Speeches

From global leaders and Lowy experts

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Wednesday Lunch at Lowy: A Focused Force - Hugh White presentation

At the Wednesday Lunch at Lowy on 15 April, Visiting Fellow Hugh White spoke at the launch of his new Lowy Institute Paper, 'A Focused Force: Australia's defence priorities in the Asian century', in which he argues for Australia to abandon the 'Balanced Force' concept and refocus its defence efforts

By Hugh White

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Wednesday Lunch at Lowy: GFC: Cause and consequences - Warwick McKibbin presentation

At the Wednesday Lunch at Lowy on 8 April 2009, Professor Warwick McKibbin explored how well the global financial crisis can be understood as a series of unexpected shocks, what these shocks were and how conventional economic models explain the global adjustment and the implications of alternative

By Warwick McKibbin

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What the G-20 wants back

Lowy Institute Director of Studies, Andrew Shearer and Program Director International Economy, Mark Thirlwell contributed to an online forum of The Chicago Council on Global Affairs and The Managing Global Insecurity project out of The Brookings Institution on the topic, 'What the G-20 wants back

By Mark Thirlwell, Andrew Shearer

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Wednesday Lunch at Lowy: Asian Development Outlook - Donghyun Park and Craig Sugden presentations

With much of the developed world in recession, Asia's economies are suffering as exports crumble, capital flows reverse, and business and consumer confidence deteriorates. The ADB's Senior Economist Donghyun Park addressed these issues within the context of the Asian Development Outlook 2009, ADB's

By Donghyun Park ,

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Wednesday Lunch at Lowy: China and the financial crisis - Professor Leong Liew presentation

One if the biggest questions facing Asia, and Australia, is how is the global financial crisis affecting China and will the Chinese government's policy responses be effective. The front and opinion pages of Australia's broadsheets have been full of stories and editorials on this topic. At the

By Leong H. Liew

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Australia and Indonesia: Partners in a New Era

Last month, the Australian government, in cooperation with the Lowy Institute, held a major conference in Sydney on the future of Australia-Indonesia relations. The conference drew to Australia one of the largest and most senior delegations ever from Indonesia. Discussion and debate over the two

By Malcolm Cook

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Distinguished Speaker Series: The future of Iraq - H.E. Nuri al-Maliki presentation

On 13 March 2009, as part of its Distinguished Speaker Series, the Lowy Institute was pleased to host His Excellency Nuri al-Maliki, Prime Minister of Iraq. Prime Minister al-Maliki spoke about the future of his country and its prospects for political stability and economic development

By Nuri al-Maliki

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Distinguished Speaker Series: Colombia: The transformation of a country - Mr Luis Guillermo Plata presentation

News which reaches us from Colombia often paints a picture of a country at war with itself. But Colombia is experiencing a transformation. Security has improved sufficiently to support sustained economic growth, despite the current profound global economic turmoil. What does this mean for Colombia'

By Luis Guillermo Plata

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Paul Keating speech

On 5 March 2009, the Lowy Institute hosted a roundtable discussion in the run-up to the G-20 meeting of world leaders to be held in London on 2 April this year. The roundtable was supported by the British High Commission in Canberra and was part of the British Government's efforts to reach out to

By Paul J. Keating

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International security in 2008: The year in review

In this lecture to the NSW Royal United Services Institute, International Security Program Director Rory Medcalf identifies some major events and trends of 2008 - from the Russia-Georgia war to Somali piracy and the global financial crisis – in the light of their long-term implications for global

By Rory Medcalf

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Economic crisis and political conflict

On Thursday 26 February, Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman delivered the Lowy Institute's third annual Canberra Lecture. The Canberra Lecture recognises those individuals who, in their professional careers, have been able to bridge the worlds of academe and international policymaking. The 2008

By Lawrence Freedman

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Wednesday Lunch At Lowy: Australian strategy - Dr Peter Edwards presentation

At the Wednesday Lunch at Lowy on 4 March 2009, historian Peter Edwards placed the current debate in the context of the long history of debates between those who see global alliances as central to Australia's national security and those who emphasise the importance of self-reliance and regional

By Peter Edwards

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Distinguished Speaker Series: The values of the multilateral trading system - Mr Pascal Lamy presentation

On 2 March 2009, as part of its Distinguished Speaker Series, the Lowy Institute hosted a speech by Mr Pascal Lamy, the Director-General of the World Trade Organization, on the values of the multilateral trading system

