Strengthening Australia

Australia needs to be actively engaged in international efforts to meet the global challenges that affect us all.

At the heart of the Government’s foreign policy and national security approach lies the responsibility to protect and defend Australia's national interests.

By having an active foreign policy and making sure our voice is heard, we can help secure the best outcomes for Australia and Australians.

That is why the Australian Government has taken an active role in international efforts to respond to the global financial crisis, to tackle climate change, and to help build a better future for Afghanistan.

The Australian Government has:

Rebuilt Australia’s engagement with the world in the face of rapidly evolving international events as global economic and strategic weight shifts to the Asia-Pacific.
Strengthened our ties with our ally the United States, with key regional partners in Asia and the Pacific and with the wider world.
Re-engaged with the United Nations in recognition of the fact that supporting a strong multilateral system is not just the right thing to do, but it is in our national interest to do so.
Moved to ensure the security of our nation through long-term planning for our defence forces.

Strengthening Australia in a changing world requires building our defence forces and engaging actively in regional and global affairs.

The defence and security of our nation, its people and their interests is the first priority of government. To ensure that we can deliver this, we have undertaken long-term planning for the defence and security of our nation, including developing a Defence White Paper to chart a strategic way forward to deliver Force 2030. We are committed to recognising and supporting the efforts of all our men and women in uniform.

We are also working to secure Australia’s future through re-energised regional and global engagement. We are committed to building on the Labor tradition of active contribution to the world beyond our shores. And we are committed to an activist middle power diplomacy that delivers the best outcomes for Australia and Australians.

This engagement is both about principles and the interests of our nation and its people. In our globalised world, we need our voice to be heard in global councils that are crafting the solutions to the challenges we face. The government has made sure this is happening.

Major Achievements

Despite the challenges we have confronted in responding to the global economic crisis, we have injected new life into our foreign policy, allowing Australia to once again be recognised as an important and constructive regional player, and as a source of ideas and a key contributor to finding solutions to global challenges:

1.Protecting Australia’s interests in the global economic crisis: We recognised the early dangers of the global financial crisis, and ensured that Australia was a key driver of the international response through the G20 process.

We used creative, active middle power diplomacy to help shape the international response to the crisis and ensure that the G20 has become the new body for tackling global economic challenges.
The declaration of the G20 as the premier forum for international economic cooperation represents the most significant shift in global governance in decades. For Australia, it is the most important new leaders’ institution since the creation of APEC.
The G20 successfully addressed the global financial crisis, acting in a coordinated and immediate way to stabilise the financial sector and build confidence globally.

2. Defence White Paper: We have delivered the first Defence White Paper in nearly a decade, which sets out a comprehensive plan for Australia’s Defence out to 2030.

To implement the Defence White Paper we delivered the first Defence Capability Plan since 2006, which set out over $60 billion of projects that will form the building blocks of Force 2030.
Our actions will ensure that Australia has the Defence Force it needs to meet the challenges of the future - and that our defence interests are properly planned for and budgeted. Our approach also includes a targeted Strategic Reform Program that will deliver efficiencies in the way Defence carries out its roles.

3. Making a contribution to international security:

We have strengthened our deployments in Afghanistan, and play our part by contributing to the International Security Assistance Force, helping with reconstruction efforts and training of the Afghan National Army.
We have continued to contribute to stability in our near neighbourhood through our military deployments to East Timor and the Solomon Islands.

4. Strengthening our alliance with the United States:

Australia’s Alliance with the United States remains the bedrock of Australia’s defence security and strategic arrangements.
We have established strong connections with the new Obama Administration, and built strong working relationships in areas of common involvement, such as Afghanistan.
We have built on our close relationship by concluding new agreements in defence cooperation, civil-military cooperation, and counter-terrorism.

5. Engaging with our region: We have injected new vigour into our key regional relationships – with Japan, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, South Korea, and Singapore to name just a few.

We concluded negotiations for the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement – Australia’s largest free trade agreement that will reduce or eliminate tariffs across a region of 600 million people with an annual GDP of $3.2 billion.
We have commenced negotiations for a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement which includes Australia, the United States, New Zealand, Vietnam, Brunei, Chile, Singapore and Peru. The Trans-Pacific Partnership will be an ambitious, 21st century agreement that will strengthen economic integration in the region.
We have been a constructive participant in discussions about the shape of future regional architecture in the Asia Pacific region, drawing on the Labor tradition of driving discussion and innovation in our engagement with our region.
We secured membership of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), which brings together 16 Asian nations and the ASEAN Secretariat along with 27 European Union nations and the European Commission – correcting a longstanding historical anomaly.

6. Acting as a good international citizen through delivering on our commitment to increase our foreign aid to 0.5% of gross national income by 2015-16.

7. Recasting our relations with the Pacific to be based on mutual respect and mutual responsibility.

We hosted the Pacific Islands Forum leaders’ meeting in Cairns – the first time Australia has hosted in 15 years.
We have concluded Pacific Partnerships for Development with Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Nauru and Kiribati. These agreements commit us to increased development assistance, tailored for countries’ individual development needs, and embrace commitments from our partners to improve governance, increase investment in infrastructure, alleviate poverty and achieve better outcomes in health and education.
We have launched PACER Plus trade negotiations with our partners in the South Pacific to help build economic resilience and sustainability in the region.

Other achievements

Strengthening border security through a tough, targeted approach, including through close cooperation with our regional partners, in developing enduring regional solutions to issues of irregular people movement.
Establishing the International Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament to develop new ideas on strengthening the existing nuclear non-proliferation regime and making progress towards the ultimate goal of a world free of nuclear weapons.
Renewed commitment to the United Nations, and as an expression of that commitment, actively seeking a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council for the 2013-14 term. As a member of the Security Council, we can help shape global responses in ways that serve our national interests, promote our values and virtues and support peace and security.
Actively pursuing trade policy through high quality Free Trade Agreements that increase market access for Australian exporters, as well as through a leadership role in World Trade Organisation negotiations.
New engagement with Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America – regions of the world where our interests are increasingly engaged, but which Australia has for too long neglected.
Demonstrating that we are a committed member of the Commonwealth through being selected to host the next Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth in 2011.