World Affairs
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A somersault – back to business as usual. Guest blogger: Arja Keski-Nummi
While in opposition Tony Abbot conducted a robust and aggressive policy on boats that effected Indonesia. But now he has done a somersault in order to put the Australian-Indonesian relationship back on a more even footing. As his speech at the official dinner portrays he has gone to the other extreme and engaged in rather Continue reading »
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Israel’s asylum-seeker dilemma. Guest blogger: John Tulloh.
Like Australia, Israel has a major problem of what to do with asylum-seekers. And, like Australia with our proposed Malaysia solution in 2011, Israeli legislation aimed at curbing the influx has been thrown out by the country’s highest court. Those seeking refuge in Israel did not come by boat. They came across the Sinai from Continue reading »
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Sri Lanka – the civil war may be over but peace has not returned.
The Australian government in cooperation with the Sri Lankan government and its security services has been returning asylum seekers to Sri Lanka. They are called ‘voluntary returnees’. Increasingly however, doubts are being expressed by many commentators about the continuing plight of Tamils in Sri Lanka. In the following article, published in Catholic News on September Continue reading »
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One-liners won’t work in Jakarta. John Menadue
In his meeting with President Yudohono tomorrow, Tony Abbott will find that his one-liners that have been so successful in Australian politics will not have traction in Jakarta. It will require a lot more subtlety than ‘stop the boats’ and ‘axe the tax’. Our Foreign Minister, Julie Bishop has already been shown how Indonesian society Continue reading »
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Fukushima – the trouble when regulators and operators are too close. Guest blogger: Walter Hamilton
Speaking in support of Tokyo’s bid for the 2020 Olympics, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on 7 September that the situation at the crippled Fukushima nuclear power station was ‘under control’. Recent disclosures, however, about leaks of radioactive water from storage tanks at the site and the contamination of ground water flowing into the Continue reading »
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How the Australian media frames North Korea and impedes constructive relations. Guest blogger: Dr Bronwen Dalton
An analysis of the last three years of coverage of North Korea in the Australian media shows a tendency in Australian coverage to uncritically reproduce certain metaphors that linguistically frame North Korea in ways that imply North Korea is dangerous and provocative; irrational; secretive; impoverished and totalitarian. This frame acts to delegitimize, marginalise and demonise Continue reading »
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Frontier War and asylum seekers. John Menadue
Launch of the 2013-14 Catholic Social Justice Statement by John Menadue 11 September 2013 This statement follows the proud tradition of the Catholic Church in Australia since 1940 of calling Catholics and all Australians to act for social justice. The 65 statements issued over the years cover a great range of social justice issues – poverty, violence, Continue reading »
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Where ignorance is bliss … (’tis foolish to be wise) Guest blogger Arja Keski-Nummi
The Abbott government appears to have signaled that they do not believe in nation building. They have created a Department of Immigration and Border Protection and moved the vital settlement support services from this portfolio to be lost in a larger welfare-oriented agency. The fact is that migration and settlement are two sides Continue reading »
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Japanese amnesia and the contrast with Germany. Guest blogger: Susan Menadue Chun
Our four Australian/Korean children were educated in Japanese primary schools. Every summer holiday we struggled through the prescribed homework text- Natsu no Tomo (Summer’s friend). In the early August segment, there were assignments regarding WWII. They stated, “talk to your parents about WWII and write a composition about the importance of peace”. So, we talked Continue reading »
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Returning home can be the hard part. John Menadue
In my August 1 blog I referred to the failure of many Australian companies to integrate their business and human resource strategies. Too many send executives overseas on an ad hoc basis without planning how that experience gained overseas can be used when they return as a catalyst to change the business culture of the Continue reading »
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Hitting rock-bottom! John Menadue
Today Tony Abbott and Scott Morrison have announced draconian measures that will inflict enormous punishment on over 30,000 asylum seekers who have arrived in Australia over recent years by boat. These draconian policies will apply not just to future boat arrivals but will be applied retrospectively to over 30,000 asylum seekers who are already legally Continue reading »
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Minimizing PNG and Nauru. John Menadue
Before I outline what I suggest we should do after the federal election let me first raise a few important background issues. The Indo China program In working with Malcolm Fraser and Ian Macphee I was actively involved in the Indochina refugee program under which Australia took 240,000 people, including family reunion. It was a Continue reading »
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Foxing with the News, Japan style. Guest blogger: Walter Hamilton
On Wednesday 7 August 2013, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe acknowledged that the clean up of the devastated Fukushima nuclear power reactors was beyond the capacity of the operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO). It followed the revelation that heavily contaminated groundwater is flowing into the Pacific Ocean at an estimated rate of 300 Continue reading »
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Is something significant happening in our alignment to our region? John Menadue
It may be early days, but I sense that some significant change might be afoot. So much of our political dialogue historically has been about Australia’s relationship with the UK and then the US. John Howard spoke of Australia being the deputy sheriff for the Americans in our region. Tony Abbott talks about an Anglo Continue reading »
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Japan’s Deputy PM: ‘Let’s learn from the Nazis’. Guest blogger: Walter Hamilton
