Added: Mar 9, 2010

From: ddchalmers

Duration: 2:14

The relationship with Indonesia is one of Australias most important but it is still not on a firm footing, argues Fergus Hanson. Government-to-government ties have been strengthening but relations are focused around a mostly negative set of security-related issues. Business-to-business links are underdone and public perceptions are in a poor state. Even incremental improvements will be hard to make without dramatic leadership gestures to provide a much needed jolt to the relationship..... Indonesia and Australia: time for a step change http://www.apo.org.au/research/indonesia-and-australia-time-step-change http://www.lowyinstitute.org/Publication.asp?pid=1245 Stalled Australia-Indonesia ties need new economic life SYDNEY - Australia-Indonesia ties have stagnated, focusing on negative perceptions and issues such as terrorism and people smuggling, says new report released on Monday on the eve of a visit by Indonesia's president. The report calls for 'dramatic leadership gestures' to jolt the relationship into life, such as a multi-decade economic vision linking Australia with Southeast Asia's biggest economy and an Australian-funded education plan for Indonesia. 'Mutual public distrust and stereotypes are so entrenched that dramatic leadership gestures are needed to produce a step-increase in relations,' said the report by the Lowy Institute for International Policy in Sydney. 'Without significant incentives to drive closer ties, one of Australia's most important relationships will continue to stagnate,' it said. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono arrives on Tuesday for a three day visit during which people smuggling, counter-terrorism and climate change will dominate talks. Relations between Canberra and Jakarta became frosty in late 2009 over a standoff on how to handle asylum seekers, with the Indonesian president postponing a trip to Australia. Australia and Indonesia have forged close security ties following the 2002 Bali bombings, which killed 88 Australians, but an issue which could again see ties nosedive is the fact that three Australians in Bali are on death row for drug smuggling. The Lowy report titled 'Indonesia and Australia: Time for a Step Change' calls for a broader, economic-focused relationship, citing Indonesia's growing economic significance..... http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sub/latest/story/0,4574,375683,00.html Australia-Indonesia relationship needs big ideas http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2010/s2839076.htm?site=centralvic The Lowy Institutes latest paper (Indonesia and Australia: time for a step change) on Australian Indonesian relations describes the relationship as being not on a firm footing It says that although Government-to-government ties have been strengthening Australian Indonesian relations http://pacific.scoop.co.nz/2010/03/australian-indonesian-relations/

Channel: News

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