AIIA

Time to Get Serious About India, Dr Pradeep Taneja, Thursday 7 July, 2011

Australia-India relations have been through some rough times in the past few years.  Despite the two nations possessing a lot in common, the relationship has lacked the substance that Australia’s other dealings in Asia seem to enjoy. While symbols and gestures play an important part in international relations, bilateral relationships can be hard to sustain without the presence of shared interests.  Many observers argue that it is time Australia engaged India more comprehensively and made itself relevant to the Asian giant’s quest for development, influence and recognition. Dr Pradeep Taneja lectures in Asian politics in the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Melbourne, where he is also a Fellow of the Australia India Institute and convener of a taskforce on Sino-Indian relations.   Educated in India, China and Australia, Dr Taneja has been an astute observer of political and economic developments in Asia for the past 25 years. He has also held research and teaching positions at La Trobe University, Griffith University and Swinburne University of Technology.  His current research interests include the rise of China and India as regional and global powers and Sino-Indian relations.

Inside Latin America Today, H.E. Ms Virginia Greville.

Global awareness of Latin America is growing as its nations assert themselves in various ways.  The four countries to which Ms Greville is accredited represent many aspects of what is most exciting about Latin America - but also what is worrying. Chile and Colombia have right-of-centre governments and open economies and actively seek both foreign investment and trade and political ties with Australia.  Ecuador and Bolivia have popular left-wing governments and a much closer ideological identification with Venezuela's populist strongman Hugo Chavez, who in turn draws inspiration from Cuba's Fidel Castro.  At the same time these two countries struggle to attract investment and lift their populations out of poverty.  But President Chavez is important to Colombia as well and President Juan Manuel Santos, for one, has made significant overtures to both Venezuela and Ecuador in the first few months of his administration.  And despite ideological differences, the pressure is on Chile and Bolivia to come to some understanding on borders and access to the sea. To explore the trends affecting Latin America today we are pleased to welcome Australia's ambassador to Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia, H.E. Ms Virginia Greville.  She was also accredited to Peru for more than a year. Previously Ms Greville was Australia’s chief negotiator on the Australia-Chile Free Trade Agreement while concurrently Assistant Secretary, Market Development, Business Liaison and Regional Trade Policy Branch and deputy chief negotiator on free trade agreement negotiations with the Gulf states (in 2007-08).  She has also been lead agriculture negotiator for the China Free Trade Agreement (2005-07) and Assistant Secretary of the Trade Commitments Branch (2004-05).   Overseas, Ms Greville served as Minister Counsellor, Agriculture at the Australian Embassy, Washington, DC, from 2000 until 2003.  She returned to Australia as a senior agriculture negotiator for the Australia-US Free Trade Agreement (2003-4) and then, as Assistant Secretary of the Trade Commitments Branch (2004-05), she was responsible for its ratification and implementation.

Professor Geoffrey Lawrence - Food Security: Global Realities

Professor Geoffrey Lawrence, Co-Leader of the Food Security Focal Area of the Global Change Institute, and professor of Sociology at the University of Queensland will join the Australian Institute of International Affairs to discuss ‘Food Security: Global Realities.’ In 2011, close to one billion of the world’s six billion people are chronically hungry, with this number expected to climb as prices for food staples increase. Alongside this, it is anticipated that food production will need to rise by at least 70 per cent over current levels if the world is to feed its people by the year 2050. Given the entrenched nature of global poverty, the arrival of peak oil, ‘land grabs’ by wealthy nations, and the evidence that climate change is not only ‘real’ but will also have a major impact upon food provision, there is growing concern that the world food crisis will deepen over future decades. Professor Geoffrey Lawrence - former Head of the School of Social Science (2002-2010) – is Professor of Sociology and Co-Leader of the Food Security Focal Area of the Global Change Institute, at The University of Queensland. His work spans the areas of agri-food restructuring, globalization and localization, rural and regional governance, and social aspects of natural resource management. In 2003, and again in 2009, he was appointed by the Federal Government to the Scientific Advisory Panel of the Lake Eyre Basin Ministerial Forum. During his career he has raised some $10 million in research grants and has published twenty five books. Recent co-authored and co-edited books include: Food Security, Nutrition and Sustainability (Earthscan, 2010 [republished 2011]); Supermarkets and Agri-food Supply Chains (Edward Elgar, 2007); Rural Governance (Routledge, 2007); Going Organic (CAB International, 2006); and Agricultural Governance (Routledge, 2005). For his contribution to sociology he was made a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia in 2004.

