Speeches

In a speech to the Lowy Institute on 27 August, the Australian Prime Minister, the Hon. John Howard MP, outlined his objectives for the Sydney meeting of APEC, the most significant international gathering ever held in Australia. Mr Howard spoke about APEC activities in the fields of trade, regional

A substantial number of anti-terrorism laws have been adopted in Australia and overseas since 9/11. While such laws have been seldom used in Australia, their passage and occasional use have provoked extraordinary political and legal controversy, as illustrated by the recent case of Dr Mohammed

At the Wednesday Lunch at Lowy on 1 August Dr Peter McCawley led the discussion on why Indonesia has largely fallen off the international radar screen in recent years. Despite being the largest country in Southeast Asia, Indonesia receives comparatively little international media coverage beyond

Western militaries in the early 21st century find themselves busy with land-based stabilisation and counter-insurgency missions. Yet at the same time, many countries are embarking on major new investments in naval capabilities. Australia, for instance, recently announced its selection of three air

On 17-18 May, the Lowy Institute co-hosted a conference on the future of China-Australia relations with the Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs and the Tianda Institute. The conference focused on the growing national and regional importance of this bilateral relationship based on economic

As a part of its Distinguished Speaker Series, the Lowy Institute for International Policy was proud to host Dr Ezzedine Choukri-Fishere, Counselor for Middle East Peace Process and Regional Security in the Cabinet of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt. Dr Choukri-Fishere discussed Hamas'

The Lowy Institute was pleased to present a lecture by the Federal Labor Leader, Kevin Rudd MP, on Thursday 5 July 2007, as part of its Distinguished Speaker Series.The title of Mr Rudd's lecture was 'Fresh ideas for future challenges in foreign policy', downloadable here. In this important lecture

On 27 June, at the Wednesday Lunch at Lowy, Dr Abby McLeod discussed how, on 30 June, Papua New Guinea goes to the polls after the Sir Michael Somare government became the first government in PNG history to serve its first term. Australia, as PNG's largest source of aid and its former colonial power

At the Wednesday Lunch at Lowy on 20 June, Rory Medcalf, Program Director International Security, assessed the likely impacts of a powerful India on Australia's future strategic environment. He drew upon his experience as a diplomat in New Delhi to consider the sources of India's new confidence as

On 6 June, at the Wednesday Lunch at Lowy, Professor Warwick McKibbin provided a preliminary assessment of the report released on 1 June by the Prime Ministerial Task Group on Emissions Trading. This joint government-business task group was established by the Prime Minister on 10 December 2006 with

On Friday 25 May, the Lowy Institute held its fourth annual New Voices conference for young professionals, which this year discussed international leadership in its many forms. The conference was opened by Steven Lowy with an address about the history and purpose behind the formation of the

As part of the Institute's Distinguished Speaker Series, His Excellency Mr Hoshyar Zebari, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Iraq, addressed the Lowy Institute on 22 May 2007. His presentation was entitled 'Iraq: transition to democracy

In a presentation delivered to the 2007 Australia-New Zealand Leadership Forum, Alan Gyngell, David Skilling and Mark Thirlwell look at some of the challenges posed to both economies by globalisation. In particular, they argue that although globalisation has changed the geography of the world

At the Wednesday Lunch at Lowy on 9 May, Malcolm Cook, Program Director Asia & the Pacific, and Rory Medcalf, Program Director International Security, explored what the Australia-Japan Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation means for Australia-Japan relations and what it tells us about Japan's

Our regular Lowy Lunch was held on Thursday, May 3 to allow a special visiting speaker, Archbishop Pius Ncube, to update us on the current situation in Zimbabwe. Pius Alick Ncube was ordained as the Archbishop of Bulawayo (the second largest city in Zimbabwe and the centre of Matabeleland) on 25

On 28 March at the Wednesday Lunch at Lowy, Daoud Yaqub spoke on the topic: 'A long hot summer ahead for Afghanistan'. He discussed the looming spring offensive by the Taliban, including its implications for the reconstruction and security effort in Afghanistan, and what the international community

On 20 March 2007, as part of the Lowy Institute's Distinguished Speaker Series, H.E. José María Aznar, the former Prime Minister of Spain, spoke to the topic 'Reinventing the West' at the Institute in 31 Bligh Street

At the Wednesday Lowy Lunch on 7 March 2007, Bill Bowtell, the Director of the Institute’s HIV/AIDS Project, explained how and why the HIV/AIDS pandemic developed, the severe regional consequences and costs if it is not checked, and the need to rethink current international HIV/AIDS strategies

Professor Raja Mohan, Strategic Affairs Editor of the Indian Express, and one of India's most influential commentators on India's foreign and strategic policy, delivered the inaugural Australia-India Strategic Lecture on the subject of India and East Asia in Melbourne on 21 February

Gordon Brown recently succeeded Tony Blair as prime minister of Great Britain. Several months ago the Lowy Institute hosted a leading British commentator speaking on the likely shape of British foreign policy under Gordon Brown's leadership.On Friday 16 February Tom Bentley spoke to the Lowy Lunch

The authors of the recent Australian international policy trilogy introduce their Lowy Institute Papers on the Australian economy, foreign policy and defence

On 29 November 2006 at a special Wednesday Lunch at Lowy at 31 Bligh Street, the noted commentator Owen Harries spoke on the topic 'After Iraq'. In the last three and a half years, 'Iraq' has come to stand for many things beyond a geographical location and a state: a political and moral commitment;

On Friday 10 November the Lowy Institute hosted a special briefing on the results of the mid-term congressional elections, in which the Democratic Party regained control of both houses of Congress. The featured speaker was award-winning journalist, author and Lowy Institute Visiting Fellow Peter

On 23 October, as part of our Distinguished Speaker Series, the Lowy Institute for International Policy hosted a panel discussion with three of America's leading experts on terrorism, Marc Sageman, Steve Coll and Daniel Benjamin. They discussed future trends in global terrorism, providing unique