Long reads
G20: An essential element in Australia's international economic diplomacy (Part 2)
Part 1 of this post examined the basic business case for Australia's involvement with the G20.
18 Nov 2016 13:05
Trump: An unimaginable president
Even with the precedent of Brexit (similar in terms of the political forces involved and the level of shock the result produced), it is forgivable that most analysts of US politics failed to see a Donald Trump presidency as the most likely result on 8 November. Absent the ability to personally...
18 Nov 2016 9:42
The switch to renewables: Lessons from small islands
Those actively pushing for a future where renewables take over electricity generation often point to island grids such as El Hierro in the Spanish Canary Islands, Kodiak Island in Alaska, and King Island in Australia’s Bass Strait. On those islands and others, renewables have proved a...
17 Nov 2016 15:23
Economic diplomacy brief: Trade after Trump, business pressures, Unbanked in Asia and more
Regional trade talks step up
Donald Trump’s election victory has turned regional trade negotiations upside-down, presenting US officials with an exquisite dilemma at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group meetings in Peru: they can stand by and see China take the running on the decade-...
17 Nov 2016 12:50
Trump’s foreign policy: America First, not America Only
My last piece responded to Kaplan and Walt to explain why Trump is a Nixon-Kissinger realist. This post, part one of two-part series, explores what Trump will seek to achieve in foreign policy more broadly. Part two will focus on how this relates to matters of importance to Australia: trade, China...
17 Nov 2016 10:41
The Trump ascendency and the end of ANZUS bipartisanship
Michael Fullilove is right to argue that ANZUS is bigger than any one individual, even when that person happens to be the US president.
However, Trump's election has already affected the way Australian political leaders think about the alliance. Their disparate responses suggest that we...
17 Nov 2016 8:54
Rebuilding trust in governments
Last week, I was on a panel at a conference for the Public Service on 'Thinking Big', run by the Institute of Public Administration. With other panellists, including Frances Adamson (secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade), we talked about the challenges facing the public sector,...