Lowy Institute

On 20-21 May 2015 the G20 Studies Centre at the Lowy Institute for International Policy hosted a conference on international economic governance.This introductory session featured Reserve Bank Deputy Governer Philip Lowe and Lowy Institute Executive Director Michael Fullilove. The session outlined the state of international governance in 2015, with an overview of the G20's history, tracing its development into a premier forum for managing the global economy and the implications of recent geopolitical developments. There were also reflections on Australia’s G20 presidency and on China’s future presidency in 2016.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Energy and climate change have been hotly contested on the G20 agenda. The 2015 Leaders’ Summit will be two weeks before the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change COP21 meeting in December 2015. This session of the G20 Studies Centre international economic governance conference delved into questions of how to transform the international energy architecture and what the G20 could achieve with regards to climate change. Michelle Grattan concluded the session with a broader conversation about G20 communications.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the 8 May, the Lowy Institute hosted its twelfth annual New Voices conference on the theme “Is Geopolitics Returning to Asia?” After the conference, convenor Ashley Townshend caught up with New Voices panellists Dr Cui Lei, Research Fellow at the China Institute of International Studies, and Michael Mazza, Research Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, to discuss Chinese and U.S. views on island-building and maritime security in the South China Sea.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The intentions behind China's activities in the South China Sea and East China Sea are the source of considerable debate in Australia, in the region, and around the world. China asserts it is peacefully protecting its historic sovereignty. Many Western analysts fear that China is aggressively attempting to become the predominant power in the region. However, despite heated discussion, it is difficult to say with certainty what China is aiming to achieve, or what the implications and unintended consequences might be. On 19 May Lowy Nonresident Fellows Bonnie Glaser and Linda Jakobson and East Asia Program Director Merriden Varrall examined of the motivations behind China's activities in the maritime arena, drawing on their many years of experience working on China's foreign policy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Thursday 14 May the Lowy Institute hosted the Hon Peter O’Neill, MP CMG, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea2015 is a defining year for Papua New Guinea. The country will record the highest GDP growth rate in the world this year. Papua New Guinea faces serious development challenges but is making progress with the introduction of free education and healthcare and the expected completion of major infrastructure projects. The Papua New Guinea government will host the Pacific Islands Forum leaders’ summit and the Pacific Games in 2015. In his address, Prime Minister O’Neill will reflect on Papua New Guinea’s place in the world as it celebrates 40 years of independence from Australia this year.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We talk to the editor of one of Papua New Guinea's major newspapers.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On 29 April, Hayden Cooper, winner of the 2014 Lowy Institute Media Award, discussed his time reporting for the ABC on the Middle East, including some of the big stories he covered, from the Peter Greste trial in Egypt to the 2014 war in Gaza.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australian Foreign Julie Bishop is about to visit Tehran. Middle East expert Rodger Shanahan discusses her agenda.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australians and Indonesians learn much of what they know about each other through the media. Yet polling shows neither side has a deep understanding of the other.On Monday 13 April, Lowy Institute Indonesia expert Aaron Connelly moderated a panel discussion with Andini Effendi, Senior International Correspondent of Metro TV, based in Jakarta, and ABC Senior reporter and former Jakarta correspondent Helen Brown, where they discussed the shared challenges facing the press in both countries. The event also featured other participants from the day's inaugural Lowy Institute Media Dialogue, as well as questions from audience attendees including Tom Switzer, Geraldine Doogue, and Stephen Grenville.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On 2 April the United States and Iran announced that they had agreed parameters for a comprehensive nuclear agreement to be concluded by the end of June 2015.On 9 April the Lowy Institute convened a distinguished panel chaired by Lowy Institute Executive Director, Dr Michael Fullilove, to discuss the outcome of these high-stakes negotiations. Anthony Bubalo, Research Director at the Lowy Institute, John Carlson AM, former Director General, Australian Safeguards and Non-Proliferation Office and Greg Sheridan, Foreign Editor with The Australian, considered and discussed the implications of any nuclear agreement on security and proliferation in the Middle East and the wider world.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.