Australia
Bill Shorten takes on the world
On the polls, Australia’s long-time Labor Opposition leader Bill Shorten will be prime minister by the middle of next year. So a major speech on a future Labor government’s…
Friends like these … allies and the Pence speech
Vice President Mike Pence’s speech was tasty red meat for anyone desiring a more confrontational US policy toward the People’s Republic of China. Pence’s speech reflects a…
Australia’s Israel-Palestine conflict
Labor was quick to pounce on a “desperate” Scott Morrison to accuse him of breaking “bipartisan foreign policy” after the prime minister flagged the prospect that Australia…
Encryption does not create privilege
Australia’s Director-General of Security, Duncan Lewis, has published his urgings in support of a bill before the federal parliament to impose obligations on communication service…
Australia-PNG: relationships are what matter
Papua New Guineans tell each other with pride and excitement that the eyes of the world will be upon them 40 days from now, when they host the APEC Leaders Meeting in Port…
Japan’s advice to Australia to co-exist with China
Japan’s Shinzo Abe now ranks as one of the region’s most experienced prime ministers, and will likely meet with Australia’s newest leader, Scott Morrison, in November.
China’s…
Indian migrants in Australia find political voice
As a doctoral student exploring theory and creative practice of diasporas in the mid-2000s, I ended up making a documentary about Indian migrants in Adelaide (titled, I…
Time to fill the big hole in US-Australia ties
“We want to know to whom should we talk”, asked one South American diplomat in frustration at staffing problems in the US State Department.
The question underscores, again, the…
Not just a pretty place: Australia’s soft power
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's (DFAT) soft power review comes at a time when information is rising as an instrument of foreign policy. DFAT faces new challenges and…
Spilt milk: protecting exports during drought
Drought is an unavoidable hazard of farming in Australia. As the economic pressure mounts from the current drought in northern New South Wales and Queensland, there is increasing…