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

previous vision statement that has beenso ambitious nor a statement where thegulf between present outcomes and futurebenchmarks is so substantial.”Some more tempered commentatorshave said it was unfair to expect sucha wide ranging report – it apparentlyrequired significant rounds of editing justto chop it down to 320 pages – to outlinedetailed policies and costings.However now the paper has beenlaunched, the government is presumablycrafting policies to ensure the goals aremet and questions are rightly being askedof their ability to reach and fund them.Each of the 25 objectives in the paperalone will require a huge investment intime and money. Collectively, achievingthem all will be a daunting task.For example, one of the most widelydiscussed objectives has been givingevery Australian student the opportunityto undertake a continuous course of studyin at least one priority Asian language -Chinese (Mandarin), Hindi, Indonesian andJapanese.fewer Year 12 studentstook Indonesian classes in2009 than in 1972Currently, the state of Asian languageeducation in Australia is atrocious.According to the white paper, less than6 per cent of Australian Year 12 schoolstudents studied Indonesian, Japanese,Korean or Chinese (Mandarin) in 2008. Andfewer Year 12 students took Indonesianclasses in 2009 than in 1972.Clearly, there will need to be a hugerethink on language education andwhatever the answer is, it won’t be cheap.Perhaps just as importantly, schoolCOVER STORY | 3children will have to be convinced thatinvesting time to learn one of thesedifficult languages will benefit them in thelong run.That was a point former Prime MinisterKevin Rudd made at an AustCham lunchduring a trip to Hong Kong a few monthsago when he called on businesses to putmore emphasis on hiring graduates withlanguage skills.Similarly, objectives on the diplomaticfront seem to meet a strong disconnectbetween hopes and realities.Liberal Premier of Victoria Ted Ballieusaid the paper committed to boostinggovernment-to-government relationships inthe region but budgets for the Departmentof Foreign Affairs and Trade were currentlybeing slashed."Australia ranks a lowly 25th among34 OECD nations in terms of diplomaticmissions," Baillieu told a business dinner."It waxes lyrical about Austrade'srole, but the number of overseas basedAustrade staff has fallen - with no sign ofan increase."AustCham Chairman Andrew Steadsontold ABC Radio he believed putting fundingback into DFAT and Austrade was the mostimportant objective for the government.“The other key things that they couldbe doing is putting in place a series ofcomprehensive double tax agreementswith the Asian geographies that theyhaven't done that with yet,” he said.“And then I think lastly is getting allthe free trade agreements sorted out.”So while there is plenty to quibbleabout on the road to Gillard’s dream ofAustralia being a “winner” out of the socalledAsian Century, few could argue withthe final goal.Kelly, at The Australian, said the mainrisk was that the paper became a “whiteelephant” if the grand plans ran into alack of funding capacity.“This document must not be forgottenin today's disposable politics,” he said.“It is a test for the nation and a testfor Labor. It needs to become a permanentmeasuring stick. In order to prove hercommitment, Gillard should unveil acredible implementation strategy.”Michael Wray is a former News Ltdjournalist now based in Hong Kong.