapping and marking intellectual property so it doesn’t walk out the door.✔️Leveraging ASIO outreach and insider-threat training to turn staff into sensors.✔️Scoping controls only to defence-facing networks to save cash.✔️How workforce shortages and ASD’s Red Spice program are pushing salaries north.📍Why it mattersDefence expects the same security baseline from a five-person CNC shop as it does from the primes - fail to meet it and your purchase orders disappear. Aaron breaks down the hidden levers SMEs can pull: narrow the system boundary, pick the right managed service provider, and use grant money only after a Defence-issued Maturity Action Plan. The result: compliance you can actually afford, and information assurance your customers will bank on.Whether you manage a niche software team in Adelaide or a composites plant in Brisbane, this conversation hands you the playbook to cut risk, lift resilience and keep delivering capability across the Indo-Pacific.Find deeper briefs and step-by-step guides inside Vaxa Bureau.

How natural capital accounting lets CFOs price ecosystem risk, secure Indo-Pacific supply chains and find new value.Nature underpins every tonne shipped, meal served and unit of power generated across the Indo-Pacific - yet its true worth still hides off the books.In this episode of Intelligence Optimised Podcasts, CSIRO’s Dr Tony O’Grady joins host Todd Crowley to unpack natural capital accounting: a rigorous method that treats forests, water and soils as real assets alongside plant, property and equipment.Key points for finance and risk leaders:✔️ Map ecosystem dependencies in supply chains - why fertiliser phosphorus or coastal mangroves are as material as diesel prices.✔️ Use TNFD-aligned metrics to convert ecosystem services into dollars, then slot them into balance-sheets, cash-flow models and board packs.✔️ See how companies like Forico, BHP and Kering publish environmental profit-and-loss statements and what that does to cost of capital.✔️ Understand disclosure momentum - TNFD, TCFD and IFRS - and why waiting invites higher finance costs and shareholder activism.✔️ Spot the geopolitical edge: unpriced degradation fuels migration, food insecurity and defence flashpoints from Nauru to the South China Sea.Strategic takeaways✔️ Early movers gain cheaper capital, steadier inputs and brand trust while competitors scramble under new compliance.✔️ The board, not the sustainability team, must own nature risk; CFOs already have the valuation tools.✔️ Reliable data are emerging - CSIRO’s Natural Capital Handbook and spatial datasets make entry affordable.For defence planners, agribusiness exporters and infrastructure owners, the signal is clear: price nature now or pay later.Find deeper briefs and decision tools inside Vaxa Bureau.

Europe is no longer a spectator in the Indo-Pacific.Brussels, Berlin, Paris and London are rewiring policy, defence posture and capital flows to lock in strategic autonomy because 60 % of global GDP and every flash-point that matters sit in our neighbourhood.Host Todd Crowley unpacks the quiet pivot you’ll miss if you only watch the headlines. German frigates surface in the South China Sea. EU cyber teams plug into Pacific networks. Global Gateway money starts chasing ports from PNG to Timor-Leste. Each move forces a simple question: where does that leave Canberra?📍For defence planners: the era of one-size-fits-all coalitions is giving way to minilateralism—tight, mission-specific packs handling maritime presence, domain awareness and AI-enabled joint training. Australia owns the access; Europe brings kit and capital. Curate the engagement or watch others call the shots.📍For trade officials: the stalled EU-Australia FTA is heating up because supply-chain security now beats tariff maths. Brussels is hunting lithium, rare earths, hydrogen and resilient food-water systems - budgets already earmarked. Miss this and your competitors sign the offtake agreements first.📍For critical - industry operators: Crowley overlays Global Gateway finance on real projects - clean-energy hubs, submarine cables, water - security grids - showing how European standards plus Australian ground truth cut new corridors that lift regional resilience and trim risk premiums.Takeaways land hard and actionable:✔️ Map where EU procurement meets your export pipeline.✔️ Align basing access and training spaces with minilateral partners, not just AUKUS.✔️ Build ESG transparency now - Brussels will ask.✔️ Plug Pacific relationships into Gateway bids before Beijing or Paris outruns you.Listen in if you brief ministers, draft capability plans or chase capital for green infrastructure.Skip the speculation - get the playbook. Find deeper briefs and decision tools inside Vaxa Bureau.

