Good regional relations more than just free trade and a cup of tea!

As Senator Bob Carr considers his priorities as the new foreign minister, relations with countries to our north will need early attention.

China and its irritation at our decision to allow US troops to be based in Darwin is an obvious matter that needs to be addressed. Senator Carr will also need to reflect on another large and emerging neighbour whom our government has created a few ‘Australia-made’ irritations recently: Indonesia.

And there have been more than just a few, including the ongoing DFAT warnings for travel to Indonesia, including Bali; the expansion the ‘Pacific Seasonal Worker Scheme’ to include East Timor but omitting Indonesia; the live-cattle trade fiasco and the disturbing issue of Indonesian children being incarcerated in Australian jails.

Tony Abbott has also added a few relationship ‘bumps’ by threatening to dump all asylum seekers back on Indonesian shores should he become Prime Minister.

Fortunately, Julie Bishop, the opposition’s foreign spokesperson, reassured the Indonesian Ambassador that they would consult with Indonesia before they took any such action. The Ambassador must have been pleased with the contact from Ms Bishop given Joe Ludwig’s ill-mannered decision last year to ban live cattle exports to Indonesia without even telling the ambassador!

Whilst our embassy officials in Jakarta understand our northern neighbour intimately, our politicians have generally under-estimated the significance of an emerging Indonesia. Our former foreign minister, Kevin Rudd enjoyed a reasonable rapport with his Indonesian counterpart Marty Natalegawa, developed over an occasional cup-of-tea together at international gatherings in the northern hemisphere but the depth of the relationship, and serious understanding of Indonesia, and its complexity, by this government is still questionable.

Last week, Murdoch University’s Professor David Hill released a major report to the Federal Government showing that the study of Indonesian language in Australia was in steep decline, with enrolments in universities falling by 40% between 2001- 2010, and Year 12 enrolments now lower than in 1972.

This is despite a 2008 commitment by the then prime minister, Kevin Rudd to make Asian languages - and in particular Indonesian - a priority of his government's schools program. Last year the Gillard government ceased all funding for that program.

In WA, the collapse of Indonesian language studies has come at a time when our state is building major business links with our neighbour. Apart from live cattle exports, we also sell over two million tonne of wheat a year to Indonesia, and numerous WA-based resource and manufacturing companies have built extensive and successful businesses there.

Indonesia has a huge and emerging middle-class who wants to travel. We are only three hours away, yet how much does Tourism WA spend promoting WA as an attractive and vibrant destination for Indonesians? Nothing.

It’s also worth asking how many state politicians visited Indonesia over the parliamentary recess or how many government officials really know about Indonesia, or speak the language? Apart from Agricultural Minister Terry Redman and the Member for Perth, John Hyde, there is only a limited understanding about our northern neighbour.

Even more worrying is that within Indonesia, despite their president’s genuine affection for Australia, his ministers now seem happier travelling to - and building relations with – countries to its north rather than Australia.

One positive achievement was at the East-Asia Summit held in Bali in late 2011, where Australia and Indonesia agreed to proceed on the ANZFTA (Free Trade Agreement) that according to Trade Minister, Craig Emerson, “will further strengthen our joint trade relations”. Business relations whist ‘under done’ are warm, but that is only part of the bigger picture facing our two countries.

Indonesia is at a crossroad in its emergence as an effective democracy and a major international force. Fourteen years ago Australia looked warily north as Indonesia teetered on the brink of political and economic implosion following the collapse of the Suharto regime. They have since established a vibrant democracy and stable government throughout most of Indonesia; something that should not be lost on our new foreign minister.

If Australians have been worried about domestic ‘leadership issues’ recently, then perhaps they should also look north to Indonesia where the presidency of the internationally popular Dr. Yudhoyono is in trouble. The president’s party (Party Democrat) is suffering from a dramatic slump in the polls and Dr. Yudhoyono’s own popularity is at an all time low, falling from 61% to just 42% as corruption issues threaten to swamp his final two years in office.

With 30 million people still living in poverty, the challenges for Indonesia, and implications for Australia, are profound. Australia can and needs to play a key role in addressing many of these issues. Not as an interfering neighbour, but as a close friend an ally who can use its advanced nation status to genuinely make a difference to the lives of Indonesia’s people, whilst also benefiting ourselves from the resulting business opportunities and continued political stability in our own backyard.

A new trade agreement is a good start but what neither country needs are distractions caused by thoughtless policies and actions by our political leaders on both sides of parliament.

 In any relationship of course – and particularly between two countries with such diverse cultures – ‘bumps’ will inevitably occur.

What will really count however, is how committed the new foreign minister will be in developing a seriously close relationship with Indonesia. And also how effectively his government deals with these ‘bumps’ as they occur, to ensure we are not distracted from the ‘big picture’ opportunities and challenges facing our two countries as we support – and benefit from - our neighbour’s transition to a major regional and world power.

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