News and Media

Mike Callaghan provides six core principles that he believes are necessary for Australia's period as chair of the G20 to be successful. 

Rory Medcalf comments on the way China's ADIZ has increased tensions in the Asian region due to a lack of consultation. 

As Australia has assumed the presidency of the G20, Tony Abbott must take responsibility for setting Australia's agenda ahead of Brisbane summit next November. 

Alex Oliver talks with Glyn Greensmith about the strains on Australia's consular service from rising numbers of Australians travelling overseas, and their high expectations of the level of assistance government can provide.

In an interview on SBS World News Australia radio, Alex Oliver discusses the demands on Australia's consular service and the issues to be covered in the review of consular services just announced by government.

Andrew Erickson evaluates Rory Medcalf's blog piece for The Interpreter about the Air Defence Identification Zone in the East China Sea.

James Fallows evaluates Rory Medcalf's blog piece for The Interpreter about the Air Defence Identification Zone in the East China Sea.

Australia will be able to resist Chinese attempts to use its new economic muscle to win Canberra over to Beijing's side on diplomatic and other issues, a new report finds.

Kurt Campbell was a panellist for ABC1 Q&A, answering questions about the politics and legalities of spying on Indonesia, intelligence leaks and the Australian asylum seeker policy.

Kurt Campbell talks about the 'pivot to Asia' and the U.S. response to Typhoon Haiyan.

In this op-ed for The Times of India, Rory Medcalf discusses the need for Australian ministers to establish new lines of communication and partnership working with India.

Dr Rodger Shanahan talks to The Drum host Julia Baird about the credibility of video of the man believed to be Australia's first suicide bomber.(34:36)

This Remembrance Day, spare a thought for a forgotten Australian soldier and what his story tells us about our future.

Fellowing a research visit to the Cook Islands, Dr Philippa Brant comments on the Chinese aid programme. Traditional leaders in the Cook Islands say there has been poor consultation with landowners on a multi-million dollar water infrastructure project in Rarotonga.The NZ$60 million initiative, known as Te Mato Vai, is a partnership between the Cook Islands, China and New Zealand.Beverley Tse has more:The water supply on Rarotonga is currently untreated. Under Te Mato Vai, a new water system will be installed, including UV treatment, improved storage capacity and new ring mains which will deliver potable, clean drinking water to all residential and commercial properties connected to the existing network. The Cook Islands Infrastructure Minister Teariki Heather says the project is progressing well.

“TEARIKI HEATHER: I’ve just been to China with the inspection of quality assurance for us for the Cook Islands and all partners involved to make sure that what we get from China is sort of like the real thing. So I’m quite happy that the recent visit with engineers, of course, from NZ, the assurance and also the standard, it’s all A-ok.”

He says consultations are being held on Rarotonga to iron out any issues.

“TEARIKI HEATHER: We’re having sort of consultations with the people right around Rarotonga and of course with the House of Ariki, Members of Parliament, and also the people on the main island itself. So public consultations are important for us and sort of letting our people know what’s happening.”

Teariki Heather says the project will stay within the boundaries of the main road, and won’t cross into any landowners’ properties. But the clerk of the House of Ariki, Tupuna Rakanui, says traditional leaders feel they were not properly consulted on the project and have sought answers from the Business Trade Investment Board.

“TUPUNA RAKANUI: They hear that licenses will be granted to foreigners to commence developments in terms of WATSAN and yet here they are, they are the landowners. They own the lands inland where the water comes down, the reservoirs and our people own the land where these pipes will be running on. They haven’t been consulted.”

In November last year, the Cook Islands made a deal with the China Civil Engineering Company to upgrade the 26 kilometres of water pipes. A Lowy Institute researcher, Dr Philippa Brant, says she is interested in tracking the progression of China’s aid programmes, as it has faced a number of problems in the past. She has recently been in the Cook Islands to study the project, which is considered the world’s first joint aid venture between a recipient, a traditional western donor and China.

“PHILIPPA BRANT: Something that really did strike me was that there was a genuine concern on the Chinese part that particularly the Chinese Embassy in Wellington, that they wanted to I guess make sure that any future projects that they’re involved on did have a positive outcome for the people of the Cook Islands.”

The master plan for Te Mato Vai is due for completion by December and construction will begin next year.

Dave McRae speaks to ABC Radio Australia about the need to find commonalities between Australia and Indonesia to help develop a better relationship and understanding.

Dr David McRae gives his views on Australia-Indonesia relations in the lead up to Prime Minister Tony Abbott's visit to Indonesia.

It is the longest war in Australia's history, astonishingly bipartisan across the political divide yet contentious on whether Australia's shifting objectives were achieved in its Afghanistan commitment.

Whistleblowing on surveillance of communications has led to Indonesia reviewing intelligence sharing arrangements with Australia. Sam Roggeveen, Editor of the Lowy Interpreter, shares his thoughts on the spying controversy.

Alex Oliver, Director of Polling at the Lowy Institute, talks about the clumsy errors and protocol gaffes made by Australian diplomats in an opinion piece by Tony Wright.

Australia, unlike other countries, has not publicly reviewed its military mission. It's time to ask critical questions about how we fought the war. The learning really starts when the war is over. As Australia's 12-year-long Afghan campaign draws to a close there are still big questions to be answered.

With the Syrian conflict in its second year, there is finally hope of some real progress from a peace conference in Geneva next month. Jim Middleton, ABC Newsline, speaks with Anthony Bubalo, Research Director at the Lowy Institute for International Policy.

'It's no secret that Bob Carr long yearned to be Australia's foreign minister. The time, when it came, was short - just 18 months. Observers say that it was ultimately too short for former NSW premier to carve out a foreign policy legacy,' writes David Wroe.

With a change in government in Canberra, ties between India andAustralia are likely to experience another upswing.

Barack Obama's absence from East Asia's two seminal economic and political meetings last week has triggered another bout of declinist commentary and regional hand wringing about the loss of US power and credibility which, if accurate, has serious implications for Australia's alliance with the US.