Lowy Institute

Latest Episodes:

Peasant land disputes Apr 26, 2012

Show notes

On 6 February at the Wednesday Lunch at Lowy, John Garnaut, the Beijing-based Asia Economics Correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age newspapers, discussed how the question of how to divide profits from the conversion of rural land is one of the most contentious in China. Beijing is stepping up its pro-peasant, pro-equity rhetoric and yet China's enormous rural-urban wealth gap is getting wider and land disputes appear to be getting worse.
John's presentation was entitled 'Peasant land disputes, viewed through the bars of a small town police station.'

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The Pacific presidency Apr 26, 2012

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US President Barack Obama has called himself ‘America’s first Pacific president’. On Monday the Lowy Institute and the United States Studies Centre endeavoured to flesh out this concept. How should we rate his presidency and, in particular, his policies towards the Pacific region? What looming challenges does he face in Asia and the Pacific?
Dr Michael Wesley chaired a discussion with three experts: Dr Michael Fullilove, Program Director, Global Issues; Mary Kissel, Editorial Page Editor, The Wall Street Journal Asia; and Dr Geoffrey Garrett, Chief Executive Officer, United States Studies Centre, University of Sydney.

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The challenges of food security Apr 26, 2012

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The world faces two creeping threats to its food supplies. On the one hand, expanding populations and the changing diets that accompany growing wealth have put greater strain on lagging gains in food production. On the other hand, climate change and environmental degradation are slowly contaminating food supplies and eroding agricultural productivity. At the Wednesday Lunch on 24 February, these issues were examined by Julianne Schultz, Editor of the Griffith Review, which has just published its newest edition, Food Chain. She was joined by Mark Thirlwell, Director of the Global Issues Program at the Lowy Institute, and Annmaree O’Keeffe, Research Fellow at the Lowy Institute, who have both written on these twin challenges to food security.

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2010 The year ahead Apr 26, 2012

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On 3 February, at the first Wednesday Lunch at Lowy for 2010, three Lowy Institute scholars discussed where the world and our region are headed after a tumultuous year in 2009. Will things be calmer or more uncertain?
Mark Thirlwell, Program Director International Economy, assessed the post-GFC global economy. Michael Fullilove, Program Director Global Issues, looked at President Obama’s second year in office and the changing global outlook, and Jenny Hayward-Jones, Program Director Myer Foundation Melanesia Program, reviewed prospects for the Pacific, with a particular focus on Papua New Guinea, Australia’s closest neighbour, and Fiji.

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Can nuclear competition be avoided Apr 26, 2012

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Share on emailShare on printAt Lunch at Lowy on 16 February an exceptional panel of visiting international experts and policy practitioners from India, Pakistan, China and the USA discussed the risks of nuclear competition between the nuclear armed states in South West Asia and China. The panellists are in Sydney for a workshop on Asia's nuclear future, co-hosted by the Institute and the US-based Non-proliferation Policy Education Center. We thank NPEC for bringing the panellists to Australia.
Photo: Professor Gareth Evans spoke at the workshop dinner on the Report of the International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament, 'Eliminating nuclear threats: a practical agenda for global policymakers', which he co-authored with Yoriko Kawaguchi.

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Stemming the evil flowers Apr 26, 2012

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In Afghanistan, Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) are now the number one killer of coalition forces, and the 2009 campaigning season is seeing a record number of IED attacks. At this week's Wednesday Lowy Lunch, the Commander of Australia’s Counter-IED Task Force, Brigadier Phil Winter, described how Australia and its partners in Afghanistan are dealing with the lethal harvest of what Afghans are now calling the 'evil flowers'. Brigadier Winter's PM interview on the topic is at: http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2009/s2740062.htm.

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How will global trade fare post GFC Apr 26, 2012

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t the Wednesday Lunch at Lowy on 10 June, Professor Robert Lawrence of Harvard University spoke on the global financial crisis and international trade.
At precisely the time when coordinated global action is required to meet the GFC, there are worrying signs in the US and other leading economies of new forms of protectionism stemming from government stimulus and bailout packages. Professor Lawrence’s address focused on the impact of the global recession and how trade and cooperation will play prominent roles in the recovery.

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Australias international future Apr 26, 2012

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At the Wednesday Lowy lunch on 1 July, Dr Michael Wesley, the new Executive Director of the Lowy Institute, talked about the challenges ahead for Australia and the Lowy Institute. The world after the Global Financial Crisis will be a world which asks some very searching questions of Australia's foreign policy makers, businesspeople, and citizens. How should Australia respond to the new position of China as a key power determining the future of collective global issues? What are the challenges to Australia’s economy as posed by an increasingly knowledge-intensive and Asia-centric global economy? Michael Wesley discussed these and other issues, and in doing so, outlined his vision for the Lowy Institute over the next five years.

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Reconstruction whole government approach Apr 26, 2012

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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 globalised world, based on his experience as a senior executive in Australia, during which time he engaged deeply and widely with Australians at every level of the community in every state of the Commonwealth.

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Asian Development Outlook Apr 26, 2012

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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 flagship economic publication.
ADB Country Economist Craig Sugden presented highlights of the Pacific portion of the report and discussed the policy options available to the region to minimise the impacts of the global economic crisis.

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