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More Jakarta, Less Geneva: Australia and Indonesia

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Event Status

At a state dinner in Jakarta, Tony Abbott’s first foreign destination as prime minister, the new Australian leader said that there have been times when ‘all sides of Australian politics could have said less and done more’. Australia’s recent handling of issues relating to asylum seekers and live cattle exports to Indonesia has at times been light on diplomacy. But does the new asylum seeker policy continue this trend?

How has Prime Minister Abbott fared in his initial dealings with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono? And how will the Australian government fare in balancing its domestic policy agenda on asylum seekers with Indonesia’s desire for a multilateral approach?

Fifth Estate host Sally Warhaft will be joined by a panel of experts including Greg Sheridan (the Australian’s foreign editor) and Dr Dave McRae (the Lowy Institute’s Indonesia expert) to discuss Australian-Indonesian relations, and the key responsibilities and obligations of both nations, in this new political climate.

Featuring

Greg Sheridan

Greg Sheridan is the Australian’s foreign editor, and one of the most influential foreign affairs analysts in Australian journalism. After 35 years in the field, he is a veteran of international affairs who has interviewed leaders all over the Asia Pacific and America. He began journalism in the l... Read more

Dave McRae

Dave McRae is a research fellow at the Lowy Institute. He has researched conflict, politics, democratisation and human rights issues in Indonesia for well over a decade, and holds a Ph.D. in Southeast Asian Studies from ANU. He is the author of A Few Poorly Organized Men: Interreligious Violence in ... Read more

Sally Warhaft

Sally Warhaft is a Melbourne broadcaster, anthropologist and writer. She is the host of The Fifth Estate, the Wheeler Centre’s live series focusing on journalism, politics, media, and international relations, and The Leap Year, a Wheeler Centre podcast about Australians’ lives in the fog of ... Read more

Location

The Wheeler Centre

176 Little Lonsdale Street Melbourne Victoria 3000

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