Time to act on Australians abroad

The release today of the Senate Report into Australia’s Expatriates will be the third major report released into the country’s diaspora in the past two years.

No doubt the Senate’s report will detail similar findings to the two previous reports, but it needs to go much further and Australian governments - federal and state - now need to act to capitalise on the common conclusions these studies have found.

In 2003 a CEDA Report (pdf file 1.06MB), Australia’s Diaspora: It’s Size, Nature and Policy Implications, presented a strong argument that the large number of Australians living and working abroad is an economic and cultural asset and thought should be given to policies to make the most of the opportunity it presents.

The Lowy Institute’s, Diaspora - The World Wide Web of Australians, found the number of Australians living abroad on a permanent basis was over 850,000 and were, in the main, prosperous, well educated, well connected and well disposed to Australia. It went further and found members of Australia’s diaspora are of particular value as they often are at the pinnacle of their careers in significant international positions or highly skilled professionals.

The Lowy paper found, rather than being a “brain drain” as often claimed, Australians abroad can and do contribute to Australia by influencing trade, investment and philanthropic flows while connecting local organisations to international developments and opportunities.

Critically, both these reports have encouraged governments and institutions to engage more fully with Australia’s diaspora to maximise the benefits they present both here and abroad.

Those of us now living and working abroad are looking to the senate report to deliver concrete recommendations to ensure our skills, experience, networks and influence can be greater used to Australia’s benefit.

More importantly, we will be looking to Australian governments at all levels to implement effective strategies to use us - "Australia’s Ambassadors Abroad" - to improve the nation’s trade, investment, tourism and cultural development overseas and at home.

In a relatively short period of time one organisation has achieved considerable success in attempting to do just that.

Advance - Australian Professionals in America was established in 2002 and now is a network of more than 4,500 leading Australian professionals in the United States using their knowledge, expertise, influence and connections to promote Australia and assist Australian companies, institutions and individuals in their international endeavours.  It also partners with Australian government agencies abroad to promote Australia as destination for investment, tourism, trade and a place to live and work.

By engaging eminent Australians in the US it has created links with Australia in business, arts and culture, science, research and public affairs. Advance’s members clearly recognise and value their role as "ambassadors" for Australian interests in the US.

It provides the clearest demonstration of how the nation’s diaspora should and can be used to advance Australia.

The organisation, largely run by volunteers and corporate donations, has held more than 150 events across the United States and has provided services to Austrade, Invest Australia, Tourism Australia, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, several Australian universities and research institutes and Australian state governments.

Among a broad range of programs some of the more successful activities have included: forming a network of more than 400 scientists and researchers of Australian origin in the US to stimulate research collaboration with Australian institutions; bringing together 20 Australian Professors in Harvard and MIT to work on identifying ways to harness this asset and create benefits for Australia; and establishing professional networks across a range of sectors, including academic, media arts and entertainment, entrepreneurs and investors, financial services, hospitality and tourism, life sciences, property services, technology and public interest.

Advance, like more than 660 other individuals or organisations, made a detailed submission to the Senate Inquiry into Australian expatriates to outline our approach, activities and successes.

But most importantly, we sought to demonstrate and recommend the next course of action that needs to be taken to engage Australians abroad.

Specifically, governments at all levels in Australia need to adopt policies and programs that:

• make better use of Australians abroad by encouraging and using them as ambassadors for Australian business, scientific and cultural interests, trade development;
• encourage Australians abroad to contribute to Australia’s economic, social and cultural development through participating in formalised networks, partnerships and programs;
• ensure Australia remains an attractive destination for the world’s professionals;
• encourage Australian professionals working abroad to return home and remove obstacles to their return;
• establish an annual dialogue between expatriate business leaders and senior political and business figures in Australia;
• improve communication with Australians leaving the country;
• support established networks of Australians abroad to provide mentoring, professional development and promotional activities; and 
• work to change negative perceptions of Australians abroad through recognising the ambassadorial roles they play and celebrating the achievements of Australians living and working abroad. 

The Australian Government would do well to learn from, and act on, the recent reports and inquiries and from our experience.