Australia betrayed

Even if the processes of change remain slow and cautious, the frameworks guiding that change have already been put in place. Australia is not well positioned. Under Whitlam, Fraser, Hawke, Keating and even Howard and until the election of the Rudd Government in 2007, Australian diplomacy, although under increasing strain and losing ground, had preserved some credibility for Australia's standing in the region. The arrogance and insensitivity of the Rudd government, led by a credible Mandarin speaker with, however, no feeling for Asian culture or Asian politics, was the kiss of death.

The Gillard Government is even worse, making loyalty to it almost a betrayal of the nation. It is led by a politician with an openly professed disinterest in international affairs who has made only token gestures at exercising responsibility in foreign affairs. Moreover, Gillard is cursed by the need to give free reign in the area to a self-promoting, embittered rival. Her government has overseen the changes touched on above with benign ignorance and negligence. It has further discredited Australia in the region with petty but insulting misjudgements on marginal issues, such as refugees and cattle exports.

The seriousness of the above trends has been highlighted by the publication of Henry Kissinger's recent book, On China, in which he draws attention to the epochal events unfolding around the rise of China. Discreetly, as one would expect, he draws historical parallels to foreshadow the challenges posed. Even so, one might question whether he outlines the full extent of the emerging challenges and the degree to which US financial and military disarray has already foregone most options. Moreover, whether it is ballistic missiles, a capacity to destroy communication satellites, stealth fighters, supercomputers or some other seemingly improbable technological advance, China has displayed the ability to catch US observers off-guard with its rapid progress in critical areas. As Kissinger hints, the US has little option but co-evolution, where the pre-eminent evolution is China's "peaceful rise".

In reality, none of China's advance should surprise. Its high school students regularly work from 7.30 in the morning to 9.00 in the evening and graduate from school several years ahead of most foreign counterparts. Then China graduates more students from university annually than the US and India combined, with an emphasis on science, technology and engineering. Many outstanding students in the world's best universities are also Chinese, who eventually return home. No other nation can compete quantitavely or qualitatively and it is difficult to see the US maintaining any equivalence with Chinese technology. Yet, Australian ignorance is such that the Rudd Government Defence White Paper outlined aspirations to take on Chinese military technology more than a decade into the future.

The continued Australian commitment to Afghanistan, even after the US has foreshadowed its own drawdown and ultimate deference to the influence of others in Eurasia, reflects widespread Australian ignorance and wrong-headedness. This is only likely to alienate those we will need as friends in future. Even those like Andrew Wilkie, who made a stand of principle over Iraq where there were no Australian combat deaths, seems to see no anomaly in supporting the continuation of a conflict of dubious legitimacy, which has so far seen the loss of 28 Australian lives and which is unlikely to restore US wealth or capacity or endear Australians to people whose lives have been devastated.

Indifference to global developments and the ineptness of national leaders can extract a high price. In a world where humans are addicted to ever increasing consumption of energy and are totally confused about the means of obtaining it in ways that do not spoil their environment and quality of life, the carbon tax debate is no more than a political confidence trick to cling to personal power.

Australia's political ineptness is apparent in the inaction of the various individuals who could bring this betrayal to an end. The carbon tax promises to be no more effective than the extravagant "Building the Education Revolution" (BER). This has left uncorrected something like fifty percent illiteracy and innumeracy in the Australian workforce and has only gone backward on measures to develop any semblance of Asia literacy. Lee Kuan Yew's forgotten warning of Australians as the "poor white trash of Asia", easily subjugated by better educated and more energetic neighbours, threatens even in the midst of our commodities boom.