What does the Australia Network’s closure and the launch of Sky News’ Australia Channel mean for Australian soft power?  Since their inception, Australia’s international media organisations have trodden a fine line between promoting Australia’s interests in the Asia Pacific region and upholding the values of the Fourth Estate which sees critical reporting of government as central to its role.

With the shared history of Australia and Malaysia stretching back to World War II, it is hardly coincidental that 16 young Malaysian diplomats were sent for an educational visit to Australia as they complete the last leg of their studies at the Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations (IDFR). Parliament House in Canberra has recently witnessed many occasions that demonstrate the close cooperation between the two nations.

Arts Minister George Brandis also attended the dinner in the Prime Minister’s private dining room at Parliament House. Mr Abbott told guests that he wanted to learn from the arts sector, and heard a discussion about its successes and challenges. The conversation included the importance of private-sector support for the arts, and the international role of arts organisations in cultural diplomacy.

The philanthropic sector has welcomed the Federal Government’s move to join forces with those of the United States, United Kingdom and Sweden to launch a $200 million Global Innovation Fund. Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop said that Australia would contribute $30 million over four years towards the fund that would see the Government take a more creative approach to the planning and delivery of development programs. 

The raids involving 800 federal and state police officers — the largest in the country's history — came in response to intelligence that an Islamic State group leader in the Middle East was calling on Australian supporters to kill, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said. Abbott was asked about reports that the detainees were planning to behead a random person in Sydney.

Terrorists will use Australia's deployment of troops and war planes to the Middle East as an excuse to target Australians, Prime Minister Tony Abbott warned on Monday.  Australia is preparing to contribute 600 troops and up to 10 military aircraft to the increasingly aggressive campaign against the Islamic State extremists in Syria and Iraq, the government announced on Sunday.

Aircraft from the United States, Australia, France and Britain on Saturday dropped humanitarian supplies to the Iraqi town of Amerli, which has been under siege by "Islamic State" jihadist militants for almost two months, the US Pentagon says.  In a statement, Pentagon press secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby said the airdrop, made at the request of the Iraqi government, had been supported by US airstrikes on the besieging militants.

Australia has agreed to a U.S. request to help fly arms and munitions to Kurdish Peshmerga fighters battling Islamic State insurgents in northern Iraq, joining a coalition being assembled by Washington to mount what Prime Minister Tony Abbott called "humanitarian missions."