Wouldn’t it be ironic if Donald Trump made us see sense.
In a foreign-policy way.
It has been said before – but it seems we need to say it again – Australia is in desperate need of a Foreign Policy Rethink. But perhaps now, with our closest ally in the grip of a chaotic and corrupt regime, we will be forced to step up to the plate and actually do it. So maybe Trump can be put to good use after all?
It not just cutting the cord with traditional allies, the UK and the US, that warrants attention, it is getting real about the region we live in. The last Census (2021) told us that an increasing number of our citizens come from Asia (17 per cent) and a rapidly declining proportion from Anglo-Celtic nations (51 per cent). So it is not just where we live but who we are.
For years, P&I has been prosecuting the case for a more clear-eyed foreign policy that acknowledges the reality of our geography, who we trade with, and who live with – a foreign policy pays homage to our historical alliances, but does not mythologise them. Australian foreign policy should serve our national interest and that looks to the future not the past. And as a big part of that geographical acknowledgement we need to properly reckon with China.
What really strikes me about China is how little we know about our biggest two-way trading partner. Mainstream media coverage is scant, or worse, typified by a kind of anti-China panic.
It has been 54 years since Gough Whitlam established diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic. We should have made more progress over half a century.
And then there is climate change, the factor that changes everything and needs to be a central strut of any rethink of our relations and alliances in the world.
All this and more is being addressed in our major Foreign Policy Rethink series – which continues this week with contributions from former DFAT Secretary Peter Varghese and political scientist Joe Camilleri.
For my best bit for the week I could not resist Bruce Springsteen – who continues his barnstorming tour of the US, sticking it to the “treasonous administration”. Every night the boss stands astride the stage, his outline etched in light from above, and delivers his call to, “choose hope over fear, democracy over authoritarianism, resistance over complacency, unity over division and peace over war”. Then he launches into the famous Motown banger War (what is it good for).
A tedious cynic told me that this kind of protest does nothing. I don’t believe that. Conservative politicians from Reagan to Trump have tried to co-opt Springsteen’s anthem Born in the USA. They know he speaks to the heart of the nation, to the very people Trump has misled and betrayed. They should be afraid. Popular culture is a mighty force and here you see it in full flight. It is worth taking the time to watch and listen in full Springsteen in Minneapolis.
If you haven’t subscribed for a daily or weekly newsletter you can do so here for free. We are utterly independent, with no corporate or government funding, and no ads, so please also consider supporting our work with a donation.
Catriona Jackson is the Chief Executive and Editor of Pearls and Irritations.