Australia in the World: Short Answer Critical Reviews - Weeks 2-7

This assignment presents critical reviews of news items and readings related to Australia's interactions with the world, spanning from Week 2 to Week 7. Week 2 analyzes Tony Abbott's speech on infrastructure and a commentary on Eric Rolls' work on Australian bush regions. Week 4 examines Scott Morrison's call for a national day recognizing indigenous contributions and the performative qualities of the 'Uluru Statement of the Heart'. Week 5 discusses the suspension of Richard Di Natale and the role of civil society in mitigating floods in Victoria and Queensland. Week 6 focuses on Australia's willingness to establish a trade deal with the post-Brexit Union and the various Australian reactions to Brexit. Finally, Week 7 explores Australia's economic cooperation with Asian countries and the ambivalent position of Asia in Australian political discourse. Each review critically assesses the opinions expressed by public figures and relates them to scholarly sources.

Running head: AUSTRALIA AND THE WORLD
Australia and the World
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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1. Summary of Week 2 Readings
Reading 1
The article is about a speech made by Tony Abbott, the Australian Premiere, on
infrastructure, and the remarkable partnership shared between Britain and Australia from the
country’s inception until today. Tony Abbott alludes to the incredible role that British and
other foreign settlers have had on the development of the country. The author however
believes, that Tony Abbott in his speech ignores the reality of colonization. This is evident in
her decision to quote Rachel Siewert, the spokesperson for Greek indigenous affairs, who
stated that the speech given by Abbott showed how ignorant he was of the evil consequences
of white settlement on the aboriginals (Abbott, 2014).
Reading 2
This piece is a commentary on an inaugural lecture delivered by Eric Rolls. Rolls
researched on the workings of the bush regions of Australia, being one of the first person to
point to how the areas had transformed upon European occupation. The author is clearly a
person who admires the work of Eric Rolls. This is because the author refers to Eric Rolls as
a great person, speaking about how his ability to portray the bush regions of the country was
priceless and rare, how he could link detail very easily to national patterns, illuminating the
future and the past of Australia with ease (Gammage, 2011).
Summary of Week 4 Readings
Reading 1
This article is on a call made by Scott Morrison for the establishment of a national day
that recognizes the contribution of indigenous people to the growth, development and cultural
heritage of Australia (Morrison, 2018). It is the belief of the Australian premier that indulgent

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self-loathing is not something that can make the country strong. The author of the piece
speaks favorably about the decision taken by Scott Morrison but also believes that this
declaration should have been made after consulting the representatives of indigenous people
first. This is evident by the author’s description of the opposition expressed by indigenous
Australian representatives in this respect (Morrison, 2018).
Reading 2
This reading engages in a consideration of performative qualities of an aboriginal text,
known as the “Uluru Statement of the Heart”, a piece that was composed in 2017 by writers
who are leaders of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (Grehan, 2018). The author
engages in an analysis of the various modes of address as evident in the piece, the ethical and
aesthetic question raised, and the language that is used, arguing how these provide insights as
to the politics of listening and speaking in the political climate currently prevailing in
Australia. The tension of the Australian government to accept and include such aboriginal
people in the Australian mainstream is well pointed out by the author (Grehan, 2018).
Summary of Week 5 Readings
Reading 1
This article is about the suspension of Richard Di Natale by the Australian Senate, for
having called Barry O Sullivan something as coarse as a pig and the response that was given
by Scott Morrison on this matter. The Australian premier has not bothered to say much,
excepting to be largely ignorant of what Richard Di Natale has to say, given that the latter has
been very critical of Morrison’s policies and practices ever since he came to power. The
article reveals how controversial Richard Di Natale tends to be in the speeches that he makes
before the Australian parliament and how his banal language has given the Senate no choice
but to suspend him (Morrison, 2018).

