The article by Howard Dick, ‘Turnbull meets Jokowi: A New Chapter in Australia-Indonesia Relations?’ provides a brief history of events of significance in Australia/Indonesia relations from the 1960s through to the current day. It focusses on the handling of issues by former Prime Ministers Julia Gillard (unilateral suspension of beef exports to Indonesia) and Tony Abbott (turn back the boats policy and talk of Australia’s aid to Indonesia being in jeopardy with the execution of Australia drug traffickers). Dick argues that to improve relations between the two countries, there is a need for Australia’s future leaders to “develop their cross-cultural skills and sensitivity to cultural differences” an argument I strongly support. He further argues that “All Australians – and especially …show more content…
This argument is supported by substantial evidence throughout the essay. This includes the ability of the new Government to persuade the Indonesian Co-ordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs and Former General, Luhut Pandjaitan to impose a moratorium on further executions in Indonesia. This announcement was made days after he returned from discussions in Canberra. This raises a main strength of the article. The argument that former Prime Minister Abbott significantly weakened Australia’s relationship with Indonesia through his approach when trying to persuade Indonesia to hold off the executions of convicted Australian drug smugglers Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran. Some points Dick raises to support this argument include Abbotts remark that Australia’s aid to Indonesia could be in jeopardy which was not taken well by the Indonesians, as well as the impact that the strong policy Tony Abbott had on turning back the boats to Indonesia had on their economy, having to house tens of thousands of refugees who had no where to