This week in Australian foreign affairs: Albanese in Laos for ASEAN-Australia and East Asia summits; Australia-Canada-New Zealand trilateral meeting; Australia-China bilateral meeting; resumption of live rock lobster trade with China; new Colombo Plan External Advisory Group appointments, and more.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese gave a speech on 8 October to Parliament on the anniversary of 7 October attacks. The speech unequivocally condemned Hamas’s actions on 7 October, reflecting on the “brutality and the cruelty that was inflicted on so many with such cold calculation.” The PM also asserted the commitment to a ceasefire, release of all hostages, and protection of all civilians, followed eventually by a two-state solution. The speech also recognised the mourning of Palestinian people, while also condemning “the actions of Iran and Hezbollah.” Read the full speech here.

Also on 8 October, Albanese announced he will travel to Laos for ASEAN-Australia and East Asia summits. “In Vientiane, Prime Minister Albanese will meet with leaders and business representatives to discuss work underway to boost two-way trade and investment through Invested: Australia’s Southeast Asia Strategy to 2040.” The visit seeks to build on the “success of the 2024 ASEAN-Australia Special Summit held in Melbourne in March.” According to the statement, a key focus will be trade. “ASEAN is Australia’s second largest two-way trading partner. Trade supports one in four Australian jobs, with half a million jobs in Australia already linked to trade with Southeast Asia. More than one million Australians have Southeast Asian heritage, reflecting our personal ties in the region.”

Albanese joined counterparts Justin Trudeau, prime minister of Canada, and Christopher Luxon, prime minister of New Zealand, on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in Vientiane for the Australia-Canada-New Zealand trilateral meeting. Albanese discussed the three nations’ shared interests and values on economy and trade, support for the international rule of law, and the transition to net zero. Other important talking points included critical minerals, cooperating in international forums, shared support for democratic values and human rights, and opposition to violence. He also took the opportunity to call for de-escalation between Israel and Hamas, as well as the return of hostages, and the need to move towards a two-state solution.

Also on 10 October on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit, Albanese joined Li Qiang, Premier of China, for opening remarks at the Australia-China bilateral meeting. Albanese remarked that since “constructive meetings in June, our governments have continued to progress the outcomes we agreed, including restarting regular exchanges between our ministers.” He continued, “I’m pleased that our ministers responsible for climate change and the environment met in Sydney in August for an annual Australia-China ministerial dialogue of climate change and our foreign ministers recently met in New York. It’s also very good that the Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers visited Beijing, the first visit in seven years for the Strategic Economic Dialogue, restoring a key pillar of our bilateral relationship. And as we discuss our parliamentary delegation from the Australian Parliament, led by the President of the Senate, will visit China next week, a bipartisan delegation that is very good.” Albanese also took the opportunity to state Australia’s “vision of a peaceful, stable and prosperous world where sovereignty is respected and countries abide by international law,” stating further, it is “important that we have these frank exchanges of views on the issues that matter to us, to build deeper awareness of our respective interests.”

Following Australia-China bilateral leaders meeting on 10 October, Foreign Minister Penny Wong joined Albanese, Minister for Trade and Tourism Don Farrell, and Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Julie Collins to announce the resumption of live rock lobster trade with China. The agreement established a “timetable with China for the full resumption of Australian live rock lobster exports by the end of the year.” The statement also notes that the resumption in the trade “will save the jobs of 3,000 Australians employed in the industry, 2,000 of which are in Western Australia.” Australian rock lobsters have been, by and large, effectively prevented from entering China’s market since 2020 due to punitive tariffs and import restrictions. The Albanese Government has announced it will “continue with its calm and consistent approach to the China relationship – where we cooperate where we can, disagree where we must, and engage in the national interest.”

On 8 October, Farrell joined Special Envoy for the Great Barrier Reef Nita Green to announce new support by the Government to bring international visitors back to Tropical North Queensland. The Australian Government will invest $15 million into the International Tourism Recovery Program. So far, efforts by campaigns from the program have generated bookings in the last financial year for 20,000 Chinese visitors, who, it is estimated, will contribute $37 million into the local economy. This will be the second year since the roll out of the program, and it is anticipated “to create even stronger demand for the world-class tourism experiences in the sunshine state’s tropical north, including the Great Barrier Reef.” Meanwhile, the “return of Cathay Pacific flights between Hong Kong and Cairns from December through to March is projected to bring in up to 13,000 additional international visitors, who are projected to collectively spend an estimated $20 million in the region. China was the region’s largest international market before the pandemic, accounting for one in four international visitors and injecting more than $200 million a year into the regional economy.”

Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs Tim Watts announced new Colombo Plan External Advisory Group appointments on 4 October. The new appointments will “help design the next phase of the program and ensure it continues to build the capability of Australians to engage with the Indo-Pacific region.” The appointments “bring together experts from a diverse range of backgrounds from across the higher education sector, industry, and NCP alumni, and include Grace Corcoran, Diplomacy Program Lead, Asialink Prof Nicholas Farrelly, Pro Vice Chancellor, University of Tasmania, Prof Jessica Gallagher, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Adelaide University, Phil Honeywood, CEO, International Education Association of Australia,  Renae Lattey, Chief Executive Partner, King and Wood Mallesons, Ashok Mysore, Member, Victoria Trade and Investment Advisory Board, Luke Sheehy, CEO, Universities Australiaa, Peter Varghese AO, Chancellor, University of Queensland, Elena Williams, ANU Indonesia Institute, and Hayley Winchcombe, Engagement Manager, Mandala Partners.

Dr Adam Bartley is the managing editor for AIIA’s Australian Outlook and weekly columnist for The Week in Australian Foreign Affairs. He is a former Fulbright Scholar and non-resident fellow at the Elliot School for International Affairs, the George Washington University. Adam also has positions as post-doctoral fellow at the Centre for Cyber Security Research and Innovation RMIT University  and as program manager of the AI Trilateral Experts Group. He can be found on Twitter here.

This article is published under a Creative Commons License and may be republished with attribution.