Issue 149 - The Australian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong.

12 | COMMITTEE COMMENTAsian Century White Paper – What it means to our future leadersThe recently announced Asian Century White Paper maps Australia’s engagementwith Asia in the next decade. AustCham Young Executives Co-Chair Patrick Daley– as part of the next generation of leaders already working in Asia, responds withwhat that means to him.It seems that about once in ageneration, Australia and Australianssee fit to remind themselves ofAustralia’s geographical reality.Australia is located near, and increasinglymore closely related to, reliant on andinvolved in Asia.The release of the AustralianGovernment’s White Paper titled “Australiain the Asian Century” in October thisyear, again signals a new attempt to mapa path by which Australia can best takeadvantage of the opportunities presentedby Australia’s relationship with Asia.This is of course not a newphenomenon. One may recall theKeating government’s focus on increasedengagement in Asia. However, Asia’seconomic (and particularly China’s)accelerated economic advancementover the last 20 years, along with thecorrespondingly greater impact that Asianow bears upon global economics andinternational relations makes Australia’smost recent attempt to grapple withthe reality of Asian power and influenceparticularly important. What once was adiscretionary change in policy direction,has now become a necessary andunavoidable realignment.Asia is an increasingly importantregion, and it is in Australia’s interest tohave a clear and detailed strategy throughwhich to engage that region.So how does it rate? Does the WhitePaper give new direction and insighton Australia’s Asian potential, or is itsimply an exercise in making sweepingmotherhood statements and setting outvague aspirational goals?At first glance, it is easy to beskeptical. Certainly, discussion of“deeper connections”, “new developmentopportunities” and “maximizingprosperity”, while inoffensive in themselves,do not provide a clear roadmap to asuccessfully Asian focused future. Likewise,the White Paper ticks many of theexpected boxes, the importance of focusededucation and training, infrastructure.(importantly including communicationsinfrastructure), tax and regulatory reform,foreign investments, relationships with keyregional players. But it would be difficultto assert that the White Paper presentsanything new and innovative that has notbeen covered in previous policy initiativesby this and previous governments.Furthermore, many of the issues thatthe White Paper discuss, such as risingincome in Asia, demographic shifts bothin Australia and in Asia, and Australia’scomparative advantage in resource andsome agricultural industries, are issues thatthe majority of Austcham’s membershipwill be familiar with and, where necessary,have developed strategies to deal with.But to my mind, the White Paper is farfrom a wasted exercise.The breadth of the Paper’s subjectmatter necessitates a treatment of thatsubject matter which may seem shallowand/or undeveloped. Likewise, theWhite Paper correctly identifies areas ofimportance for Australia’s future in Asia,such as the need to continue productivitygrowth, lower the cost of doing business inAustralia and train young people in Asianlanguages and culture.However, the true value of the WhitePaper is that it provides for a refocusingon the challenges of the coming AsianCentury. If Australia is to continue tothrive and develop, it must meet thesechallenges, and many different sectionsof the Australian community, both withinAustralia, throughout Asia and elsewherearound the globe, must develop anddeploy strategies to meet these challengesas they pertain to them.Certainly, as a member and chairpersonof the Australian Young Executivescommittee, the opportunity to move toHong Kong, and my continuing involvementwith and support from Austchamhas reinforced the need for a deeperunderstanding of Asia’s cultures, languagesand peoples. The development of thisunderstanding will be an unavoidablechallenge for future Australian leaders ofpolitics, business, industry and education.The White Paper brings this challengefirmly in to view, and at least for a shorttime, makes it a central topic in theAustralian national conversation. It is abase to build from, and should be thelaunching point for more detailed policyinitiatives, as well as projects from withinthe business, educational and scientificcommunities.Because, once in a generation is notgood enough. The conversation must becontinuing. The Asian Century is hereand now. Australia is advantageouslyplaced and has a unique set of strengthswith which to meet the coming decades,but in order to best use those strengthsAustralia and Australians must maintain acontinuing awareness of the reality of theAsian Century and the effect it will have onAustralia as a nation. While not giving anyendpoints, the White Paper does at leastprovide for a good start.Patrick Daley is an Associate of Haley & Co.CORPORATENEWSNEWSTelstra AppointmentTelstra recently appointed Tim Chen asthe new President & Group ManagingDirector.Mr Chen, 56, was previously Beijing-basedpartner with international private equityfirm GL Capital Group. He held seniorexecutive roles for international firmsincluding Microsoft, Motorola and AT&T BellLaboratories. He joined Telstra as a member ofthe Board of Directors in March 2012, havingbeen identified for his technology, strategicand business experience working with privateand public sector organisations.“Tim’s appointment increases the focus andurgency in growing our presence in Asia andrealising the significant revenue opportunitiesin the region,” Telstra CEO David Thodey said.“We know that having deep insights intothe Asian environment across our leadershipteam is a strategic advantage as we lookto strategically grow our regional interests,particularly in Network Applications andServices and expanding with our pan-Asiancustomers.”