Perspectives on Australian foreign policy, 2004

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Notes

1. For reading and commenting on an earlier version of this paper, I'm grateful to Katrina Lee Koo, Helen Spurling and Paul Williams.

2. This phrase is taken from a promotional pamphlet issued by the Australian Embassy in Washington.

3. Estimates of civilian casualties in Iraq from the point of intervention to the end of 2004 ranged from 15,000 (based on confirmed press accounts) to 100,000 (as published in the British scientific journal, Lancet). See Economist (2004a)

4. Although it could be argued that while the issues contested at the two elections were markedly different, 2001 and 2004 witnessed similar dynamics of fear. The Economist (2004b), for example, argued that the paranoia sowed by the government regarding the threat posed by asylum-seekers in 2001 was replaced in 2004 by the attempt to raise the spectre of increasing interest rates and therefore mortgage repayments under a less fiscally dependable Labor Party.

5. The government's ‘divide and rule’, approach to policy debate in this context was arguably a tried and tested approach on their part, having been evident in the wording of the referendum question as to whether Australia should become a Republic in 1999.

6. As Singer (2004) notes, under Howard Australia's aid to Sub-Saharan Africa had been halved, while the size of its aid program generally has declined as a percentage of its GDP since Howard came to power.

7. This conception of Indonesia has some resonance with the broader Australian public. In a national survey, for example, Australians identified Indonesia as the most significant security threat to Australia (Sydney Morning Herald 2004f).

8. This argument makes little sense, and bears resemblance to the logic of some of the government's arguments about the Kyoto Protocol. If having no real effect, then there would almost necessarily be little cost associated with signing on to the agreement but plenty to gain given how important the issue seemed to be for a number of ASEAN states. To the extent that anything can be read into such an argument, it may be that it serves to illustrate a continued scepticism towards multi-lateralism on the part of the government.

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Notes on contributors

Matt McDonald 1

1. For reading and commenting on an earlier version of this paper, I'm grateful to Katrina Lee Koo, Helen Spurling and Paul Williams.