Australia’s image in Asia.
AUSTRALIA’S IMAGE IN ASIAIn 1788, the first migrants arrived in Australia. The Europeans thought Australia was empty, but discovered that it was inhabited by Aboriginals. The British thought that the natives were uncivilised and colonised Australia under the term “Terra Nullias” meaning uninhabited land.Since Europe was mostly or all white, and Australia was governed by Britain, most of the migrants were white. The whites also had all the rights and controlled all forms of structure in the society, and to ensure that this continued the government established a “White Australia” policy. Only peoples from the British Isles were accepted as worthy migrants.During World War 11, Australia became very vulnerable with the threat of being attacked by Japan. We must “Populate or Perish” was the thought of the era, as the threat of invasion from the more populated areas of Asia seemed real to Australians of the time. To increase its population Australia increased its industrial development to attract people and a mass migration became the result. This time other Europeans such as the Dutch, Italians and Greeks were included, but no Asians.The unforgettable lines stated by an Immigration minister, “Two wongs do not make a white” say everything about the attitude of the government at the time. By the 1960’s immigration and human rights reform groups were very active and a revolutionary change was taking place. At long last the indigenous people of Australia were recognised as citizens of the country that they had occupied for 40,000 years and finally both the major political parties in Australia abandoned the racist immigration policy.Thus by 1995, 38% of migrants arriving in Australia had been born in an Asian country, although this dropped from the peak of 51% in 1991. 15% were born in South East Asia including 5%
from Vietnam. Australia has an incredible sense of space to people living in densely populated Asian cities. We also have a very high standard of living to offer to our citizens.HUMAN RIGHTS Not all people in the world enjoy full human rights. Human rights are a luxury enjoyed by wealthy countries which have stable governments. In many Asian countries people are suffering due to corrupt governments, wars, discrimination, famine, disease and poverty. In some Asian countries human rights policies are violated every day and these prove to be a constant source of difficulty for our foreign affairs office as our ...
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from Vietnam. Australia has an incredible sense of space to people living in densely populated Asian cities. We also have a very high standard of living to offer to our citizens.HUMAN RIGHTS Not all people in the world enjoy full human rights. Human rights are a luxury enjoyed by wealthy countries which have stable governments. In many Asian countries people are suffering due to corrupt governments, wars, discrimination, famine, disease and poverty. In some Asian countries human rights policies are violated every day and these prove to be a constant source of difficulty for our foreign affairs office as our objection to the lack of human rights in these countries often effects our relations with these countries. Massacres have been described in political terms as “incidents”. Torture and jailing for lack of religious and political freedom have been described by our government as cultural differences. When Indonesia invaded East Timor the Australian government which had remained very complacent could not stand by any longer and sent our own troops to the region to support the United Nations peace-keeping presence and the East Timorese people. This however caused a major rift with our most densely populated neighbour Indonesia. Even in Australia human rights are being violated. During 1999, 1700 illegal immigrants arrived and were held in detention centres in Northern Australia. Many were illegal immigrants who arrived by boat, mainly from Asia. However the illegal immigrants who came through airports or overstayed their visas, mostly from The United States or Britain, were not detained. Does the view of poorer, less attractive people influence the punishment we deal out. If these refugees were wealthy and attractive would or does our view change? The United church labels the automatic detention for “boat people” as racist. But John Howard rejects this assertion even though most people think it is unfair. In the “Children Overboard” incident the government knew that refugees were not throwing their children overboard but they tried to keep the lie going to ensure that their unfair, unpopular policy would not effect their chances in the upcoming elections. ASIA AND AusAIDThe Australian Government’s overseas aid program reaches more than 58 million people living in poverty around the world, with most of its activities taking place in the Asia-Pacific region.Papua New Guinea receives the largest share at $325 million, the South Pacific receives $112.2 million, South East Asia receives $252 million, North Asia, South Asia and Africa receive $124.3 million, Bangladesh- $18.3 million, India-$20.6 million, and Pakistan-$3.1 million(all 1995 figures). In 2003-2004 Australia will provide $1.894 billion worth of official development assistance. This is an increase of $79 million on the 2002-2003 budget figure. Below is a list of some of the development and humanitarian projects undertaken with Australian Government aid funds in Asian countries in the last few years.