AUSTRALIA 2020 SUMMIT OUTCOMES
Australia's future security and prosperity in a rapidly changing region and world
The main focus of the outcomes of this stream was on creating programs which would draw Australia into closer contact with its key trading partners China, Japan, India and the US, including the creation of four high-level study institutes covering these four key partners, and the establishment of an Australia-Japan Regional Peacekeeping Centre.
The main suggestions were an increased focus on regional literacy and language programs so that Australians could develop a better understanding of our closest neighbours and trading partners. This included more focus on recruiting foreign language teachers, and linking young Australians with the region through student exchange programs. Closer political and economic integration with the Pacific is also on the cards through resource partnerships, increased labour mobility, and the creation of a confederation linking Australia with our smaller island neighbours.
On a grander scale, the group suggested the establishment of a regional energy security forum and regular reporting on the state of the US-Australian alliance every three years.
Delegates in this group also called for:
- a reaffirmation of our commitment to working in international institutions and to the international rule of law
- a properly resourced nuclear disarmament diplomacy
- deeper institutional engagement to nation and peace building
- the establishment of a broader concept of security which accounts for the challenges posed by climate change
Are these really an appropriate response to the security challenges facing Australia? Did the threat of terrorism disappear with the Howard government?
To read pre-Summit submissions by Open Forum participants, click here.
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Comments
Australia 2020 Summit: A chance to continue the conversation
I felt honoured to be part of the 2020 Summit in Canberra. The opportunity to share ideas with such a diverse array of people from all walks of life on critical issues affecting our nation was fantastic. My only regret is that the time we had to actually put ideas onto the table was very limited and the opportunity to actually explore those ideas in a meaningful way was virtually non-existent.
I think the organisers and facilitators did a great job under considerable pressure to identify key ideas emerging from each of the streams in the limited time available and I was pleasantly surprised at the wrap up session on the second day that some really innovative ideas had been generated. Prior to attending the summit I held the view that the best we could hope for was to create opportunities for further discussion and I sense that will occur.
I would like to see summits such as this occur on a more regular basis and would also be supportive of a summit which extended beyond our own shores and perhaps included our near neighbours. In particular I think this would be useful given the level of discussions around our aid programs and nation building efforts in the region. We could easily fall into the trap of making decisions based upon what we think is best for our neighbours rather than actually involving them in setting expectations of the relationship.
The summit stream I attended focussed on Australia's security and future prosperity.
The stream covered an extraordinary breadth of subject matter and in some ways made it very difficult to isolate and spend time on key aspects. Discussion ranged across issues such as our trade relationships, the emergence of China and India as global superpowers, our regional nation building efforts, building global intelligence into our future generations through language and cultural training, conventional defence and security, regional labour markets, our resource platforms etc.
Much of my own working life has been spent in community policing and broader law enforcement so part of my perspective for the stream involved the concept of secure communities contributing to a secure Australia. I was keen to see the development of some form of policing and law enforcement ‘white paper' in the same way as we see defence white papers prepared from time to time. The reality is that there has been a coalescence of the national security and the law enforcement threats whether they be issues such as terrorism, border protection, people smuggling, transnational crime etc and these issues are better addressed in a holistic way.
I am pleased that the stream identified the issue of emerging threats as being critical and suggested a specific forum to advice government on these issues.
Australia's Future in the world
Whether we have a future or awoorld to have it in by 2020 depends on reversing climate change. The evidence tells us that without dramatic change to our economic base we could reach the point where global warming becomes irreversible by 2010.
Global warming is a direct result of neoliberal economic policies - the free market where profit is the driving force. Anything and any action that makes a profit is good and the bigger the profit the better. the market must grow and growth becomes a measure of success. For the market to grow consumption must grow so the worlds limited natural resources get gobbled up and enormous amounts of toxic waste and carbon dioxide are produced.
Converting to non-carbon energy sources is a help, but unless we convert our economy to a people before profit one we are condemning our country to early death from galloping consumption.
Rod Anderson