The Lowy Institute

Alyssa Ayres, Senior Fellow for India, Pakistan, and South Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), joined Aaron Connelly, Research Fellow for the East Asia Program at the Lowy Institute, to discuss Alyssa’s latest book, 'Our Time Has Come: How India Is Making Its Place in the World'. Dr Ayres discussed how a fiercely independent India pursues its place as a leading power, and how the United States should respond. At CFR, Alyssa Ayres’s work focuses on India’s role in the world and on US relations with South Asia. In 2015 she served as project director for the CFR-sponsored Independent Task Force on US–India Relations, and from 2014 to 2016 as project director for an initiative on the new geopolitics of China, India, and Pakistan. She directs the US Relations with South Asia Roundtable series, blogs regularly for Asia Unbound, and is a contributor to Forbes.com. Her book 'Our Time Has Come: How India is Making Its Place in the World' was published by Oxford University Press in January 2018. Alyssa Ayre

New Zealand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Rt Hon Winston Peters, addressed his government's plans to work with its Pacific partners to meet the many strategic and development challenges facing the region.New Zealand’s place is in the Pacific. Culturally, geographically, and politically, New Zealand is a Pacific Islands country. But the Pacific is an increasingly complex strategic environment, with a broad range of external factors affecting its present and future.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over the past fifty years, Singapore has become one of the world’s most prosperous countries and a dynamic node in the world economy. A new Lowy Analysis Paper examines not only what has driven Singapore’s success in establishing itself as a competitive base of high-value manufacturing and other value-added services, but also how the country, amid regional and global challenges, must adapt its model so as to retain its position at the centre of flows of trade, investment, and people.Manu Bhaskaran, the paper’s author and CEO of consultancy Centennial Asia, joined Research Fellow Matthew Busch to discuss what Singapore can do to find the policy mix and economic fundamentals to overcome these challenges.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Lowy Institute has conducted robust, independent polling on Australian attitudes to foreign policy issues annually since 2005. While the world has changed dramatically this century, how have Australian attitudes changed, and what has stayed the same?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On 1 February, the Lowy Institute’s Executive Director Dr Michael Fullilove chaired a discussion examining the key issues likely to dominate the international agenda in 2018.Joining Michael was Deputy Director Anthony Bubalo, Deputy Research Director and Director of the Diplomacy and Public Opinion Program Alex Oliver, Director of the International Security Program, Dr Euan Graham and Nonresident Fellow Dr John Edwards.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On 29 January, Lowy Institute Research Fellow Anna Kirk chaired a discussion on women's representation in leadership and politics with one of Australia's leading business executives, Ann Sherry; the highest polling female candidate in the 2017 PNG elections, Rufina Peter; and ANU academic Dr Kerryn Baker. The panelists addressed this critical issue shared between Papua New Guinean and Australian societies and discussed ways to overcome such gender inequality challenges.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

