See every short post from our experts on what they regard as the most important international policy issue of this campaign. Danielle Rajendram is a Lowy Institute research associate.
Since a low point during the 2009-10 student crisis, Australia's relations with India have steadily improved. Identified as a priority country in the Asian Century White Paper, considerable effort has been invested by both governments to maintain this positive trajectory.
The imperative now will be to maintain this momentum to ensure that relations with India don't slip down the list of priorities in the beginning of the next government's term. Complacency will be disastrous, as we found in 2009. India is a natural partner for Australia in the Indo-Pacific, and the economic, political and strategic significance of the bilateral relationship must be recognised.