Lowy Institute

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.