By Pascal Lamy

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Distinguished Speaker Series: Nuclear disarmament - Sir Lawrence Freedman presentation

The global threat from nuclear weapons is growing, yet so too is a new international push for nuclear disarmament. On Wednesday 25 February 2009 at a lecture in the Lowy Institute's Distinguished Speakers Series, Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman examined what realistic assessments of the developing

By Lawrence Freedman

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Strengthening the Global and Regional Fight against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

The Symposium, Strengthening the Global and Regional Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, co-sponsored by Pacific Friends of the Global Fund, AusAID and the Lowy Institute for International Policy, was held at the Lowy Institute in Sydney on 24 February 2009

By Bob McMullan, Michel Kazatchkine

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Wednesday Lunch at Lowy - Mark Thirlwell presentation

If 2008 was the year of the financial crisis, 2009 is set to be the year of the real economy fallout. According to the latest IMF projections, world economic growth is set to fall to its lowest rate since the Second World War. World trade is contracting. Capital flows to emerging markets are

By Mark Thirlwell

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Distinguished Speaker Series: The future of international whale conservation - The Hon. Peter Garrett MP presentation

On Wednesday 18 February 2009, as part of the Institute's Distinguished Speaker Series, the Lowy Institute hosted the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts, the Hon Peter Garrett MP, who outlined the Australian Government's forward agenda on international whale conservation.With the

By Peter Garrett

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Wednesday Lunch at Lowy: The year ahead for the Asia Pacific - Cook, Hayward-Jones and Medcalf presentations

On 4 February, at the first lunch for 2009 in our Wednesday Lunch at Lowy series, three Lowy Institute scholars, Dr Malcolm Cook, Jenny Hayward-Jones and Rory Medcalf, discussed prospects for the Asia Pacific region this year, under the very challenging circumstances of the global financial crisis

By Malcolm Cook, Rory Medcalf, Jenny Hayward-Jones

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Barack Obama inaugural address: a view from Washington, DC

The inauguration of Barack Obama as president of the United States on 20 January was observed intently by billions of people around the world. One of the unusual aspects of Obama's candidacy for president was that he is such a gifted writer and speaker, a fact which has already led to comparisons

By Michael Fullilove

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Is Australia foreign investment regime in the national interest?

In a paper written for an IPA conference on Australia's Investment Future, the Institute's Andrew Shearer and Mark Thirlwell take a look at the politics and economics of Australia’s foreign investment regime. They examine the extent to which the regime is adequate to safeguard the national

By Mark Thirlwell, Andrew Shearer

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Wednesday Lunch at Lowy: Ambition: the emerging foreign policy of the Rudd Government - Allan Gyngell presentation

Twelve months after the election of the Rudd Government, in the final Wednesday Lunch at Lowy for 2008, Lowy Institute Executive Director Allan Gyngell reflected on what we have learned about the Rudd Government's emerging foreign policy, about the Prime Minister's own contributions to it and what

By Allan Gyngell

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Wednesday Lunch at Lowy: Malaysian politics 2008 and beyond - Professor Clive Kessler presentation

The last twelve months have witnessed a turning point in post-independence Malaysian politics. In elections last March, the Barisan Nasional coalition and its dominant member, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), suffered serious reversals. The prime ministership of Datuk Seri Abdullah

By Clive S. Kessler

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A proposed Australian strategy for Latin America to 2020

In a speech to the 2008 Annual Australia Latin America Business Council dinner, Deputy Director Martine Letts argues for a comprehensive whole of government Australian strategy to engage with Latin America to diversify and strengthen relations with an increasingly successful and influential region

By Martine Letts

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2008 Lowy Lecture: Australia and the international financial crisis

The annual Lowy Lecture on Australia in the World is the highlight of our events calendar. The 2008 lecture was delivered by Mr Ian Macfarlane AC in Sydney on Wednesday 3 December 2008.In this lecture Mr Macfarlane seeks to answer the question of what is different about this financial crisis from

By Ian Macfarlane

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The Alexander Downer legacy

In a major series for the Lowy Institute's blog, The Interpreter, veteran ABC journalist Graeme Dobell explores the legacy of Australia's longest-serving foreign minister, Alexander Downer. The three introductory posts to Graeme Dobell's series can be read here: Introduction, part one: http://www.

