Businesses, government and civil society met this month in Medan, Indonesia, for the 11th annual Roundtable meeting on sustainable palm oil. While orangutan conservation organisations dominated conversations about sustainability, another serious problem lingers: what to do with local people. Read more
Category Archives: Economics and Public Policy
The current breakdown in diplomatic relations between Australia and Indonesia is close to — or is — the worst the relationship has been. There has been nothing of such damage to the relationship since Australias intervention in East Timor in 1999, when Australia sent in troops with the permission of the Indonesian government to address […]
Australias diplomatic relationship with Indonesia has gone from bad to worse following the latest damaging revelations about Australian spying on senior Indonesian political figures, including President Yudhoyono and his wife Ibu Ani. Indonesia is now expected to act on the matter, expelling Australian diplomats and suspending joint information gathering programs. The most troubling aspect of […]
East Timor’s Prime Minister and former resistance leader, Xanana Gusmao, has announced his intention to retire from politics. Two East Timor media sources say Gusmao will retire in 2015, two years before the conclusion of the current Parliament, with another source saying he will leave in 2017. Gusmao, 67, will make way for a new […]
Sri Lankas hosting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting has gotten off to a troubled start, with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh withdrawing his participation over the host countrys human rights record. This follows a decision by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to also boycott the event due to human rights concerns. British Prime […]
Australias relationship with Indonesia is at one of its historic low points, despite claims to the contrary by Prime Minister Tony Abbott. What is unusual about this most recent contretemps with Indonesia, with which Australia has previously had several difficulties, is that, unlike in the past, the current problems are entirely a consequence of Australian […]
With much of the recent discussion about countries spying on each other, the only startling thing is that anyone would bother to feign surprise. Indonesia and Australia have long spied on each other, and they have both known about it. The main distinctions between Australia and Indonesias intelligence activities are their methods and who they […]
As was widely anticipated, former foreign minister Bob Carr has resigned from the Senate, opening the way for the appointment of a new Labor Senator in New South Wales. In announcing his resignation, Carr described his period as foreign minister as being the learning equivalent of “a dozen PhDs” and an exercise in continuity. In […]
From his output, ASPIs Anthony Bergin likes nothing if not to test ideas in relation to Australias strategic positioning. His recent proposition that Australia is not so much a middle power but a pivotal power is a case in point . http://www.aspistrategist.org.au/is-australia-a-pivotal-power/ Bergins argument is that the common strategic descriptor for Australia as a middle […]
Australia has an unprecedented opportunity to resolve issues of escalating insurance prices caused by an uncertain climate. The time has come to curb the trend towards increased economic exposure to natural catastrophes. The recent change of government, the upcoming Australian G20 in Brisbane in 2014, the establishment of the Bushfire and Natural Hazards Research Centre […]