Taro Aso, Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of Japan, has a clumsy tongue; it’s always getting him into trouble. He’s so malapropic (remember the one about people becoming so affluent ‘even the homeless are getting diabetes’), we can only shake our heads and say, ‘Japan’s a funny place,’ before changing the channel on our Continue reading »
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Our business failure in Asia. John Menadue
In my blog of March 14 on Productivity and Skills I drew attention to the failure of Australian business to equip itself for Asia. PM Rudd in his address to the National Press Club on 16 July this year put it very clearly. ‘I am concerned that if you went through our business elites, you Continue reading »
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Least-worst option and minimising PNG. John Menadue
In my blog of July 20, I referred to the Regional Settlement Agreement with PNG. With some reservations I described it as the least-worst option. Some were surprised at my comments. I wish it were otherwise, but in the toxic and poisonous political debate over refugees since John Howard’s time, we have had to face Continue reading »
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Regional Settlement Agreement with Papua New Guinea – a post-script. John Menadue
With the dust settling a little I thought it might be safe to return to this issue! I said in my blog of July 20 that I supported the general thrust of the RSA with PNG, although a lot remained to be sorted out and the implementation is already showing signs of problems. Without repeating Continue reading »
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Zimmerman – race or gender? Guest blogger: Marcus Einfeld
Following their counterparts in the US, the attention of the international media has been attracted by the acquittal last Saturday by a Miami jury of 6 women of neighbourhood watch monitor George Zimmerman for shooting dead a young black teenager Trayvon Martin. My knowledge of the matter comes only from media reports but I have Continue reading »
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Japanese whaling – bad faith, bad science. Guest blogger: Walter Hamilton
Australia and Japan are at loggerheads before the International Court of Justice not because they disagree over whaling but because they disagree and are both members of the International Whaling Commission. What may at first seem a fussy distinction is fundamental and important. It is only because of their mutual commitments under an international convention Continue reading »
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The Regional Settlement Arrangement with Papua New Guinea. John Menadue
With some reservations I support the general thrust of the RSA with PNG. I do that largely for the same reasons that I supported the earlier proposed agreement with Malaysia. The RSA is in PM Rudd’s words ‘a hard line’ but I see it as the least worst option given the present intractable political impasse Continue reading »
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Don’t race to the bottom on asylum seekers!
Kevin Rudd, in your review of asylum seeker policy please don’t let Foreign Minister Carr lead you to a race to the bottom with Tony Abbott. The media is clearly being briefed that in a revision of asylum policy, the Government is considering tougher new country assessments by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Continue reading »
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Joining the dots on Asia. John Menadue
The advocates of stronger ties with Asia spend a great deal of time with seminars and press statements about the importance of the region to our future. They are correct but they refuse to join the dots and advocate the changes on the really important issues impeding our relations with our region. Some of those Continue reading »
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Japanese language learning in Australia – declining and mainly for beginners. Guest blogger: Professor Chihiro Kinoshita Thomson
Japanese has been Australia’s most studied foreign language in schools for a number of years. Japanese is neither a traditional school language subject such as French and Latin, nor a community language such as Italian and Greek. Japanese is distant from English linguistically and culturally. Thus it is remarkable that Australia is fourth place on Continue reading »
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Asylum seekers – good news at last. John Menadue
The joint communique issued yesterday by President Yudhoyono and PM Rudd is the best news that I have read on asylum seekers for many years. A regional framework is the only viable policy for the future. Individual countries cannot do it alone. The communique said ‘As co-chairs of the Bali Process, the two Leaders reaffirmed Continue reading »
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The dispute over the islands – leaving well alone. Guest blogger: Walter Hamilton
Which of China or Japan has the stronger claim to the Senkaku or Diaoyu islands in the East China Sea, the dispute that has driven their relations to the lowest point in 40 years? China’s case is that the islands, having been appropriated by imperial Japan, were forfeit when it surrendered to the Allies Continue reading »
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What should Prime Minister Kevin Rudd do about boat arrivals? John Menadue
The new government has indicated that it will be reviewing current policies on such issues as carbon reduction and boat arrivals. I have written extensively about asylum seekers and refugees. I suggest that in the short term, the PM should consider the following on boat arrivals. We need some perspective in the political debate. We Continue reading »
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Stopping the boats decently – can it be done? Guest blogger: Frank Brennan SJ
In this last financial year, “25,145 people have arrived on 394 boats – an average of over 70 people and more than a boat a day” as Scott Morrison, Tony Abbott’s Shadow Minister never tires of telling us. Except for Sri Lankans, most of those arriving by boat come not directly from their country of Continue reading »
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Japanese Pacifist Constitution in Danger. Guest blogger: John Woodward
The Japanese pacifist constitution prohibits Japan from waging war. This restriction will be removed if the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has his way. And he is likely to succeed come the 21 July national election for the Upper House of the Japanese Diet (parliament). Abe’s government is riding high in polls since his Continue reading »
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What is powering Japan’s foreign policy? Guest blogger Walter Hamilton
Could it be they are handing out “macho pills” at the Japanese Foreign Ministry? Has it become de rigueur for the country’s diplomats to browbeat international forums? Are internal divisions within the ministry about to break out into open policy warfare? There are at present enough straws in the wind to invite these questions. Continue reading »
