Australia: The Foreign Policy of the Hawke-Keating Government

World War II was the most devastating war in history and saw more people killed, service men, women and civilians alike than any war before or since. Virtually every part of the world was included in the conflict during the years 1939-1945, and Australia was involved extensively. Due to the nature of war the Australian Government imposed a series of wartime controls and restrictions that negatively affected the everyday life of civilians. During World War II, laws were introduced that restricted individual freedoms to promote the idea of austerity. The policies included cutting consumption, going without, wasting nothing, living simply, conscription, manpower controls, rationing and

In this essay I will be talking about the impact of the fall of Singapore on Australia’s immediate security, and also be giving a brief background of important events during that time.

The Second World War was a massive event that left the whole world shocked and saddened of the outcomes. World War 2 was known mostly because of who ruled, Adolf Hitler was the leader of the Nazis. The Nazis where a German army who terrorized Europe and the world with the in humane treatment of people and mostly the treatment of the Jews. Australia’s involvement in ww2 will be the main focus of this essay. Australia lost over 30 000 people who became in prisoned by the Nazis. To follow on with the hypothesis of Australia’s involvement and contributions to WW2 was significant due to their alliances with Great Britain and the USA largely affect Australia even to this day, I will be discussing this through the rest of the essay.

Australia’s response to the threat of communism after WW2 was extraordinary. Australia and its politicians immediately recognised what could happen of a result of the domino theory. With the Soviet Union influencing so many countries and causing China, Vietnam, and North Korea to turn Communist it was only matter of time until it reached Australia, and all in all this was when Australia took action.

In the twentieth century after World War 2 the world was threatened by the takeover of communist that had begun to consume the globe. The Australian government identified that the fear ideology communism will take over the country if no actions were taken to stand against and stop it. The Australian government provided support and participated in several military conflicts during the Cold War to reduce the threat of communist around the world. However, the longest of Australia’s military engagement was the Vietnam War from 1965 to 1975. Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War was mainly centred on its fear of the ‘Domino Theory’, and its relations with the U.S through the Foreign policy which involved the ‘Forward Defence’ policy. The

During his time in office, Gough Whitlam was able to determine and predict that in future times the Australian people would have to rely further on their Asian neighbours. Just two weeks after being elected, Whitlam officially recognised the communist government of the People's Republic of China and opened up diplomatic relations (Source 6) as well trading and cultural links. Within a year Australia had reopened its embassy in Beijing (Source 7) which had been closed in protest when the communist government took power. Whitlam wanted to change the racially charged thoughts of Australians which had prevented interactions in its own region. Relations between Australia and South-East Asia also improved after the abandonment of the 'White Australia' policy under the Whitlam government. Not only did that prompt the arrival of Asian refugees, it also allowed a larger range of people from Asian countries to obtain tourist and education visa’s. The Colombo Plan allowed Asian students to study in Australia. The Vietnam War and major Whitlam policy reforms brought Australians out of our Anglo-centric view and realise that we had a larger part to play in Asia. As a result of many new cultural, diplomatic, trade and tourist links to Australia, the Whitlam government was able to boost exports dramatically, change the racist face of Australian society and

In this essay, it will be seen that the expansion of the external affairs power since Federation reflects Australia’s growing independence from a Dominion of the United Kingdom and its transition into nationhood.

Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War was a result of a combined fear of communism and the fall of freedom from danger in Australian democracy and society. The growing web of communism saw the fall of many countries closing in on Australia and New Zealand, and it was believed Robert Menzies’ government that they would find communism at Australia’s shores.

In 1945, after World War II had finished, Australia finally felt at peace – that was until Communism began to have an effect on the entire world. Australia had a lot to fear, with the threat likely to infiltrate the country both domestically (an established Communist Party) and internationally (a geographical location close to countries that had already fallen victim to communism, such as China and Korea). Australia responded to both of these threats in a way that caused a lot of political controversy and has created bonds with other parts of the world that are still activated today.

Australia is considered among important allies of United States. In the Vietnam war Australia sent a force of 50 000. Being situated in Southern Hemisphere of Southeast Asia, Australia has to face exceptional defense challenges much more than neighboring partner. Historically Australia seems to be willing to accept the major role in military interventions in the surrounding area as can be seen in East Timor.

Australians, was a  domestic  organization.  While the party was actively  aggressive towards governmental policies, they did  not have the  capacity  to be at war with the Commonwealth.  This provision bore no relation to

The Fraser government continued this policy direction with China, which was strengthened even further during the Hawke and Keating years (1983-96). The Howard government has continued this policy and has chosen to place economic and trade considerations above ideology. Pursuit of a strong bilateral relationship with China by Australian Labor governments might have been predicted on political grounds but, increasingly, as the world moves to embrace a global village profile governments of all political persuasion’s are shaping the foreign policies on the basis of national economic self interest.

The U.S. and Australian alliance share an interest in maintaining the peace and stability in the Asian- Pacific

Australian-Indonesian relations are the foreign relations between the two countries, whether economically, politically, legally or socially. Australian-Indonesian relations involve an interaction in foreign policies between the two nations (Wolfsohn, 1951, p. 68). As long as Indonesia is Australia 's closest and largest neighbor, they are bound to have great international relations. These relations began as early as the 17th century and had only become enhanced with time (Daly, 2003, p. 397). The relationship has been defined by a conjoint growth trade of up to $14 between the years 2011-2012 which reports an increase from the previous economic year (Mark, 2012, p.402). These countries are members of various trade deals such as the ASEAN Regional Forum in addition to having close ties with education, defense, and leadership. Australia 's relationship with Indonesia is crucial, and lack of such could severely bruise the economy, and hence they need to keep united by ensuring the use of widespread media with beneficial input. Australia interacts with Indonesia in a way such as sporting activity, tourism, education, economic policies, youth exchange programs, cultures and above all their diplomacy (Okamoto, 2010, p.241).

The development in the progress of China, India and Indonesia benefits Australia and contributes significantly to regional stability which extends opportunities for a successful and reciprocating business partnership instead of being aid dependent. Australia’s economical national interest is directly linked to the success, stability and peaceful interactions of its neighbours because these countries are also the first line of defence against many negative issues which could affect Australia (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade 2016c). If these states remain to be wealthy and stable, they will respond better to efficiently to threats and complications in trade. In order to benefit from the trading relationships with the neighbouring countries, Australia needs to take advantage of the international economic opportunities and ensure we are focused on advancing in global economic, financial, investment and trade institutions. A globally integrated economy is crucial due to the growth which can be gained from an open trading system and foreign direct investment which secures our position in the economically advancing countries of the world and our own financial welfare (Wong 2017).