Merriden Varrall

Director of the Australia Geopolitics Hub at KPMG; non resident fellow at Lowy Institute. Usual caveats about views my own and retweeting not = endorsing.

[Susannah Patton @SusannahCPatton]

The @LowyInstitute released the 2023 Asia Power Index today. The headline is that China paid a high strategic cost for its lengthy international isolation, and the United States remains ahead overall. A 🧵on all our key findings /1

[Merriden Varrall @MLVarrall]

@RolandMRajah @LowyInstitute Brilliant Roland, a great initiative. Really looking forward to seeing the work you guys do.

[Merriden Varrall @MLVarrall]

Useful explainer on the real estate crisis in China. https://t.co/rKg6mRJIZf

[Susannah Patton @SusannahCPatton]

Penny Wong gave her first major speech as FM on Southeast Asia in KL. Focusing on the section on ASEAN, it is mostly familiar and could have been given by any Australian FM. But one phrase is new(ish): strategic equilibrium. /1 https://t.co/tCubUhmwYk

[Merriden Varrall @MLVarrall]

@le2huong Nice one! Congratulations to you and the Perth Asia Centre.

[Mercedes Page @_MercedesPage]

I’m looking forward to joining this @AtlanticCouncil panel tonight* to talk tech standards, geopolitics and the ITU, and Russia-Ukraine. Join us! 👇🏼

* 2 am for folks in Australia 🥱

[Merriden Varrall @MLVarrall]

@_MercedesPage @AtlanticCouncil It sounds great — any chance of a recording?

[Merriden Varrall @MLVarrall]

The US should treat climate policy as economic policy https://t.co/DPZKmoNRGW via @BrookingsInst. And so should a few other countries too.

[Gavekal @Gavekal]

Gavekal's bottom-up analysis of China’s top 100 cities by GDP finds that all but 13 have imposed some form of quarantine restriction, and the intensity is increasing. We classified these cities from no restrictions (level 0) to full lockdown (level 4).

[Merriden Varrall @MLVarrall]

Lack of trust in government & the move away from ‘same old same old’ centrist politics could play badly for Macron and well for Le Pen. What if you held a French election and nobody came? – POLITICO https://t.co/hXwo6NxeXN

[Merriden Varrall @MLVarrall]

The evidence is clear: the time for action is now. We can (and we must) halve emissions by 2030 - KPMG Newsroom - https://t.co/Kt7wNyiOzl - @kpmgaustralia

[Ashley Townshend @ashleytownshend]

JOB OPENING | I’m looking for two Research Fellows to join @USSC’s growing Foreign Policy and Defence team. If you’re an experienced policy/research professional with background in US, Australian and Indo-Pacific strategic/defence issues, apply by 31 Jan. https://t.co/quhjknzcap

[Merriden Varrall @MLVarrall]

Great read on the tides and trends driving the world's infrastructure markets in the year ahead. https://t.co/hi5ZVp7Kqr

[Merriden Varrall @MLVarrall]

@A_JParker Congratulations @A_JParker, that sounds pretty sweet. Your experience and considered perspectives on Asia and business will be much missed here, but no doubt put to great use in this role.

[Merriden Varrall @MLVarrall]

@_MercedesPage @dfat Congrats @_MercedesPage I’m sure wonderful adventures ahead for you.

[Merriden Varrall @MLVarrall]

I’ll have to respectfully disagree with Kurt Campbell on this one.

[Merriden Varrall @MLVarrall]

@limdarrenj @benjaminbland @benjaminbland you might then also like this, about how China's internal circumstances affect how its foreign policy is made and implemented. Argues that often not a product of coherent grand strategy but the struggle for power among competing interests. https://t.co/76nsNu6QCj

[Merriden Varrall @MLVarrall]

Google will invest USD740 million in Australia, including a research hub to address challenges like expanding green energy use. https://t.co/SF1wFE8Ccm

[Merriden Varrall @MLVarrall]

Is the Melbourne Cup still the race that stops the nation – or are we saying #nuptothecup? https://t.co/yvZRalMku5 via @ConversationEDU

[Merriden Varrall @MLVarrall]

From the IMF perspective, climate change presents a grave threat to macroeconomic and financial stability. #cop26 #climatechange #geopolitics https://t.co/gBYT4L4h52