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Reading 2
This article is about the floods that took place in Victoria and in Queensland and the role
that was played on the part of civil society in mitigating the disaster. The author of the piece
points to how civic engagement at the time of the occurrence of these floods is something that
really helped rehabilitation and resettlement efforts, with the author arguing that working
towards the collective good is something that comes naturally to people, by and large. The
author also points to the inadequacy demonstrated by the Australian government and political
mechanisms in addressing the matter as effectively as it could have (Carson, 2011).
2. Summary of Week 6 Readings
Reading 1
This article is on the willingness demonstrated by the Australian leadership to
establish a trade deal with the post Brexit Union, a willingness that is expressed by stating the
condition that trading interests with the European Union come first for the country. The
author points to the enthusiasm and the interest that is showcased by Australians to finalize
an ambitious deal with the Post Brexit Union, possibly as soon as the UK is seen to exit the
Union. The article also talks about the willingness on the part of Theresa May, the British
Premier to cooperate with Australia in the global resistance against terrorism (Turnbull &
May, 2017).
Reading 2
This article engages in an analysis of both Australian reactions and Australian
commentary with regard to Brexit both before the vote took place as well as after the vote
took place (McDougall, 2016). Various versions of Brexit are taken account of in this article
with the political, economic and strategic implications of Brexit for Australia being assessed
by the author. The author argues in this piece that there is a need for Australia to build close

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relationships with the post Brexit Union as well as the UK. This article partakes in an
assessment of the immigration system in Australia as well (McDougall, 2016).
3. Summary of Week 7 Readings
Reading 1
This article refers to the various ways by which the Australian leadership can engage
in economic cooperation with Asian countries (Gillard, 2012). Institutional regional
agreement with the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum is discussed by the author, and
several ways by which a collaboration can take place with numerous countries of East and
South East Asia is well discussed. The paper in particular dwells on the various strengths of
the Australian government and the Australian leadership in the domain of economic
cooperation, and it details how by the year of 2025 Australia can emerge as a huge success in
the Asian Century by becoming more resilient and more prosperous and by sharing all types
of new opportunities (Gillard, 2012).
Reading 2
This article looks at the ambivalent position of Asia in Australian political discourse,
talking about how such ambivalence gets reflected in policies that are undertaken by the
Australian government towards Asian countries and Asian affairs (Johnson et al., 2010). The
author identifies a number of key differences in the views of John Howard and those of recent
labor ministers in the country of Australia (Johnson et al., 2010). What is also pointed out by
the author is that Kevin Rudd holds a number of ambivalent opinions and views regarding
Asia, views that show that he is eager to engage in economic collaboration with Asian
countries for the sake of prosperity but is also worried that Australia may be left behind by
these countries in the race to become a nation that is economically supreme (Johnson et al.,
2010).

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References
Abbott, T. (2014) Address to the Sydney Institute, 14 November 2014.
Carson, L. (2011) Dilemmas, disasters and deliberative democracy, Griffith Review Edition
32: Wicked Problems, Exquisite Dilemmas, May 2011
Derek McDougall (2016) Australia and Brexit: Déjà Vu All Over Again? The Round
Table, 105:5, 557-572.
Gammage, B. (2011). Fire in 1788: The closest ally. Australian Historical Studies 42(2), 277-
288.
Gillard, J. (2012) In Conversation: Australia in Asian Century White Paper, The Lowy
Institute. 21 November 2012.
Grehan, H. (2018) First Nations Politics in a Climate of Refusal, Performance Research,
23:3, pp. 7-12.
Johnson, C. et.al. (2010) Australia's Ambivalent Re-imagining of Asia, Australian Journal of
Political Science,45:1, 59-74.
Morrison, S. (2018) On The Australia Day Debate, Sunrise, Channel 7, 24 September 2018.
Morrison, S. (2018) Response to Richard Di Natale question without notice, Question Time,
Parliament of Australia, 26 November 2018.
Turnbull, M and May, T. (2017) Turnbull and May confident of free trade deal, The
Guardian, 11 July 2017.