Atmospheric water generation shows defence planners a faster path to water security and lower logistics risk.Part 1 of this conversation laid the groundwork - field lessons from East Timor, plastic waste in PNG, and the commercial model letting one water cooler in an office fund clean supply in five remote communities. In Part 2, Intelligence Optimised host Todd Crowley continues the discussion with Shannon Lemanski - veteran, engineer and founder of Aqua Ubique to explore how atmospheric water generation (AWG) scales across Australia and the wider Indo-Pacific.They unpack why councils with fewer than 10,000 connections fall outside national reporting, leaving critical services - aged care, child care, schools - on bottled water budgets that can top $600 a fortnight. Enter AWG: plug-and-play units pulling drinking water from humid air, delivering 10 - 15 L/day in a standard office footprint or scaling to thousands via containerised systems.Key takeaways for defence and disaster-resilience planners:✔️ Slash the logistics tail - remove fuel-hungry convoys and bottle drops from contested supply chains.✔️ Build redundancy - decentralised units stay online when power and water grids fail.✔️ Lift ESG performance - cut landfill and diesel burn while meeting social reporting.✔️ Scale across the Indo-Pacific - service archipelagos like PNG and Nauru without plant infrastructure.Shannon shares the logistics calculus: hit the fuel truck and the tank column stops; hit the water supply and the force fails. AWG flips that risk - using solar, battery or biodiesel to create secure supply where it's needed most.Whether you're managing a base, mine or regional health network, this episode gives practical insight on what to deploy, where, and why now.Find deeper briefs inside Vaxa Bureau.

Bottled-water pallets burn, plastic piles grow and aircraft haul “expired” crates across oceans, all because remote bases and towns can’t trust the tap.In this Part 1 of “Clean Water for Vulnerable Indo-Pacific Communities” episode, host Todd Crowley sits down with former Army logistician Shannon Lemanski, founder of Queensland social enterprise Aqua Ubique, to unpack a different path: atmospheric water generation (AWG).Lemanski traces hard lessons from Papua New Guinea and East Timor - where uniformed forces were ordered to slash and burn perfectly good bottles to today’s boil-water alerts in Cherbourg. With more than two million Australians still lacking reliable drinking water, the problem is local before it is global.The discussion moves from field anecdotes to strategy:✔️ Why AWG mirrors rooftop solar - producing a critical resource at the point of need.✔️ The hidden cost of long-haul bottled water and how decentralised systems lift supply chain resilience.✔️ A commercial model that charges offices for ten bottles yet makes thirty on-site, funding machines for remote communities on a 5-for-1 basis.✔️ Partnering with First Nations groups and food-rescue networks to build trust and sovereign capability across the Indo-Pacific.Planners will leave with a practical blueprint to cut convoy kilometres, reduce plastic waste and harden infrastructure against disruption—a win for budgets, health and national interest.More to come in Part 2. Find deeper briefs and field-ready frameworks inside Vaxa Bureau.

How wireless energy changes defence, logistics and supply chain resilience in the Indo-Pacific.This episode of Intelligence Optimised Podcasts drills into a concept that’s moving from science fiction to strategic planning: wireless energy transmission. Todd Crowley explores how this capability - once imagined in labs - is now shaping real-world logistics, particularly in Indo-Pacific defence and humanitarian operations.Billy Jeremijenko, founder of Aquila discusses using directed energy (think lasers) to move power without wires or fuel convoys. The conversation cuts through the technical novelty to focus on practical implications: how this technology could protect supply chains, extend operational reach, and reduce logistical vulnerabilities in austere environments.This episode covers:✔️ Wireless energy tech that powers drones and off-grid infrastructure✔️ Global energy inequality and stalled grid expansion✔️ “Internet of energy” vs. rising disconnection from power systems✔️ Stratospheric relays for long-distance, secure energy transmission✔️ Defence, mining, and disaster response use cases for remote power✔️ How laser-to-solar systems enable practical, mobile energy deliveryWhether you're coordinating supply chains in contested zones or advising on critical infrastructure upgrades, this episode offers a window into how energy delivery itself is being reimagined.Find deeper briefs inside Vaxa Bureau.

Middle East conflict threatens Indo-Pacific supply chains, energy and critical industries. Concrete steps to assess risk now.In this special episode of Intelligence Optimised, Todd Crowley breaks down how the escalating conflict between Iran and Israel is sending shockwaves across the Indo-Pacific. What starts as a military clash has fast become a global risk scenario touching supply chain routes, energy markets, finance, and sovereign capability.This episode covers:✔️ Iran-Israel conflict's ripple effects on Indo-Pacific supply chains✔️ Shipping delays, freight cost spikes, and export risks for Australian industries✔️ Energy market shocks with rising oil and LNG prices✔️ Critical minerals pressure from China-Russia-Iran alignment✔️ 5 actions for leaders to protect capability and resilienceThis is a real-time stress test for Indo-Pacific systems, demanding clear-eyed leadership.Find deeper briefs inside Vaxa Bureau.

