Foreign Affairs

8 November 2017

Catalonia. For most Australians, the name of its capital, Barcelona, will resonate more. The city conjures up images of the grand boulevard Las Ramblas, the architecture of Antoni Gaudí, epitomised in his Sagrada Familia basilica, the Summer Olympics in 1992 and Catalan tenor Jose Carreras crooning Amigos para siempre to Sarah Brightman. Unlike the Basque Country, we don’t associate Catalonia with a

12 October 2017

Australia needs politicians like Emmanuel Macron – politicians who are willing to take on powerful vested interests for the sake of reform. Sure, there’s plenty not to like about Macron: the global warming evangelism, for one thing, or his ‘bold vision’ for a beefed-up European Union. But there is much to be admired in Macron’s economic agenda. More to the

7 October 2017

Britain is at a political fork in the road. Brexit provides an extraordinary opportunity to chart a new course in trade, regulation and immigration policy. One place Britain can learn from is an old friend and partner, a country that has achieved over 25 years of economic growth, and has higher incomes and where people have longer lives. A beacon

29 August 2017

Venezuela is a failing socialist state. The economy is 40 per cent smaller than a few years ago. Nine in 10 households are unable to ­afford enough food. Infant mortality has risen 30 per cent. The ­opposition is being severely ­repressed, even murdered. A decade ago Venezuela was the richest country in South America, with the largest known oil reserves

15 August 2017

For all the furore it generated, the prickly phone call between Donald Trump and Malcolm Turnbull was a blip in Australia’s alliance relations with the US. In the mid-1950s Canberra and Washington differed over how to respond to the communist threat in Indochina. In the 60s we were at odds over Indonesia’s claim to Western New Guinea (now Papua), the

11 August 2017

East Timor holds a special place in the Australian psyche. It is our newest neighbour, and we played a critical role in supporting its road to independence in 2002 through the Australian-led INTERFET peacekeeping mission. Australian troops also kept the peace after the bloody Indonesian withdrawal in the aftermath of Timor’s 1999 independence referendum. A half-century earlier, Australian troops were

19 May 2017

It’s every intelligence chief’s nightmare – a phone call announcing the unexpected disclosure of highly sensitive secrets. The stakes are high: intelligence methods potentially compromised; future access to vital intelligence on terrorist plots and other threats jeopardised; diplomatic relations with allies and partners strained; and, in some cases, the lives of agents put at risk. Alarm bells clearly rang at

8 May 2017

Relief may be Malcolm Turnbull’s overwhelming emotion as he settles back for the long flight home from New York before a crucial budget. Returning to his home town and the inevitable protests for the first time since the inauguration, President Trump may have kept the PM waiting for a few hours. But it was worth it. Trump was welcoming, warm

12 April 2017

The US missile strike in Syria, rising tensions with North Korea, China’s creeping militarisation of the South China Sea, and recent terror attacks all highlight an important reality: Australia cannot take its security for granted. For decades Australia and its Asia-Pacific neighbours benefited from a relatively stable region in which open markets, inclusive regional institutions, uncontested freedom of navigation and

7 April 2017

There are seminal moments in a US presidency, often sadly sparked by catastrophe. Recall the Srebrenica Massacre for Bill Clinton and 9/11 for George W Bush. Likewise, Tuesday’s horrific chemical weapons attack in Syria marked a turning point for Donald Trump’s nascent presidency and US global leadership more broadly. So, struck by the tragic images of dead and dying children