Alex Bellamy - Getting Away with Mass Murder: A Guide for Despots

Asia’s Rise: What it Means for Australia, Mr John McCarthy, AO,

You are urged not to miss this opportunity to hear John McCarthy, one of Australia’s most experienced and distinguished former diplomats, on what the rise of Asia means for Australia.

Asia is on the move.  China, the world’s second economic power and the world’s largest exporter, continues to grow at 10 per cent a year.  Likewise, India is growing at more than 8 per cent and its exports have surged by 50 per cent in the last year.  Growth in these two countries, together with others in the region, such as Indonesia, will create a whole new set of economic opportunities for Australian business.  It will also raise new geo-political challenges for our place in this new world.

There has been much debate in Australia about the rise of China and India and what this means for the region, and importantly for ourselves.  From his unique experience in having served in the United States, Japan, Indonesia and India, Mr McCarthy will give his perspective on how these changes will impact on Australia.

John McCarthy was educated at Cambridge University and practised law in London and New York, before joining the Australian Foreign Service in 1968.  He has been Australia’s ambassador to Vietnam, Mexico, Thailand, the United States, Indonesia and Japan, and High Commissioner to India.  He has also served as Deputy Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.  He became President of the Australian Institute of International Affairs in October 2010.

Defending Australia: Getting it Right? Mr Neil James Tuesday 19 April, 2011

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is highly professional, well-trained and respected, both at home and abroad.  The ADF is, however, at times stretched due to its limited size and capacity, and fluctuating levels of investment in defence capabilities.  Moreover, the range of warfighting, peacekeeping, regional stability and disaster relief operations our defence force has been committed to over the last 20 years, which includes, Somalia, East Timor, Solomon Islands, Iraq and Afghanistan have each presented substantial and often different challenges for which the ADF has not always been well prepared.

 

Australia’s geo-strategic position is largely immutable and our core sovereignty, economic and other international interests vary little over time.  The future strategic environment in the Asia-Pacific is, however, likely to become increasingly complex.  Foreign, strategic policy and defence force capability development to answer such challenges requires intellectually and institutionally robust intelligence assessments and policy processes.  It also requires the balancing of the investment needed with the funding available by prudent risk management and well-thought through shaping and coping strategies regionally.

 

Difficult decisions continue to confront Australian governments in preparing for this uncertain future and very long-time planning cycles are involved.  Public debate on national security issues often suffers from very low levels of background understanding of strategic and defence matters, indifferent media coverage, apathy, and low attention spans. In such an atmosphere, the motivation of Australians to maintain their pressure on governments to fulfil any government’s national security responsibilities is often subsumed by many other current and generally shorter-term issues.

 

This event is an opportunity to hear from one of Australia’s most prominent defence commentators, who will discuss these and other issues of critical importance to securing Australia in an uncertain and largely unpredictable future.  Neil James has been executive director of the Australia Defence Association since May 2003.  Before that he served for over 31 years with the Army in a wide range of regimental, intelligence liaison, planning, operational research and teaching positions, throughout Australia and overseas.  As the Association’s official spokesman, he is a frequent and recognised participant in public debate on defence matters, believing that informed discussion is essential to Australia’s national security and to the development and retention of effective defence and related capabilities.

Poland Today: Challenges and Opportunities H.E. Mr Andrzej Jaroszynski, Ambassador for Poland,

A country of 38 million people, Poland has witnessed dramatic changes since the collapse of Communism just over two decades ago. The introduction of ‘shock therapy’ in the early 1990s resulted in the transformation of Poland from a Soviet-style planned economy to one embracing market forces. After some initial reverses, Poland has experienced sustained economic growth, well beyond that of other eastern European countries. The opening up of the economy and the flowering of democratic institutions has enabled Poland to become fully integrated within European community.

As a member of NATO (since 1999) and as a full member of the European Union (since 2004), Poland plays an active role in European affairs, particularly through its representation in the European Parliament. As a member of the international community, Poland’s military has participated in a number of United Nations’ peacekeeper roles.

Although bilateral economic and trade relations between Poland and Australia have in the past been relatively limited, opportunities for expansion are occurring and Australian direct investment in Poland has been growing. An important factor in the relations between the two countries is the role of the Polish community in Australia, which amounts to some 164,000 people of Polish origin, about half of whom were born in Poland.

This event is an opportunity to hear from the Polish Ambassador to Australia, H.E. Mr Jaroszynski, about how Poland sees itself in the world today. He will outline Poland’s foreign policy and discuss contemporary social and economic conditions in his country.

