| ID | 138157 |
| Title Proper | Menzies' road map for Asia still guides us today |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Frydenberg, Josh |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | This is an excerpt from the 2014 Sir Robert Menzies Lecture, delivered by the Honourable Josh Frydenberg, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and the Federal Member for Kooyong, on August 14, 2014, in the Queen's Hall at the Parliament of Victoria, Melbourne. In these remarks, I argue that Sir Robert Menzies oversaw a paradigm shift in our understanding of our neighbours and in our neighbours' understanding of us. He did so by repositioning Australia among the rising powers of Asia and by creating a coherent framework of regional engagement. For too long, the political opponents of the Liberal Party of Australia have propagated a myth that it was only Labor that truly understood our region and capitalised on its opportunities. This is patently false. The explicit denigration of Menzies and, in more recent times, John Howard and Tony Abbott for their approach to Asia should be exposed for what it is: ideologically driven, partisan polemics, which bear no resemblance to the facts. Paul Keating is wrong to suggest that in order for Australia to achieve, in his words, our ‘destiny in Asia and the Pacific’, we must somehow change our national identity and the nature of who we are. Foreign policy is about advancing the national interest and must never be a proxy for reshaping our nation's identity by stealth. As Shakespeare said, ‘What's past is prologue’, and only if we can truthfully understand the past will we be ready for the future. |
| `In' analytical Note | Australian Journal of International Affairs Vol. 69, No.1; Feb 2015: p.8-17 |
| Journal Source | Australian Journal of International Affairs Vol: 69 No 1 |
| Key Words | Anzus ; Asia ; Road map ; Menzies ; Asia Strategy ; Kooyong |