By Graeme Dobell

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Wednesday Lunch at Lowy: - Ralph Ashton & Warwick McKibbin presentation

At the Wednesday Lunch at Lowy on 19 November, Ralph Ashton, Fellow in the Climate and Energy Program at ANU and Warwick McKibbin, Lowy Institute Professorial Fellow, discuss how to include terrestrial carbon in developing nations, in the climate change solution

By Warwick McKibbin, Ralph Ashton

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Distinguished Speaker Series: Pacific regional challenges - Sir Michael Somare presentation

On 7 November 2008, as part of our Distinguished Speaker Series, the Lowy Institute hosted The Grand Chief, Rt. Hon Sir Michael Somare GCMG CH, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea. The title of Sir Michael Somare's lecture was 'Pacific Regional Challenges'. He discussed the urgency with which the

By Michael Somare

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Wednesday Lunch at Lowy: Zealous democrats - Bubalo, Fealy and Mason presentations

At this week's Wednesday Lunch, the Lowy Institute for International Policy launched 'Zealous democrats: Islamism and democracy in Egypt, Indonesia and Turkey'. The authors of this new Lowy Institute Paper, Anthony Bubalo, Greg Fealy and Whit Mason, all spoke about their ideas expressed in the

By Anthony Bubalo, Gregory Fealy, Whit Mason

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Distinguished Speaker Series: Reconstruction and the whole of government approach - Lt Gen Ken Gillespie presentation

As part of its Distinguished Speaker Series, the Lowy Institute hosted an address by the Chief of the Australian Army, Lieutenant General K. J. Gillespie AO DSC CSM.In the last decade the Australian Defence Force has put a great weight of effort into activities such as stabilisation and

By Ken J. Gillespie

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Wednesday Lunch at Lowy: How much has China really changed? - Dr Geoff Raby presentation

This year, China has been on public international display like no other time since the communists took power in 1949. Beijing hosted the Olympic and para-Olympic Games and 2008 is the thirtieth anniversary of China's open door economic policy reforms launched under Deng Xiaoping. The technical and

By Geoff Raby

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Wednesday Lunch at Lowy: North Korea opens - Dr Marcus Noland presentation

On 1 October 2008, Dr Marcus Noland, Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, spoke about North Korea and how its nuclear ambitions and geographic position draw the attention of the other powers in Northeast Asia

By Marcus Noland

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Distinguished Speaker Series: The new world of connections and talent - Dr Phil Burgess presentation

On Tuesday 23 September, as part of the Lowy Institute's Distinguished Speaker Series, Dr Phil Burgess, outgoing General Managing Director, Public Policy and Communications and Special Adviser to the CEO at Telstra, shared some parting observations about our 'lucky country' and its prospects in a

By Philip M. Burgess

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Wednesday Lunch at Lowy: Dealing with Russia after Georgia - Robert Horvath and Graeme Gill presentations

At the Wednesday Lunch at Lowy on 10 September, two prominent Australian Russia scholars, Professor Graeme Gill from Sydney University and Dr Robert Horvath from La Trobe University, examined the policy options for dealing with a newly assertive Russia.The Lowy Institute acknowledges the support of

By Robert Horvath, Graeme Gill

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Wednesday Lunch at Lowy: Running the war in Iraq - Jim Molan presentation

What lessons does the Iraq conflict hold for Australia's new Defence White Paper? In the Wednesday Lunch at Lowy on 3 September, one of Australia's most experienced and distinguished military men drew upon his experience of running a 21st century urban counter-insurgency to talk about how the nature

By Andrew James Molan

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Wednesday Lunch at Lowy: What makes a terrorist? - Dr Adam Dolnik presentation

At the Wednesday Lunch at Lowy on 27 August 2008, rising terrorism specialist Dr Adam Dolnik looked at the successes and failures of the field of terrorism studies, and offered some explanations about why people become terrorists

By Adam Dolnik

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Wednesday Lunch at Lowy: Journeying in America - Don Watson presentation

At the Wednesday Lowy Lunch on 20 August 2008, Don Watson, one of Australia's most distinguished writers and public speakers, explored themes in his latest book, 'American Journeys', a narrative of the modern USA. He talked about the genius, optimism and freedom of the United States – and its

By Don Watson

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New Voices 2008

On Thursday 31 July 2008, the Lowy Institute held its fifth annual New Voices conference for young professionals, which this year discussed the new areas of responsibility that are arising as a result of globalisation. The outcomes report can be downloaded here

By Lowy Institute for International Policy

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Wednesday Lunch at Lowy - Roger Donnelly and Benjamin Ford presentations

