Security think tank ASPI in search of new head after director leaves in wake of clashes with Labor over China

A leading Australian security think tank that regularly clashes with the Albanese Government, as well as China’s Communist Party, is looking for a new leader amid uncertainty over how much taxpayer funding it will continue to receive.

Australian Strategic Policy Institute executive director Justin Bassi, selected in 2022 by former Defence Minister Peter Dutton, has announced he will not seek a second term when his five-year appointment ends in 2027.

Inside Labor there has been disquiet about ASPI’s direction, particularly its scrutiny of China as the Government seeks to repair relations with Beijing, while some MPs are critical of Mr Bassi who was previously a Liberal staffer to Foreign Minister Marise Payne.

In a statement released late on Tuesday, ASPI’s Council, currently led by former Labor Minister David Feeney, said it would now begin the process for the selection of its fifth executive director, and thanked Mr Bassi for his “leadership and commitment”.

“He has led ASPI in a period of profound international change and disruption in defence and strategic affairs. With the full support of the Council, Justin has made important reforms at ASPI to build its resilience and sustain its remarkable analytical capabilities”.

“The Council has thanked Justin for his professionalism in ensuring that the Council now has the time to engage in successful planning.”

Sources have told The Nightly that the Council is seeking a “non-partisan” figure with a strong and credible academic research background to become ASPI’s next executive director, with a final decision likely to be made by Defence Minister Richard Marles.

Established in 2001, the Canberra-based institution receives Commonwealth support through Department of Defence grants, as well as some sponsorship from military companies and overseas governments.

Over recent years Beijing has intensified attacks on ASPI, labelling the think tank as “anti-China” and back in 2020 it demanded government funding for the organisation be cut as part of its infamous list of 14 grievances with Australia.

In 2024, The Nightly revealed Chinese spymasters had identified ASPI as a priority target in their cyber-attack operations, along with a range of other governmental organisations across the US and Taiwan.

A Chinese state media documentary released in 2020 also highlighted voices critical of ASPI, including former Australian Ambassador to Beijing Geoff Raby who claimed the think tank was fuelling “the so-called China threat”.

“Often cited by media outlets as an “independent” policy institute, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, ASPI, is precisely the opposite,” the China Daily documentary stated.

“The Canberra-based institute has become a go-to think tank for many Western media outlets in terms of framing the public’s understanding of and attitude toward China.”

In 2024 an Albanese government review into publicly funded foreign policy think tanks recommended Commonwealth support for ASPI and other similar research institutions be subject to competitive evaluation every five years.

“The Varghese review and the government’s endorsement of its recommendations show a clear pattern of bringing greater government control to the work done by independent national security think tanks,” Mr Bassi said following its release in December that year.

Earlier this year Labor’s Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy lashed out at ASPI when appearing at its annual conference in Canberra, strongly criticising one of its recent reports which highlighted the Albanese government’s cuts to military funding.

“We do continue to see errors and simplifications that I don’t thinks serves the public debate”. I don’t want to be a ‘Debbie Downer’ here, but I do want to be frank that contestability matters but accuracy matters as well in this environment.

“Just plucking figures out of the air or not acknowledging that we brought money forward . . . just diminishes the public debate,” Mr Conroy told the ASPI conference while on stage in June.