Lowy Institute: Live Events

China is a rapidly ageing country. According to the World Bank, the working age population is predicted to fall by 10% by 2040. While the size of the workforce is falling, the pool of over 65s are rising, predicted to reach 350 million by the same year. What are the economic effects of a shrinking labour pool and rising number of aged dependents, and how will the two-child policy limit these effects? On 22 May the Lowy Institute hosted a panel of Dr Merriden Varrall, Director of the East Asia Program at the Lowy Institute, Dr Jane Golley, Associate Director of the Australian Centre on China in the World at the Australian National University and Dr John Edwards, Nonresident Fellow at the Lowy Institute, to explore how population dynamics will shape China’s economy and what it means for our economic future at large. The Lowy Institute acknowledges the support of AMP for this event.

With the race for Iran’s presidency heating up as hardline candidates join the contest, on 10 May the Lowy Institute hosted a panel moderated by Deputy Director Anthony Bubalo to preview Iran’s crucial presidential elections on 19 May. Joining Anthony were Dr Rodger Shanahan, Research Fellow at the Lowy Institute; Dr Naser Ghobadzadeh, from the Australian Catholic University; and Alice Drury, who lived and studied in Iran between 2014 and 2016.

Allan Gyngell's new book 'Fear of Abandonment: Australia in the World since 1942' is an authoritative account of the way Australians and their governments have helped create the world we now inhabit. On 26 April the Lowy Institute hosted Allan Gyngell, former Executive Director of the Lowy Institute and former Prime Minister Paul Keating for a discussion of the history of Australian foreign affairs and its impact on our place in the world now, moderated by Lowy Institute Executive Director Michael Fullilove.

Australia and Papua New Guinea have a strong and unique relationship, with ties spanning historical, economic, political and cultural spheres. The depth of our shared history goes far beyond the Kokoda Track and wartime experiences that most Australians associate with PNG. Many Australians don’t realise that PNG is Australia’s nearest neighbour and former colony, marking 42 years of independence this year. The strong personal relationships that existed at the time of independence are deteriorating and with them an understanding of PNG in Australia, particularly among the next generation of Australian leaders. At the same time, youth engagement in politics on both sides of the Torres Strait is at an historic low. On 10 April the Lowy Institute Aus-PNG Network hosted a panel of exceptional young Australian and Papua New Guinean leaders who are working to engage their peers in the political process.
 
 Panellists included Barbra Thomas, Executive Director of The Voice Inc., a youth leadership development organisation running programs in PNG’s major universities; Arianne Kassman, Interim Executive Director of Transparency International PNG; a representative from Oaktree, Australia’s largest youth-led development agency; and Benson Saulo, Group Indigenous Opportunities Manager at Australian Unity and founding and former Director of the National Indigenous Youth Leadership Academy. The discussion was chaired by Anna Kirk, Research Associate in the Melanesia Program at the Lowy Institute.

With Western countries consumed by domestic problems, will it be China and Russia that now define the rules of global politics? On 11 April the Lowy Institute at the National Gallery of Victoria hosted an in-conversation with International Securirty Program Director Euan Graham and Nonresident Fellow Bobo Lo on the new Lowy Institute Paper published by Penguin Random House Australia, A Wary Embrace. In a disorderly world, each has become increasingly assertive, and their partnership has emerged from relative obscurity to acquire a new prominence. Yet appearances are deceptive. Beijing and Moscow have shown no capacity to cooperate on grand strategy or establish new international norms. This is no authoritarian alliance, but a partnership of strategic convenience – pragmatic, calculating and constrained.

How can it be that governments are wealthier than ever, yet fewer citizens enjoy the benefits that such wealth can bring? Never before have so many governments owned so much wealth in the form of financial assets amassed in state-controlled investment funds. Despite this, deficits persist, inequality worsens and the effects of the 2008 crash still reverberate. “Citizens’ wealth” – creating an additional source of revenue by turning states into wealth-owners - is a long-established idea, but we are yet to see this powerful tool used to its full effect. On 5 April the Lowy Institute hosted for a panel discussion on this topic with Angela Cummine, political theorist and author of Citizens’ Wealth: Why (and How) Sovereign Funds Should be Managed By the People For the People; David Murray, former CEO of the Commonwealth Bank; Paul Cleary, senior journalist at The Australian; and Lowy Institute Nonresident Fellow Dr John Edwards.

