Australia as a Global Citizen

Daryl Le Cornu

Mount Annan High School

DARYL.LECORNU@education.nsw.gov.au

Some Teaching Ideas

• Students to do research using texts and online resources

• Individual task or group work?

• Students give presentations to class using ICT?

• Prepare students to write to a scaffold knowing key facts in each area

• Debate Australia’s role as global citizen

Is Australia ‘punching above its weight’ as a global citizen?

Punching above our own weight?

What does this mean?

This term was used a few years ago to describe Australia’s role in the world as a ‘middle power’.

What is a middle power?

a term used in the field of international relations to describe states that are not superpowers or great powers, but still have large or moderate influence and international recognition.

Australia’s Ranking

• Australia leaps in economic rankings.doc

• Austs_ranking.doc

Australia’s Self-Image

• A mature democracy• Rule of law• Multicultural success story• Economically competitive• Militarily – allied to a hyper-power - USA• Politically – we seem to have some clout• Going well now but can we stand on our

own in the future?

Punching above our own weight?

Australia impressed other nations with its swift response to the crisis

in East Timor in 1999

and

in military intervention and peacekeeping in many locations in

the following years.

Punching above our own weight?

This can be considered:

EITHER• A good thing because we are making a

significant positive contribution in the world

OR• A matter of concern because we are over-

stretching ourselves as a nation, and cannot sustain such an effort given our population and the size and growing power of our Asian neighbours

Punching above our own weight? To consider this question we need to

examine in what ways that Australia has participated as a global citizen in the past.

Then…

We can consider whether Australia is involving itself in an appropriate way for a middle power today.

Australia as a

Global Citizen

Individuals

Alliances

Treaties

United

Nations

Peacekeeping

Regional Organisation

s

Humanitarian Relief

Military Action

1. Alliances

ANZUS

• Members – Australia, New Zealand the United States

• Signed 1951• 1st reason – originally as a US guarantee that

Japan would not threaten Australia and NZ again

• 2nd reason – in recognition of swift Aust’n support in the Korean War (1950)

• Purpose – mutual defence

SEATO

• South-East Asia Treaty Organisation

• Signed 1954

• Purpose: to fight communism in south-east Asia - to be Asian counterpart to NATO (1949)

• Members – USA, Britain, France, Philippines, Thailand, Pakistan.

2. Treaties

60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 2008

2. TreatiesAustralia is a signatory to numerous multilateral treaties.Here are some prominent examples:

• UN Charter 1945• Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948• Genocide Convention 1948• Geneva Conventions 1949• Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty 1968• Convention Against Torture 1984• Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty 1996• Rome Statute (1998) – led to formation of International

Criminal Court (ICC) in 2002• Kyoto Protocol 1997 (though not until late 2007)

Australia has also signed many bilateral

(between just two nations) treaties. eg

• Aust-USA Free Trade Agreement 2005

3. United Nations

UN Headquarters – New York

2005 – UN 60th Anniversary

Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan

Ban Ki-moonUN Secretary-General

Security Council – in the UN Building New York

Various UN committees

Australia and the United Nations

• Australia had also been an enthusiastic supporter of the League of Nations from 1919

• 1945 - Australia a founding member of UN• Jessie Street and Dr Evatt helped draft the UN Charter• Dr HV Evatt (ALP Foreign Minister) was President of the

General Assembly 1948-1949• Australia has been an enthusiastic supporter for most of

the post-war period• Australians have been involved in the work of many of

the UN’s agencies and has actively contributed to numerous peacekeeping missions

4. Peacekeeping

East Timor

• From 1999 – then with UN

• Again in 2006

• Again in 2008

Solomons - RAMSI

Arc of Instability

• East Timor

• New Guinea

• Vanuatu

• Solomon’s

• Fiji

4. PeacekeepingMost, but not all, are operations undertaken as

part of the UN• Cyprus 1964• Sinai 1973• Kashmir 1976• Namibia 1979• Zimbabwe 1979• Gulf 1991

• Somalia 1993• Rwanda 1994• Cambodia 1991-1993• East Timor 1999• Solomons 2003• East Timor 2006

Peacekeeping - websites• http://www.australiaun.org/unWeb/content/policy/peacekeeping.asp• http://www.awm.gov.au/atwar/peacekeeping.htm• http://www.awm.gov.au/peacekeeping/• http://www.anzacday.org.au/history/peacekeeping/peace01.html• http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/dpko/index.asp• http://www.awm.gov.au/peacekeeping/timeline/timeline.htm• http://www.dfat.gov.au/un/aus_un13.html• http://www.awm.gov.au/peacekeeping/timeline/map.htm• http://www.defence.gov.au/index.cfm• http://www.unaa.org.au/praxis.php/category/view/8• http://www.unaa-wa.org.au/links.php

