Why you need to know who is in power in Australia right now
Sydney.Just a few years ago, elections in Australia were just a side note to the rest of the world. Even the American ally was often unsure who was the Prime Minister of Australia. Joe Biden’s reference to “Fellow Down Under” when discussing the AUKUS security partnership between the United States, Britain and Australia, while unable to recall the name of Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, has since been made legendary.
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Australians have traditionally been regarded as reliable allies who always supported the United States, but their geographical location alone made many regard them as “off the beaten path”. But it is precisely this remote location at the other end of the world that is now throwing Australia more and more onto the world stage.
This is for two reasons: First, the continent – which has always been a country with extremes – has quickly become the world’s test laboratory for climate change. Extreme bushfires, heat waves, floods and dying corals have been the dominant news stories for the past three years. On the other hand, its location in the Indo-Pacific makes the country strategically important from a geopolitical point of view. Australia has now become a democratic bulwark against China’s authoritarian state.
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Relationship to China: Morrison as an elephant in a china shop
Australia’s reorientation towards China, its largest and most important trading partner to date, is probably one of the most striking legacies of former Prime Minister Scott Morrison, not least because it resulted in the AUKUS security agreement mentioned above. Morrison has ruined the Australian-Chinese relationship not unlike the proverbial elephant in a china shop – after China has increased its weapons for years, spies and hackers are said to have interfered in Australia’s affairs, and China is increasingly putting sensors out in the Pacific. A recent security agreement with the Solomon Islands, which could allow China to build a military base less than 2,000 kilometers from Australia, is just one example.
Severe floods and persistent rain in Australia
Some residents in the affected areas have been asked to leave their homes.
© Source: Reuters
Morrison has been tough on Beijing over the years. In April 2020, he called for an international inquiry into the origins of Covid-19, his government blocked Chinese investment projects, warned of human rights violations and made life difficult for Chinese companies in the country. The telecommunications company Huawei, for example, was excluded from the expansion of the 5G network. In addition, Australia withdrew from the so-called “Belt and Road” initiative. Through the project, which is also often referred to as the new “Silk Road”, China is investing in infrastructure projects worth billions worldwide.
The Morrison government has certainly acted correctly in many respects. But the rhetoric of the past few weeks – outgoing Secretary of Defense Peter Dutton has repeatedly spoken out about the possibility of a “war with China” – went far beyond what could have been rejected as an election campaign tactic.
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New government faces difficult tasks
The new government now has the difficult task of steering the strained Sino-Australian relationship back to calmer waters without alienating its ally, the United States, or compromising its own democratic values.
When it comes to climate change, on the other hand, we just have to step on the gas. Many opportunities have remained untapped here over the last ten years. “The balance is clear, in eight years, government decisions have exacerbated the climate crisis,” Amanda McKenzie, chair of the Australian Climate Council, said recently.
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The Social Democrats – the Labor Party under Anthony Albanese – want to remedy at least some of the shortcomings: Their promise is to reduce emissions by 43 percent by 2030 instead of 26 to 28 percent below the 2005 level. The country would thus catch up with important trading partners such as Canada, South Korea and Japan. At the same time, it would be an important sign that the world can finally count on Australia in the fight against global warming.