H.E. Mr Jaroszynski has been Polish Ambassador to Australia since late 2008. Since joining the Polish foreign service in 1990, he has served overseas in Chicago, Washington, as deputy head of mission, and in Oslo, as Ambassador to Norway. Immediately before taking up his current position in Canberra, he was director of the Department of the Americas in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Warsaw. A graduate from the University of Maria Curie-Sklodowska, His Excellency held a number of academic positions at the Catholic University of Lubin, before joining the Polish diplomatic service.

Asia’s Rise: What it Means for Australia Mr John McCarthy, AO, Wednesday 11 May, 2011

You are urged not to miss this opportunity to hear John McCarthy, one of Australia’s most experienced and distinguished former diplomats, on what the rise of Asia means for Australia.

Asia is on the move. China, the world’s second economic power and the world’s largest exporter, continues to grow at 10 per cent a year. Likewise, India is growing at more than 8 per cent and its exports have surged by 50 per cent in the last year. Growth in these two countries, together with others in the region, such as Indonesia, will create a whole new set of economic opportunities for Australian business. It will also raise new geo-political challenges for our place in this new world.

There has been much debate in Australia about the rise of China and India and what this means for the region, and importantly for ourselves. From his unique experience in having served in the United States, Japan, Indonesia and India, Mr McCarthy will give his perspective on how these changes will impact on Australia.

John McCarthy was educated at Cambridge University and practised law in London and New York, before joining the Australian Foreign Service in 1968. He has been Australia’s ambassador to Vietnam, Mexico, Thailand, the United States, Indonesia and Japan, and High Commissioner to India. He has also served as Deputy Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He became President of the Australian Institute of International Affairs in October 2010.

Europe’s Energy Crisis: is Eurasia the Answer? - Dr Luca Anceschi

Recent events in the Middle East highlight the reality that energy supply security is a key element in the global energy system. The interruption of the oil flow from Libya and the instability characterising EU-Algerian energy trade have raised many questions about the energy security of the European Union. Further, the nuclear catastrophe in Japan could lead to the early closure of German nuclear plants, resulting in greater demand for gas. Growing energy interaction between Russia, Central Asia and the European Union could address this pressing issue and help Brussels stabilise EU access to reliable, adequate, and secure supplies of energy. An emerging energy market, focused primarily on gas, extending from the shores of the Mediterranean to the Caspian Sea will hence represent a major feature of international relations in the 21^st century.

This talk will address this critical issue in global affairs, by looking at the interaction of the energy needs of the European Union, its relationships with the non-democratic governments of the Eurasian region, and the EU response to the challenges that climate change is posing to energy policy making. These are important issues for Australia which is a major global energy supplier in the form of gas, coal and uranium.

Dr Luca Anceschi is a Lecturer in the Politics and International Relations Program at La Trobe University. His main area of research interest includes the politics and international relations of the Middle East and Central Asia. His recently published book, Turkmenistan’s Foreign Policy: Positive Neutrality and the Consolidation of the Turkmen Regime, is the first book-length analysis of Turkmen foreign policy published by a western scholar. His current research projects include an examination of Asia’s energy security and an analysis of Kazakhstan’s foreign policy. He is a graduate of L’Orientale University of Naples and La Trobe University.

Saving the US from Itself - Dr Paul Monk

Osama bin Laden's death was a big if belated achievement for the US, but how much significance should we attach to it? The al-Qaeda leader's ideas retain wide currency and he could be converted into martyrdom. Yet it could be argued that the real challenge to Washington since 9/11 is not Bin Laden or Saddam Hussein or China, Iran or North Korea, but egregious errors and abuses within the US.

Fiscally, our guest speaker Paul Monk asserts, the US has been poorly governed for many years. President Obama, despite a bad inheritance from his predecessor, is a long way from solving the problem. Wall Street, too, has many lessons still to learn from the greed and scandal of the past. Dysfunction in the Great Republic, Dr Monk will argue in his address, is a greater threat to capitalism, democracy and security than Islamist extremism.

Accordingly, he believes, we need a renewal of the financial underpinnings of democracy, which requires not state capitalism, but a fundamental rethinking of standards of transparency, accountability, incentives and the prudential framework within which government and business interact.

Dr Paul Monk is a founder of Austhink Consulting (www.austhinkconsulting.com), a niche firm specialising in business and policy decision architectures, the analysis of competing hypotheses and reasoning in the law. He has a Ph.D in international relations and is a former senior intelligence analyst with the Defence Intelligence Organisation, where he headed China analysis in the mid-1990s. Dr Monk is the author of several books, including Thunder from the Silent Zone: Rethinking China (2005) and Sonnets to a Promiscuous Beauty (2006). He is a well known essayist and commentator in the serious press, on radio and television. His latest book is The West in a Nutshell: Foundations, Fragilities, Futures (2009).