Strategic NewsDefence tech entrepreneur fears CGT overhaul-induced ‘wasteland’ - The Australian
Toward Decline

Defence tech entrepreneur fears CGT overhaul-induced ‘wasteland’ - The Australian

GNews: The Australian Major outlet·2026-08-31FiscalP3: Industrial BaseP5: Strategic Decoupling
Why it matters

Australia's defence-tech industrial base depends on venture capital and entrepreneurial innovation. A capital-gains tax overhaul that deters investment in defence startups directly undermines Pillar 3 (Industrial Base) and Pillar 5 (Decoupling), weakening sovereign capability development and AUKUS readiness. Tax policy that erodes the venture ecosystem for critical defence technology is a fiscal headwind to strategic autonomy.

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Pillar tags and the significance note are AI-classified (Claude) and human-curated. The platform's own preparedness scores never move on a single story without a separate human approval.

From the series
The Unprepared series · Part III

The Greatest Military Buildup in History

In 1991 the People's Liberation Army watched its own obsolescence unfold on live television. Part III of the Unprepared series.

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This week's Warning Time

This was AUKUS week, and not in the way its architects would have liked. An independent inquiry recommended scrapping the submarine pact outright, a parliamenta…

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Where this sits in the model

This development bears on 2 of the eight pillars of Australian preparedness — the overall picture right now is 5/100.

P3: Industrial Base3/100P5: Strategic Decoupling0/100
Go deeper · Cost of Inaction
What does inaction actually cost, compounded over a decade?

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The Index

See how all eight pillars score: the Strategic Preparedness Index stands at 5/100.

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The bigger picture

One signal in a live tracker of Australia's preparedness.

Every story here is scored against eight pillars — defence, energy, industry, fiscal reform, alliances and more — companion to the book Unprepared: Australia in an Age of Chinese Power.

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