On 13 August at the Wednesday Lunch at Lowy, the authors of a new Lowy Institute Paper on the importance to Australia of the resources boom in Sub-Saharan Africa, Roger Donnelly and Benjamin Ford, launched their Paper, entitled 'Into Africa

By Roger Donnelly, Benjamin Ford

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Wednesday Lunch at Lowy: Rising China on the eve of the Olympics - Dr Richard Rigby presentation

At the Wednesday Lunch at Lowy on 6 August, Dr Richard Rigby, the Executive Director of the ANU China Institute, spoke about the rise of China and how the forthcoming Olympics provide some indicators — both positive and negative — of how China is travelling, and how one way or another these will

By Richard Rigby

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Wednesday Lunch at Lowy: US Middle East policy under a new presient - Ambassador Martin Indyk presentation

As the George W Bush Presidency draws to a close, attention is increasingly focused on the likely policies of his successor, particularly in the Middle East. The Lowy Institute was pleased to present at the Wednesday Lowy Lunch on 30 July 2008 a speaker eminently qualified to address this critical

By Martin S. Indyk

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Distinguished Speaker Series: Australia, ASEAN and the Asia-Pacific - The Hon. Stephen Smith MP presentation

On Friday, 18 July the Lowy Institute was honoured to host a speech in our Distinguished Speaker Series by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Hon. Stephen Smith MP. The focus of the Minister's presentation was on the Government's thinking about Australia's evolving engagement in our region.

By Stephen Smith

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Distinguished Speaker Series: Migration, remittances and development - Dr Dilip Ratha presentation

As part of the Lowy Institute's Distinguished Speaker Series, Dr Dilip Ratha, Senior Economist and Manager, Migration and Remittances in the World Bank's Development Prospects Group based in Washington, discussed policy options in the global agenda on migration and development. The title of his

By Dilip Ratha

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Common wealth: economics for a crowded planet

On 14 July, the Lowy Institute hosted a dinner for the globally renowned economist and author Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs. Professor Sachs discussed the current global energy, climate, and food crises and the world's sustainable development challenges as outlined in his new book 'Common Wealth:

By Jeffrey D. Sachs

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Foreign investment in Australia and China

A surge in Chinese investment into Australia's resource sector has been making headlines in recent weeks. On 4 July, in conjunction with the Australia China Business Council and Monash University, the Lowy Institute participated in a forum on The Changing Global Financial Environment: Implications

By Malcolm Cook, Mark Thirlwell

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Wednesday Lunch at Lowy - Professor Margaret MacMillan presentation

At the Wednesday Lunch at Lowy on 9 July, Professor Margaret MacMillan, Professor of International History at the University of Oxford and the Warden of St Antony’s College, discussed how history casts a shadow over the present in more ways than we realise, in a presentation entitled 'Dangerous

By Margaret MacMillan

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Wednesday Lunch at Lowy - Lieutenant Colonel Mark O’Neill presentation

On 2 July 2008 at the Wednesday Lunch at Lowy, Lieutenant Colonel Mark O’Neill offered a contemporary personal perspective on the experience of moving from theoretical considerations of counterinsurgency to involvement with actual counterinsurgency practice. Mark’s presentation drew on his

By Mark O'Neill

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Why war in Asia remains thinkable

At a recent IISS conference in Japan, Lowy Institute Visiting Fellow Hugh White set out the case for why war between states remains thinkable in Asia.His paper can be downloaded from here:http://www.iiss.org/conferences/asias-strategic-challenges-in-search-of-a-common-agenda/conference-papers/why-

By Hugh White

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Wednesday Lunch at Lowy: Financial integration and global financial turmoil - Hamid Faruqee presentation

On 18 June 2008 at the Wednesday Lunch at Lowy, senior staff member at the International Monetary Fund, Hamid Faruqee discussed the recent market turmoil which has demonstrated just how interconnected global financial markets really are

By Hamid Faruqee

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Distinguished Speaker Series - Professor James Crawford presentation

In the wake of the Iraq war, both US Presidential candidates have said they will close Guantanamo Bay and take a different view from the current Administration on water boarding. Under the next US President, can we expect a revival of US and wider interest in international law when it comes to the

By James Crawford

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Labour mobility: an Australian seasonal work visa scheme for Pacific Islands labour

On 12-13 June 2008, the Lowy Institute hosted a conference to examine the questions associated with the possible introduction of a seasonal work visa scheme for Pacific Islanders in the Australian horticulture sector. The conference focused on the horticultural industry’s requirements for a

By Jenny Hayward-Jones

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