5. Military Action

Military ActionAustralia played its part in maintaining peace and security in variousparts of the world by involvement in military actions:

• Korea 1950-53• Malaya 1955• Indonesia 1965• Vietnam 1965-71• Gulf War 1991• Afghanistan 2001 & 2006• Iraq 2003

6. Humanitarian Relief

Humanitarian Relief

Some examples of the areas in which the Australian government and non-government agencies provide relief:

• Boxing Day Tsunami 2004

• Earthquakes – Indonesia 2006, Turkey

• Landmines

• Famine

• HIV/Aids

Humanitarian Relief

For examples see:

• http://www.ausaid.gov.au/human/emergencies.cfm

• http://www.ausaid.gov.au/closeup/default.cfm

Colombo Plan

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colombo_plan

• http://www.pandanusbooks.com.au/item.php?searchterm=PB41B

• Started 1951• Social development

and economic aid to South-east Asian countries

Care Australia

• http://www.careaustralia.org.au/

7. Regional Organisations

ASEAN

Members  

BruneiCambodiaIndonesiaLaosMalaysiaMyanmarPhilippinesSingaporeThailandVietnam

The ASEAN Regional Forum

ASEAN Regional Forum: ██ ASEAN countries ██ Other ASEAN Regional Forum participants

ASEAN Regional Forum• ASEAN regularly conducts dialogue meetings with other countries

and an organization, collectively known as the ASEAN dialogue partners during the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).

• The ASEAN Regional Forum is an informal multilateral dialogue of 25 members that seeks to address security issues in the Asia-Pacific region. The ARF met for the first time in 1994.

• The current participants in the ARF are as follows: ASEAN, Australia, Canada, People's Republic of China, European Union, India, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Mongolia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Russia, East Timor, and the United States. Bangladesh was added to ARF as the 26th member, starting from July 28, 2006.

• The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is a group of Pacific Rim countries who meet with the purpose of improving economic and political ties. It has standing committees on a wide range of issues, from communications to fisheries.

• The heads of government of all APEC members meet annually in a summit called "APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting" rotating in location among APEC's member economies. APEC is famous for its tradition of having attending leaders dress in the national costume of the host nation.

APEC

APEC Members

Australia • Brunei Darussalam • Canada • Chile • People's Republic of China • Hong Kong, China • Indonesia • Japan • Malaysia • Mexico • New Zealand • Papua New Guinea • Peru • Philippines • Russia • Singapore • Republic of Korea • Chinese Taipei • Thailand • United States • Vietnam

Canberra Commission

• http://www.dfat.gov.au/cc/cchome.html

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canberra_Commission_on_the_Elimination_of_Nuclear_Weapons

8. Individual Australians

Stanley Melbourne Bruce• Ex-Australian PM 1923-29• Distinguished career in League of

Nations in 1930s• President of League Council during

Ethiopian Crisis (1936)• One of the League’s most determined

international statesmen• Bruce Report (1939) on international

economic cooperation anticipated work of later Economic and Social Council of the UN

• 1946-51 chaired World Food Council of FAO

Stanley Melbourne Bruce

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Bruce

• http://www.nma.gov.au/education/school_resources/resource_websites_and_interactives/primeministers/stanley_bruce/

Dr H. V. Evatt• Foreign Minister 1941-1949

in Curtin and Chifley Labor governments

• Leading role in creation of UN in 1945

• President of UN General Assembly 1948-1949

• Leading role in creation of the state of Israel in 1948

Dr H. V. Evatt

• http://www.lib.flinders.edu.au/resources/collection/special/evatt/evattbiog.html

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.V._Evatt

Jessie Street

• Founding member of the League of Nations Union (Aust) in 1918

• Attended League General Assemblies in 1930 and 1938

• Only Australian woman delegate at the conference to create the UN in 1945

• Co-founder of Un Commission on the Status of Women and Charter of Women’s rights

Jessie Street

• http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A160396b.htm

• http://uncommonlives.naa.gov.au/contents.asp?cID=30

• http://www.womenaustralia.info/biogs/AWE0013b.htm

John Sanderson

• 1991 – Adviser to the Secretary General of the UN to bring peace to Cambodia

• 1991-1993 Commanded 16000 UN force (UNTAC) in Cambodia

• Supervised successful elections in 1993 that ended civil war going on since 1970

John Sanderson

• http://www.awm.gov.au/peacekeeping/cambodia/australia.htm

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Sanderson

Gareth Evans• Foreign Minister in Hawke-Keating

governments• Led international community’s attempts to

end Vietnamese occupation of and end civil war in Cambodia

• Initiated Canberra Commission on Elimination of Nuclear Weapons 1996

• Worked for UN in recent years• Involved in International Crisis Group• Promoted the ‘Responsibility to Protect’

doctrine (R2P) at the World Summit in 2005• Worked with Hans Blix on the Weapons of