Many leaders still approach AI with the wrong mindset, treating it as a tool rather than a strategic capability. In this episode of Intelligence Optimised, Todd Crowley speaks with Llew Jury and Curtis West about how to shift from pilots and misconceptions to measurable, sector-wide impact.They draw on practical work across defence, health, and infrastructure in Southeast Queensland and insights from Indo-Pacific procurement forums.This episode covers:✔️ Common AI misconceptions slowing progress✔️ How to measure ROI using the Eliminate, Support, Extend model✔️ Case studies in compliance, customer service, internal tools, and synthetic data✔️ Structural and cultural blockers including IT resistance and unclear ownership✔️ The growing need for AI governance and data readiness across sectorsFor CIOs, planners, and capability leads, this is a practical guide to embedding AI in systems that matter.🔔 Subscribe for weekly strategy briefings that put policy, risk and opportunity in plain English.🌐 Get sharp updates for leaders in critical industries: https://vaxabureau.com/intel/🏠 More insights at Vaxa Bureau: https://vaxabureau.com/

In this follow-up with John Cotter from Northwest Phosphate, we shift focus—from diagnosing Australia’s fertiliser supply risk to what needs to happen next.Part 1 laid out the problem: growing dependency on foreign phosphate, the fragility of our food systems, and how Northwest Phosphate is stepping into the gap as the last domestic fertiliser miner.In Part 2, we tackle the response.✔️What strategic decisions are needed to build sovereign resilience?✔️Where are the investment barriers—and who needs to move first?✔️Why infrastructure and energy remain the hard blockers✔️How policy and procurement can cut through process failureJohn and Todd examine why current capital flows avoid base inputs, what role government could play without picking winners, and how a more joined-up national effort could stabilise a critical part of our economy.The question isn’t whether we need domestic fertiliser capability. It’s whether we’re willing to do what’s required to secure it.For strategic briefs and further insight, explore Vaxa Bureau.

Can Australia feed itself if supply chains fail? In Part 1, we unpack the phosphate risk—and the bold local response underway.As global supply chains falter and foreign influence rises, Australia faces a hard truth: we no longer control the fertiliser inputs critical to feeding our own population.In Part 1 of Australia’s Phosphate Risk, we head to Northwest Queensland—ground zero for food and regional security. There, Northwest Phosphate is restarting the country’s last domestic fertiliser rock mine. Founder John Cotter joins us to explain why phosphate is more than a farming input—it’s a national asset.This episode explores:✔️ Why Australia’s reliance on imported phosphate is unsustainable✔️ How one regional project is reviving critical mining infrastructure✔️ The strategic role of rural Queensland in national resilience✔️ What this means for farmers, Indigenous jobs, and regional exportsIf you care about Australia’s ability to feed itself and hold economic ground in the Indo-Pacific, start here.🎧 Part 2— Strategy, Investment & National Response — drops next. Catch it inside Vaxa Bureau.

You can sit on your hands. Or you can act while others stall.Fresh from a Harvard executive course on private equity and venture capital, Georgia lays out the hard truths and overlooked openings. What she’s seeing? Less hype, more depth. Less SaaS, more hard tech. And plenty of capital—if you know where to look and what to ask.We go straight to the sharp end:✔️ Why a downturn is a buying signal, not a red flag✔️ What deep tech, defence, and circular economy ventures have in common✔️ How Australia's limitations are also its leverage✔️ Where private capital is being quietly redirected — and where exits are stallingThere’s also a sober read on barriers: exit challenges, shallow secondary markets, and the reality of trying to commercialise research from a fragmented system. Georgia doesn’t sugar-coat it—but she does explain how funds like Sprint Ventures are playing the long game, without waiting for perfect conditions.This episode is for investors, fund managers and strategic planners who want to find clarity in the Indo-Pacific’s economic fog. Georgia Barkell joins Todd Crowley to cut through the noise—and focus in on what’s *actually* working in private capital, venture, and advanced sectors right now.This conversation isn’t just theory—it’s active intelligence for anyone placing capital or policy focus across Australia and its near region.If you’re leading through risk, now’s the time to see clearly—and move.Find deeper briefs inside Vaxa Bureau.

There’s a difference between data that looks good and data that does something.This episode is for people making real decisions - in business, in community, in government - who are done with surface-level dashboards and chasing trends. Curtis explains why smart strategy today is less about having more tools, and more about asking better questions.We talk through how organisations - from fast-moving startups to established public agencies — are building smarter systems without blowing the budget, the culture, or the trust of their people.No hype. Just real insight into:What actually matters when you’re deciding where to invest, cut, or pivotHow to build data fluency across your team — without needing everyone to be a ‘tech person’Why the smartest leaders aren’t obsessing over AI — they’re folding it quietly into sharper decisionsThere’s also a quiet warning here: if you don’t know what your data is really telling you, you’re already behind. Because your competitors, your stakeholders, your funders — they’re moving. And they’re watching.This conversation lands where it matters: at the intersection of loyalty, logic and legacy. Curtis unpacks how to lead in uncertainty without losing your edge — or your people.If you’ve been looking for a way to steady the ship without standing still — this is it.Let’s get clarity — together.