Australia’s realigning strategic focus in the face of adverse strategic trends is perfectly reasonable but the focus on Southeast Asia raises the question of where Indonesia fits in.
Politics
Next-gen role models are challenging the government over their response to coronavirus, sex advice, gay rights and self-love.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has long got the short end of the stick. Why?
Australia’s national science agency CSIRO will work with Indonesian research partners to strengthen Indonesia’s pandemic preparedness.
For workers, especially in the palm oil sector, the draft Omnibus Bill takes away the safety net and weakens their labour protections.
Without funding reform or government intervention, the nation’s third-largest industry and greatest contributor to research and development will severely retract.
Reduced funding to institutions and cuts to programs, accelerated by the coronavirus could threaten Australia’s ability to effectively engage and do business with Asia.
The AIC congratulates the Dean of Economics and Management at IPB University Professor Nunung Nuryartono on his appointment to the BI board of supervisors.
It is necessary for Indonesia to develop its own Covid-19 vaccine. And it will be by Indonesia, from Indonesia, to Indonesia.
Australia’s decision to acquire longer range strike capabilities will be welcomed by our strategic partners in south-east Asia.
Well-calibrated Australian support could make a pivotal difference to lower the risks and help Indonesia finance the budget deficit needed to get through the pandemic.
Directly monetising a government deficit has long been a taboo, and raises potential risks around inflation and the central bank’s independence.
As the Australian government’s finances come under increasing pressure from the effects of Covid-19, so too might the scope for some forms of Defence investment in new capital equipment.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo has told his Cabinet he is ready to reshuffle ministers or even disband government agencies he feels have not done enough to fight the coronavirus outbreak, according to his office.
Over the last decade, Indonesian entertainers who push social boundaries have found audiences on social media. But in the last few years, some have found opposition.
Indonesia lags in appointing women to key judicial posts and the gender gap in the region is closing at a glacial pace.