Mass Destruction Commission• Could have been in the running for

Secretary-General

Gareth Evans

• http://www.un-globalsecurity.org/bios/evans.asp

• http://www.answers.com/topic/gareth-evans-politician

• http://www.un.org/News/dh/hlpanel/evans-bio.htm

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gareth_Evans_(politician)

Richard Butler

• Head of UNSCOM 1997-1998• Expert on nuclear arms control• Wrote book Fatal Choice in

2002• Critic of George W. Bush

Administration’s unilateralist foreign policy

• Advocate of strengthening Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

Richard Butler

• http://www.theglobalist.com/DBWeb/AuthorBiography.aspx?AuthorId=71

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Butler_%28diplomat%29

• http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/10/03/1033538680140.html

• http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0813340977/ref=pd_bxgy_img_a/103-1750409-9919846?ie=UTF8

Helen Caldicott

• Passionate campaigner against the hazards of the nuclear age for 35 years

• Written numerous books on nuclear Issues

• One of the influential women of the twentieth century – Smithsonian Institute

• President of Nuclear Policy Research Institute in Washington DC

Helen Caldicott

• http://experts.about.com/e/h/he/Helen_Caldicott.htm

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Caldicott

• http://sandiego.indymedia.org/en/2006/08/117236.shtml

• http://www.helencaldicott.com/

Steve Pratt

• Human rights campaigner• Humanitarian work for

CARE since 1993 in Iraq, Somalia, Rwanda, Zaire and Yugoslavia

• Taken prisoner in Yugoslavia in 1999

• Wrote book in 2000 – Duty of Care

• Speaker on international issues

Steve Pratt

• http://www.celebrityspeakers.com.au/brspeaker_bio.asp?Speaker_Index_Text=213

• http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/stories/s48925.htm

Rod Barton

• Expert in WMDs• Member of the inspection teams

in Iraq, UNSCOM and UNMOVIC 1991-2002

• Adviser to US survey group in Iraq in 2003

• Embarrased the Australian Govt by stating that he saw abuse of prisoners in Iraq and passed this info on to the Govt.

Rod Barton

• http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2005/02/14/1108229865866.html

• http://www.apfn.net/messageboard/02-16-05/discussion.cgi.57.html

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UNSCOM• http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2005/s1

302494.htm• http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/feb2005/

mhab-f18.shtml

Peter Cosgove

• Led INTERFET peacekeeping mission into East Timor in 1999

• Success of the mission made him one of the most respected and popular military leaders

Peter Cosgove

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Cosgrove

• http://www.awm.gov.au/atwar/peacekeeping.htm

• http://www.brisinst.org.au/resources/sanderson_wayne_soldier.html

• http://www.etan.org/et2000a/february/20-29/23aust.htm

James Wolfensohn

• President of World Bank 1995-2006• Tried to address the needs of the

world’s poorest countries• 1996 – launched Heavily Indebted

Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC). • Advocated trust building between the

Bank’s clients, NGOs and private companies

James Wolfensohn• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Wolfensohn

• http://www.globalpolicy.org/socecon/bwi-wto/wolfsohn.htm

• http://www.npr.org/programs/npc/2003/031029jwolfensohn.html

• http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTABOUTUS/EXTARCHIVES/0,,contentMDK:20475199~pagePK:36726~piPK:36092~theSitePK:29506,00.html

Rowan Gillies

• Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) – Afghanistan, Sierra Leone before

• MSF medical coordinator in south Sudan, then Liberia.

• President of MSF Australia in January 2002

• elected international president of MSF later in 2002

Rowan Gillies

• http://news.sbs.com.au/dateline/index.php?page=archive&daysum=2005-04-13#

• http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2005/01/20/1106110882796.html?from=top5

• http://careerfocus.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/329/7462/68

Frank Lowy

• One of Australia’s richest businessman

• Lowy Institute for International Policy - independent, non-partisan think tank

• to conduct original, policy-relevant research about international political

Frank Lowy

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Lowy

• http://www.lowyinstitute.org/

So…Is Australia ‘punching above its

weight’ as a global citizen?

Punching above our own weight?

• How has Australia performed as a global citizen in the past?

• What is Australia doing now?

• What should Australia do in the future?

Consider the following

Know some facts on each of these areas

Australia as a

Global Citizen

Individuals

Alliances

Treaties

United

Nations

Peacekeeping

Regional Organisation

s

Humanitarian Relief

Military Action

The End