Climate change accelerates instability in unexpected ways. Growing water scarcity, declining crop yields, and rising prices are catalysts for displacement and conflict, as witnessed in recent years in Syria and in the European migration crisis. The national security dimension of climate change receives little attention in Australia, but is the subject of intense focus overseas - particularly in the United States. On 4 April the Lowy Institute screened a condensed version of the 2016 film, The Age of Consequences, which analyses the link between climate change and security, followed by a panel discussion. The panel comprised Sherri Goodman, Founder and Executive Director of the CNA Military Advisory Board; Ian Dunlop, an international oil, gas and coal industry expert and former chair of the Australian Coal Association; and Alan Dupont, Nonresident Fellow at the Lowy Institute and CEO of the Cognoscenti Group.

With Western countries consumed by domestic problems, will it be China and Russia that now define the rules of global politics? On 5 April the Lowy Institute hosted the Sydney launch of A Wary Embrace, a new Lowy Institute Paper published by Penguin Random House Australia with Bobo Lo. In a disorderly world, each has become increasingly assertive, and their partnership has emerged from relative obscurity to acquire a new prominence. Yet appearances are deceptive. Beijing and Moscow have shown no capacity to cooperate on grand strategy or establish new international norms. This is no authoritarian alliance, but a partnership of strategic convenience – pragmatic, calculating and constrained.

The Lowy Institute's East Asia Program Director Merriden Varrall speaks to Mark 'Dashan (大山)' Rowswell, an extremely prominent Canadian Chinese-language comedian and performer, about Dashan's perspective on what constitutes 'friendship' in China, how Chinese choose to self-identify and the notion of 'identity bubbles', and the consequences of all this for China's international relationships. Dashan will in Australia performing in Mandarin at the Melbourne Comedy Festival from 13 April to 16 April, and at the Sydney Comedy Festival on 28 April.

'Grievance against the rest of the world is not just a part of Trump’s ideology, it is at its very core.' That is the judgement of Dr Thomas Wright, a Fellow at the Brookings Institution and a Nonresident Fellow at the Lowy Institute. That sense of grievance is already affecting America’s posture in Asia, with the Trump administration’s decision to walk away from the TPP trade agreement. On 20 March in Melbourne, Dr Thomas Wright addressed the Lowy Institute on what the Trump Administration means for America’s place in Asia’s economic and strategic order.

On 16 March Professor Koh addressed the Lowy Institute on the future of international law under the Trump administration. Professor Koh is an international lawyer and legal scholar. From 2009 to 2012, he served as the Legal Adviser to the State Department in the Obama administration, and was the most senior legal adviser to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. He also served as the Dean of Yale Law School, and returned there as a professor in international law following his departure from the State Department.

With protectionist sentiment growing around the world, on 7 March the Lowy Institute hosted the Shadow Treasurer the Hon. Chris Bowen MP, who reflected on the importance of growing trade pathways in our region and the continuing importance of trade for a small open economy such as Australia.

International Security Program Director Euan Graham speaks to Seiichiro Takagi, Senior Research Advisor at the Japan Institute of International Affairs, on China's upcoming 19th Party Congress, the impact of the Trump Administration on regional security, and the current state of Japan-China and Japan-Australia relations.

International Security Program Director Euan Graham speaks to Lieutenant Colonel David Skalicky from the US Air Force on the F-22s now operating out of RAAF Base Tindal, the differences between the F-22 and other aircraft, and the Australian exchange pilot currently flying in Skalicky's squadron.

At a time of significant uncertainty about the shape of the future global order, the Australian Government is preparing its first foreign policy white paper since 2003. On 15 February, the Lowy Institute hosted the former Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Varghese AO in conversation with Lowy Institute Executive Director Dr Michael Fullilove and Director of Polling Alex Oliver for a timely discussion about the White Paper process and how Australia should position itself to advance its interests over the next decade. Peter Varghese AO was Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade from 2012 to 2016 and is the 14th Chancellor of the University of Queensland. His previous appointments include High Commissioner to India, Director-General of the Office of National Assessments, High Commissioner to Malaysia, and Senior Advisor (International) to the Prime Minister of Australia. Mr Varghese was appointed an Officer in the Order of Australia (AO) in 2010 for distinguished service to public administration, particularly in leading reform in the Australian intelligence community and as an adviser in the areas of foreign policy and international security. Mr Varghese was head of the White Paper Secretariat (1996-97) which drafted Australia’s first White Paper on foreign and trade policy.