China is a rapidly ageing country. According to the World Bank, the working-age population is predicted to fall by 10% by 2040. While the size of the workforce is falling, the pool of over 65s is rising, and is predicted to reach 350 million by the same year.What are the economic effects of a shrinking labour pool and rising number of aged dependents, and how will the two-child policy limit these effects? The Lowy Institute convened a panel to explore how population dynamics will shape China’s economy and what it means for our economic future at large.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On 14 December Lowy Institute hosted the Hon Joe Hockey, Australia’s Ambassador to the United States, for an address on the first twelve months of President Trump’s administration. The Hon Joe Hockey has been Australia’s Ambassador to the United States since January 2016. Prior to this appointment, he was a member of the House of Representatives for the seat of North Sydney from 1996 until 2015. He served in a broad range of ministerial portfolios including as the Minister for Human Services, Minister for Tourism and the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, before being appointed as Treasurer in the Abbott government from 2013 to 2015 and chairing the G20 as part of this role. Before entering politics, Mr Hockey worked as a solicitor, and subsequently as Director of Policy to the NSW Premier.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On 13 December, the Lowy Institute hosted an address by the Hon Christopher Pyne MP, Minister for Defence Industry and the Leader of the House of Representatives. As Minister for Defence Industry he is responsible for Australia’s defence procurement and military capability including delivering the $200 billion worth of investment in Australia’s defence capabilities outlined in the Defence White Paper.Minister Pyne was first elected to Federal Parliament in 1993 at the age of 25, as the member for Sturt in South Australia. Through the Howard, Abbott and Turnbull governments, he has served as Assistant Minister for Health and Ageing, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Education and Training, and Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mu Sochua, Deputy Leader of the recently dissolved Cambodia National Rescue Party, speaks with Research Fellow Aaron Connelly on China's support for Prime Minister Hun Sen, the government crackdown on Cambodia's independent media and what Australia can do to encourage a return to democracy in Cambodia.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At China’s recent 19th Party Congress, the Party and President Xi Jinping announced a ‘new era of socialism with Chinese characteristics’. What does this mean for China, both domestically and globally? On 7 December, the Lowy Institute’s East Asia Program Director Dr Merriden Varrall hosted Professor Anne-Marie Brady of the Wilson Center and Lowy Institute Nonresident Fellow Peter Cai for a panel discussion on how the ‘new era’ will shape China’s approach to its national policies, including social and economic development, and foreign affairs.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over half a million Rohingya have fled Myanmar into neighbouring Bangladesh since 25 August, bringing with them accounts of crimes against humanity by Myanmar security forces and local mobs.On 5 December the Lowy Institute convened an expert panel for a discussion of the background to the current crisis, including the roles of State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and Myanmar’s military, and an examination of what Australia and the international community can do to address one of Southeast Asia’s most serious humanitarian crises in decades. The panel included Dr Melissa Crouch, Senior Lecturer at the UNSW Law Faculty; Aaron Connelly, Research Fellow Lowy Institute's East Asia Program; and Hervé Lemahieu, Research Fellow at the Lowy Institute. The discussion was moderated by Director of the East Asia Program at the Lowy Institute Dr Merriden Varrall.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The international order is experiencing turbulence, with liberal internationalism and democracy facing multiple challenges, globally and in the region. Australian and British senior officials and experts will explore new roles that Australia and the UK can play in this period of rapid change to uphold and strengthen the rules-based order in the Asia Pacific. On 29 November the Lowy Institute hosted an expert panel and interactive discussion with a specially invited audience, chaired by Lowy Institute’s Executive Director Michael Fullilove and Sir John Holmes from the Ditchley Foundation. The panel consisted of Oxford University Professor Rosemary Foot, UK High Commissioner Menna Rawlings, ANU Professor of Strategic Studies Hugh White, and Justin Hayhurst, First Assistant Secretary, Foreign Policy White Paper Taskforce.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On 29 November, the Lowy Institute hosted a conversation between Financial Times columnist Gideon Rachman and Lowy Institute Executive Director Michael Fullilove on Donald Trump, Brexit, and the future of Asia. Gideon Rachman has been chief foreign affairs columnist for the Financial Times since 2006 following a 15-year career at The Economist. In 2016 he won The Orwell Prize for political journalism and the European Press Prize for political commentary. Mr Rachman is one of the most influential and interesting commentators on international affairs. His columns, and his most recent book Easternisation, are essential reading for anyone who is interested in the world.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Using much new material, John Edwards’ vivid, landmark biography places John Curtin, Australia’s wartime leader, as a man of his times, puzzling through the immense changes in Australia and its region released by the mighty shock of the Pacific War. The biography locates the turning point in Australian history not at Gallipoli or the Western Front or even Federation, but in the Pacific War and Curtin’s Prime Ministership.On 27 November former Prime Minister Paul Keating launched the book at the Lowy Institute with a speech on Curtin and political leadership.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the past two decades Indonesia has made great strides in improving access to education, as children begin school earlier and remain there longer than ever before. At the same time, however, quality and learning outcomes have been largely unchanged. A new Lowy Institute Analysis by the University of Melbourne’s Andrew Rosser explores how Indonesia’s underlying political and social relationships have contributed to this conundrum of access over quality.On 20 November the Lowy Institute hosted a discussion of the paper and its themes with Andrew Rosser, the Asia Institute's Dr Ken Setiawan and the Lowy Institute's Matthew Busch. In light of Australia’s development assistance to, and commercial links with, its near neighbour, the panel discussed how these lessons might shape Australia’s engagement with Indonesia.The Lowy Institute acknowledges the support of the Victorian Government Department of Premier and Cabinet for this event.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On 21 November, the Lowy Institute hosted an address by the Hon Richard Marles MP, the Shadow Minister for Defence, who spoke on ‘Australia and the Pacific: A question of identity’. The Hon Richard Marles MP is the Federal Member for Corio. His previous appointments include Shadow Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Minister for Trade, Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs, Parliamentary Secretary for Innovation and Industry, and Chair of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Affairs.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This morning the Australian Bureau of Statistics released the results of the same-sex marriage survey conducted earlier this year – of a turnout of 79.5% of eligible Australians, a total of 61.6% said 'Yes' to the question of whether the law be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry.The Lowy Institute's Executive Director Michael Fullilove, Senior Fellow Sam Roggeveen and Research Associate Bonnie Bley discuss the result and what it means for Australia's place in the world and its international reputation.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Donald Trump’s first trip to Asia as President, which began on 5 November, will bring his unique approach to diplomacy to our region for the first time. Over ten days, President Trump will visit five countries and attend two summits, and outline his Asia policy for the first time. How he responds to the pressures of these high-stakes meetings will set the tone of America’s relationship with Asia for the remainder of his presidency.On 10 November, the Lowy Institute hosted an expert panel to discuss President Trump’s early forays into Asia policy, featuring Euan Graham, Director of the Lowy Institute's International Security Program; Aaron Connelly, Research Fellow in the Lowy Institute's East Asia Program; and Huong Le Thu, Visiting Fellow at the ANU's Strategic and Defence Studies Centre. The discussion was moderated by Dr Merriden Varrall, Director of the Lowy Institute's East Asia Program.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The relationship between China and the United States is central to security and prosperity in Asia. On 27 October Executive Director Michael Fullilove examined the future of this critical relationship in conversation with Managing Editor of The New York Times and long-time China watcher, Joseph Kahn. Together they explored issues such as the evolution of Asia policy under the Trump administration, the implications for Chinese foreign policy of this year’s 19th Party Congress in Beijing, and future developments on the Korean peninsula. Joseph Kahn has won two Pulitzer Prizes, including one for his coverage of China. He first reported from China in 1989 after the Tiananmen crackdown for The Dallas Morning News. In 1994 he joined The Wall Street Journal as a China correspondent. In 1998 he joined the Times, and was appointed Beijing bureau chief in 2003. He returned to New York in 2008 to become an editor for the Times.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.