In this final episode of Saltwater Strategists for 2025, host Duncan MacRae sits down with Omni Executive’s Steven Thorpe and Nick Stoker to discuss Australian engagement and partnership in the Pacific region. Omni, an Australian-owned business and sponsor of the Australian Naval Institute, focuses on delivering innovative national security and critical infrastructure solutions to develop Australia's sovereign capability and support the national interest.
As Steven prepares to step into the role of CEO of Omni in February 2026, he and Business Development Manager, Nick, draw on the company’s experience delivering services across the Pacific, and their own unique perspectives from service in the Australian Defence Force, to provide examples and recommendations on matters such as cooperation between national security institutions, Commonwealth and Australian industry collaboration in capacity building, Government policy, and even sport to address a range of challenges facing Australia in positioning itself as a dependable and supportive partner throughout the Pacific, particularly with the island nations of the South-West Pacific.
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In this final episode of Saltwater Strategists for 2025, host Duncan MacRae sits down with Omni Executive’s Steven Thorpe and Nick Stoker to discuss Australian engagement and partnership in the Pacific region. Omni, an Australian-owned business and sponsor of the Australian Naval Institute, focuses on delivering innovative national security and critical infrastructure solutions to develop Australia's sovereign capability and support the national interest.
As Steven prepares to step into the role of CEO of Omni in February 2026, he and Business Development Manager, Nick, draw on the company’s experience delivering services across the Pacific, and their own unique perspectives from service in the Australian Defence Force, to provide examples and recommendations on matters such as cooperation between national security institutions, Commonwealth and Australian industry collaboration in capacity building, Government policy, and even sport to address a range of challenges facing Australia in positioning itself as a dependable and supportive partner throughout the Pacific, particularly with the island nations of the South-West Pacific.
Inaugurated in 2021, The Australian Naval Institute’s Commodore Sam Bateman Book Prize is awarded annually by the ANI to recognise excellence in books making a major contribution to the study and understanding of naval and maritime matters. In this episode of Saltwater Strategists, host Duncan MacRae welcomes Dr Tom Lewis, OAM to the podcast to discuss his winning entry to the 2024 Prize – ‘The Sinking of HMAS Sydney’.
‘The Sinking of HMAS Sydney’ is a book about much more than just the fateful encounter between the HMAS Sydney and armed raider Kormoran in November of 1941. Written for a broad audience, it introduces the reader to the diversity of people, professions and technologies, and complexities involved in sailing and fighting a World War 2-era cruiser before concluding with key research and analysis into HMAS Sydney’s demise, search efforts, and the subsequent answers provided by her discovery in March 2008.
In conversation, Duncan and Tom discuss the origins and motivations behind the book, explore the personal experiences described in the opening chapters, and consider the conclusive nature of the eventual discovery of one of the Royal Australian Navy’s most famous fighting ships.
Saltwater Strategists
In this final episode of Saltwater Strategists for 2025, host Duncan MacRae sits down with Omni Executive’s Steven Thorpe and Nick Stoker to discuss Australian engagement and partnership in the Pacific region. Omni, an Australian-owned business and sponsor of the Australian Naval Institute, focuses on delivering innovative national security and critical infrastructure solutions to develop Australia's sovereign capability and support the national interest.
As Steven prepares to step into the role of CEO of Omni in February 2026, he and Business Development Manager, Nick, draw on the company’s experience delivering services across the Pacific, and their own unique perspectives from service in the Australian Defence Force, to provide examples and recommendations on matters such as cooperation between national security institutions, Commonwealth and Australian industry collaboration in capacity building, Government policy, and even sport to address a range of challenges facing Australia in positioning itself as a dependable and supportive partner throughout the Pacific, particularly with the island nations of the South-West Pacific.
