White paper risks obscuring long history of engagement with Asia
"Spender, (left, with Robert Menzies, far right) advocated that
Australia should be a "bridge" between Asia and the West".
Photo: Supplied According to reports, the Prime Minister, Julia
Gillard, will be spruiking her government's Australia in the
Asian Century white paper at this week's Asian and European
leaders meeting in Vientiane. If this gives the impression that
Australia is focused on recent developments in Asia, well and
good. However, if the promotion of the white paper implies that
Australia has suddenly discovered Asia, its publication could be
counterproductive. Australia's interaction with Asia goes back
at least eight decades. Indeed, some of these institutional
connections are documented in chapter three of the white paper,
which is titled ''Australia in Asia''. Here are some facts. In
1934, when Joseph Lyons was prime minister, the conservative
politician John Latham led an eastern mission to what was then
called the Far East. T