Wayne McLean – The Conversation

A MQ-9 Reaper Drone has an operational cost one-fifth of the F35 Joint Strike Fighter. So should drones replace soldiers in military warfare? US Air Force

June 26, 2014

Drones are cheap, soldiers are not: a cost‑benefit analysis of war

Wayne McLean, University of Tasmania

Cost is largely absent in the key debates around the use of unmanned drones in war, even though drones are a cost-effective way of achieving national security objectives. Many of the common objections…

Liberal leader Will Hodgman casts his vote in the 2010 Tasmanian election. But just how is Tasmania’s lower house elected? AAP/Julian Smith

March 11, 2014

Tasmania election: what is the Hare‑Clark system?

Wayne McLean, University of Tasmania

After trading blows around predictable topics, the only issue of consensus in a recent televised debate between the leaders of the Tasmanian Liberal and Labor parties, Will Hodgman and Lara Giddings, was…

There has been an uninspiring and vacuous lead-up to the Tasmanian election, likely to be won by the Will Hodgman-led Liberal opposition. Why? AAP/Rob Blakers

February 26, 2014

Tasmania election: a spiritless campaign may be a good thing

Wayne McLean, University of Tasmania

A YouTube video appeared earlier this month with a suspiciously familiar Tasmanian candidate named “Fast Freddy”. The video perfectly encapsulates Poe’s law, which states that it is impossible to distinguish…

Non-governmental organisations have joined forces to stop the increasing use of drones in warfare - do governments need to develop guidelines for their use? EPA/Jim Lo Scalzo

May 28, 2013

The debate over military technology: in defence of drones

Wayne McLean, University of Tasmania and Matthew Sussex, University of Tasmania

The increasing use of drones, especially by the United States against the Taliban in Pakistan, has prompted wide anti-drone activism. Human Rights Watch has called for a “pre-emptive and comprehensive…

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