July 15, 2002
Australia's future is in Asia, not US - Keating
Previous Australian PM Paul Keating has always talked sense, if somewhat abrasively. Yesterday at the Rat's old alma mater Curtin University, Keating sketched a view of Australia in the world which has gone walkabout since the Howard Anglo Saxon US-centric world-view has gained currency in an increasingly isolated Australia. One of the downsides of the Howard-led center-right administration has been a knee-jerk move back to Europe and the US as security alignments for a geographically isolated Australia. As comfortable as that may be for many Australians, Keating has been consistent over decades that the reality is that Australia's security and economy lies in Asia. Note today's report from The West Australian. Delivering this year's John Curtin memorial lecture at Curtin University, Mr Keating said the US falsely believed it could exist like a "gated community behind the golden padlock of national missile defence". It thought it had the military to "strike at offenders in a Mad Max world left outside". "But that will not secure its people and it will certainly not secure us," he said. Mr Keating said American links should be preserved but the US had to be shown that unilateralism was not a satisfactory world model. "Does President Bush's rhetoric speak to us?" he asked. "I don't think so. "And if it does not speak to us, how can it speak to other great cultures - China, India, Africa? What can it say to them? "Not since the Roman Empire have we seen one country so dominate the world as the United States does now." Mr Keating split Australians into four main groups. The first had Hansonites at the extreme end and wanted to isolate the economy and society from the outside world. The second group, which wanted to internationalise social issues but nationalise the economy, included anti-globalisation demonstrators and elements of the Democrats and the Greens. He said the Howard Government and parts of the Business Council of Australia belonged to the third group, which wanted to internationalise the economy but refused to let international bodies have a say in Australia's social policies. Mr Keating said he was a member of the fourth group, which believed in economic openness, social inclusiveness and engagement with the outside world. "And we are going to need all of that because the world we are entering looks increasingly dangerous," he said. That was why Australia's security and prosperity would best be found and negotiated in Asia and the Pacific. Good sense, delivered at a critical time... |
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I do not agree with this view. I believe that if we are to place hope in a particular country for the future, it should be the US. Doesn't it make more sense to allign ourselves with a country that shares the same culture and beliefs as us? The fact that so much of 'Americal culture' has come to Australia over the years, despite the geographical distance between the two countries, is testament to how much we, as Australian's, value that culture.
Posted by: Hannah on April 21, 2003 10:35 AMThe Australian identity is now that of the US. We have placed too much of our culture, trade, business, and security in their hands, is it sensible to put all our eggs in one basket? The fact that Australia is becoming America is not a good thing, it's scary. We need to be more multicultural in our trade and business dealings, as one day America may fall, and if so, so will Australia. There is a world of oppertunity out there, why become so loyal to just one country when we can be so much more. And to say lets "allign ourselves with a country that shares the same culture and beliefs as us" is somewhat racist. We should be expieriencing all sorts of cultures and beliefs. Let's find the real Australian identity, not America's
Posted by: courtney on October 12, 2003 11:36 AM