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A lost opportunity on Asia

By Julie Bishop - posted Thursday, 1 November 2012


The Government's current agenda undermines the credibility of the report.

Further, there was also a not very subtle attempt to use the White Paper as a vehicle to justify the government's current policy agenda.

Included in the White Paper was a grab-bag of domestic policies with tenuous links drawn to developments in Asia.

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It was as if the Labor spin doctors had hijacked the original exercise and turned it into an exercise of self-congratulations, as it contended that to prepare Australia for the Asian Century all the Government needed to do was continue with its current policies.

That aspect of the report seemed more likely to be the work of the army of spin doctors employed by Labor rather than former Treasury head Ken Henry.

While there are relatively superficial discussions about issues such as demographic trends, there is little critical analysis of the implications.

For example, China faces a demographic time-bomb due to its one-child policy.

Population ageing in China will take just a few decades compared with the same impact on other nations that has taken over 200 years.

This is forecast to put enormous pressure on productivity, the healthcare system and social support structures in China.

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Japan's population ageing is occurring at a slower pace than in China but it is also bringing a range of pressures to that country, partly due to its low levels of immigration.

With China and Japan as our two largest trading partners this demographic issue will also have serious implications for Australia's future prosperity.

The White Paper also fails to deal with the damage to relations caused by this Government's handling of issues such as border protection, live cattle exports, foreign investment and increasing union militancy, among others.

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About the Author

Julie Bishop is the Federal Member for Curtin, Deputy Leader of the Opposition and Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs.

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