*BANGLADESH-Australia provided Australian wheat to more than 50 000 extremely poor women and their families. Training was also given in basic skills such as literacy and numeracy.*INDIA-Australian aid helped reduce atmospheric pollution from a major steel works, reducing health risks for more than 51 000 people.*CAMBODIA-Australian aid provided assistance for the building and operating of 15 health centres, training staff and promoting community participation. *INDONESIA-Last year 1.3 million children were immunised against polio and 328 midwives trained in basic delivery care.*VIETNAM-Australian aid improved primary health care assisting more than 1.5 million people and refurbished district and commune health centres.TRADING WITH ASIA China is now Australia’s third largest trading partner, after the United States and our other Asian neighbour, Japan. Trade between our two countries has been growing at an phenomenal rate. Between 1995 and 2001 total Australian exports to China grew at an average annual rate of 16 per cent. Last financial year total trade in goods and services between our two countries reached more than $19 billion. The massive north west shelf liquid natural gas project is estimated to be worth up to $25 billion to Australia over the next 25 years, and there should be many more such projects in the future.No-one doubts the importance of China, not just within the Asia-Pacific region but also on a global stage. A few basic facts tell the tale. China’s economies massive. Last year its GDP reached $1.6 trillion and of its current average annual growth rate of 7.5 per cent is sustained. By 2020 it is likely to be the world’s single largest economy.While there are serious challenges confronting China in maintaining its pace of economic development, it is already a very significant trading partner for Australia. Australia is a major supplier of raw materials, particularly iron ore, crude oil, copper and wool. China needs to fuel its expanding economy and to provide the foodstuffs that its citizens want. For its part China is a major supplier of manufactured goods including clothing, footwear, electrical appliances and equipment to the Australian people. TOURISM Tourism is developing as a very large industry in Australia. In 1995, 3.5 million people visited Australia for a period of less than 12 months. Of this figure, 1.4 million Asian residents visited Australia for a short term. Australia has become a playground for Asian tourists, with many industries catering particularly to this market, and in particular the Japanese people. This is a huge source of revenue for Australian business and has helped break down cultural barriers.THE FUTUREAs a nation we are historically steeped in the culture and traditions of the West, but geographically we are part of the Asia-Pacific. Though we have strong economic, political and cultural links with countries across the globe, Asia is integral to our future security and prosperity. It currently takes 53% of our merchandise exports and is rapidly emerging as a major market for our services. There is also great scope for encouraging personal and informal ties through sporting events(My uncle, John Cooper trained the South Korean Equestrian team for the Pan-Pacific Games held last year, where they were placed second to Japan.), cultural exchanges, family ties and educational links. Asia holds enormous potential for economic growth, and Australia is uniquely placed to be part of that future.However, it seems that Asia and Australia may have “different visions of the future of Asia and our place in it”, as stated by former Prime Minister, Paul Keating in his autobiography. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has made his position clear that Australia is not part of Asia and he is opposed to our participation in the region. This was also a view held by Indonesia during the East Timor crisis.Apart from this Australia has relatively strong relations with Cambodia, China and Vietnam, partly because of our role in assisting these countries to break their international isolation. Japan, South Korea and Taiwan have developed strong economic ties with Australia and there is subsequent Japanese investment in Australia, especially in the mining industry. Singapore has perhaps the warmest relations with Canberra. It has military exchanges with Australia and the two countries are negotiating a free trade agreement.Perhaps the most logical view of Australia’s image in Asia was expressed by an Australian diplomat when he said,”Australia is not part of Asia, it’s a Pacfic neighbour. We do want to strengthen our engagement in the region. It’s a long-term stategy and it is in our long term interest to do so.”
