Australian PM discusses the ‘Asian Century White Paper’

Should Australia put more focus on its relationship with Asia? Yes, according to Australia’s Prime Minister, Julia Gillard.

Hear the Prime Minister talks about her Asian Century White Paper with ABC's Fran Kelly live on Australia’s Radio National.

Transcript:

Julia Gillard: The focus of the White Paper is on what Asia is going to demand next and how we can seize those economic opportunities.

Fran Kelly: Let’s talk about how we seize those opportunities. Because in your own words, it’s an ambitious plan to ensure Australia is the winner in the Asian century. So this is the road map. I think a lot of people want to know who’s driving the car, how we’re making this happen?

Julia Gillard: Well, I’m driving the government car, but this White Paper is actually a challenge to all of us, to businesses, to trade unions, to civil society, to media organisations to embrace the

opportunities that come with this century. It’s about our population being skilled and being 'Asia capable', and it’s about the businesses having the capability to also reach out to Asia, and get into the supply chains, get into the markets, get into the opportunities for growth.

Fran Kelly: And is it a recognition that in Australia culturally we are not Asia-centric enough, we are not looking at the countries nearest to us and the opportunities within and what’s changing within it, that we're still too focused on the US and Europe?

Julia Gillard: Yes, we need to do more; we need to do a lot more. People like me, people like you, grew up with this image that Asia was largely a place of poverty. People worried that they

were going to compete against us on cost, that they would always be the low-cost producers and they would challenge us in our traditional markets like the US and Europe.

Now all of those assumptions are getting turned on their head. Asia is going to be the home of the world’s biggest middle-class. We will be competing in the markets of Asia against the US, against countries in Europe to sell high quality goods. But we are the ones with the advantage of adjacency. We’re right here in the region. So whether it’s selling, you know, wonderful food, wonderful wine, great tourism, high quality education services, health services, legal services, elaborately transformed manufacturers, we are right here, able to seize this

opportunity if we make the right decisions now and have a clear national plan, and yesterday I gave the nation that clear national plan.