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28 Jul 2010  -  Publication
How do we know when we are at war?
In this Lowy Institute perspective, former Australian Chief of Army Peter Leahy argues that Australia needs greater civilian engagement if it is to have a chance of prevailing in counter-insurgency warfare. His recommendations include parliamentary ratification of military deployments and a reset of military-media relations, including the appointment of an ombudsman to improve responsible media access to operational information.




28 Jul 2010  -  Publication
Wednesday Lunch at Lowy - Panel presentations
The 41st Pacific Island Forum leaders meeting will be held in Port Vila from 4 August 2010. Australia is the outgoing chair of the Forum.

In the lead up to the meeting the Lowy Institute convened a panel of diverse Pacific commentators and experts from government and non-government sectors to discuss key issues of importance for the Pacific at the Wednesday Lunch at Lowy on 28 July.

Their presentations can be heard here:
The Pacific: back on the Australian Government's agenda? - MP3 (25MB)


26 Jul 2010  -  Publication
Distinguished Speaker Series - Richard McGregor
Over the last thirty years, China has emerged as a major political and economic power on the international stage, and the pace of this growth has been astonishing. Though China's presence in the global arena continues to grow rapidly, the most remarkable part of this country's transformation has been largely left untold – the central role of the Chinese Communist Party. In THE PARTY: The Secret World of China's Communist Rulers former Financial Times China bureau chief Richard McGregor delves into the hidden world of the Communist Party, revealing how this ruling organisation works and how it has contributed to China's rise as a global superpower and rival to the United States.

His presentation can be heard here:
THE PARTY: The Secret World of China's Communist Rulers - MP3 (21MB)



16 Jul 2010  -  Publication
Distinguished Speaker Series - Senator John Faulkner presentation
On Friday 16 July, Australia's Defence Minister, Senator John Faulkner, spoke at the Lowy Institute to discuss Australia's commitment and contribution to the ISAF effort in Afghanistan, in the context of Australian strategic objectives, operational developments and the challenge of capacity building.

His presentation can be heard here:
Afghanistan - Australia's commitment - MP3 (23MB)


16 Jul 2010  -  Publication
A new mind-set for exchange rates
Lowy Institute Visiting Fellow Stephen Grenville has published an article entitled 'A new mind-set for exchange rates' in the first issue for 2010 of Agenda: A Journal of Policy Analysis and Reform (Volume 17 - Issue 1).

The article is available at: http://epress.anu.edu.au/agenda/017/pdf/mindset.pdf



15 Jul 2010  -  Publication
Food for Thought - Michael Wesley presentation
Mineral resources play a role in international affairs that far outweighs the attention paid to the sector by policy makers and strategic thinkers. Modern societies are becoming ever more dependent on mineral resources but increasingly less self-sufficient in their production, making access to stable and reasonably priced resources central to their functioning. And yet there is little awareness of the general dynamics, trends and forces governing the global production and trade in strategic resources. Developing such an awareness is particularly important for Australians, given our continent’s rich endowment in many of the resources that the global economy needs.

Watch a video of this presentation by clicking the photo above.


14 Jul 2010  -  Publication
Wednesday Lunch at Lowy - Philip Eliason presentation
Yemen's growing internal crises and linkages to international terrorism have captured the attention of the international community. Yemen's position at the crossroads of international trade and in a region already bedevilled by piracy and instability are further reasons to be interested in that country's future trajectory. On 14 July the Wednesday Lowy Lunch Club heard Philip Eliason speak about Yemen's internal developments and its role as a fulcrum in a regional arc of crisis.

His presentation can be heard here:
Yemen: Fulcrum in an arc of crisis - MP3 (22MB)


7 Jul 2010  -  Publication
Confronting the Crisis of International Climate Policy
Copenhagen failed to produce an agreement on climate change commensurate with the scale of the problem, highlighting the fundamental weaknesses in the existing UN framework. Progress on a new agreement is agonisingly slow. Weightier commitments by the major emitters are necessary, but calls for ‘greater ambition’ ignore the structural problems embedded in the institutions, processes and policy models of the UN climate regime.

This study proposes an international framework based on carbon prices rather than emissions targets. Under a price-based international framework, countries would undertake to implement specified actions and policies. Those policies should then be converted into an internationally standardised form of economy wide ‘carbon price equivalent’, with each country pledging/negotiating to implement a starting carbon price equivalent policy along with a schedule of real annual price increases.




7 Jul 2010  -  Publication
Wednesday Lunch at Lowy - Green, McKibbin & Picker presentation
After an extraordinary build-up, the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference spectacularly failed to produce an international response commensurate with the scale of the climate change issue - and there seems little prospect of an agreement in the near term. This Wednesday Lowy Lunch launched a new Lowy Policy Brief that charts an alternative course for delivering an international agreement on climate change that will commence genuine reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

Their presentation can be heard here:
Confronting the crisis of international climate policy - MP3 (21MB)

The publication can be downloaded here:

Publication download


6 Jul 2010  -  Publication
Moving Australia forward
At the Lowy Institute on Tuesday 6 July, the Prime Minister of Australia, the Hon. Julia Gillard, gave her first major policy speech as prime minister.

Her presentation can be heard here:
Moving Australia forward - MP3 (13MB)

Her speech is also available for download.



5 Jul 2010  -  Publication
Sino-American relations: the state of play
For the first time in 20 years, the relationship with China played almost no part in the American Presidential election of 2008. President Obama has forged a low-key, pragmatic relationship with Beijing, but has not seen much success in building a workable "G2" that so many have called for. China kept Obama's visit to Washington in late 2009 deliberately low-key, and has refused to co-operate on the value of its currency, pressuring North Korea and Iran, or acting on global warming. Recently Washington has angered Beijing over Obama's meeting with the Dalai Lama and selling arms to Taiwan. Suisheng Zhao, one of the world pre-eminent watchers of the Sino-American relationship, explored the thinking underpinning the current relationship, and the dynamics driving the evolution of the relationship.

The conversation can be heard here:
Sino-American relations - MP3 (20MB)


2 Jul 2010  -  Publication
Advancing Innovative Development and Aid Strategies in the Asia-Pacific: Accelerating the Millennium Development Goals
The Lowy Institute hosted a conference titled Advancing Innovative Development and Aid Strategies in the Asia-Pacific: Accelerating the Millennium Development Goals in Sydney from 16 to 18 June 2010. The Institute brought together key decision makers from government, civil society, multilateral and country donors, and the private sector with an interest in the Asia-Pacific region. The aim of the conference was to stimulate greater international interest in the Asia-Pacific, and enhance the quality of debate around how to accelerate progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the region. Further, the conference discussed how aid contributes to development in the region.