Taking relations beyond beef, boats and Bali - The Australian

Then opposition leader Tony Abbott meets President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Jakarta last year. Picture: Stuart McEvoy Source: TheAustralian

TONY Abbott got off to a good start in building trust and a good working relationship with Indonesia. His telephone conversation last week with Indonesia's President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, has set the scene for both countries to co-operate in the implementation of the Coalition's "turn back the boats" policy.

Indonesia knows good relations between our two countries are critical at this time throughout the region, and particularly as both the US and China are now positioning themselves as the regional superpower.

The danger for Australia's new government, however, is that Indonesia has a democratic electoral system as robust as that in Australia. As Indonesia now heads into its own national pre-election period, a "turn back the boats" policy could easily become a strong point of nationalism in Indonesia used by opposition parties, for domestic political purposes, to portray Australia as the big and arrogant southern neighbour.

And the suggestion by Abbott that Australia would buy old fishing boats and pay village wardens to "dob in" people-smugglers is seen by most Indonesians - including senior government officials - as silly and quite offensive.

Abbott will therefore need to handle this matter with great skill and diplomacy because at some stage, if the Coalition desires to build a deeper relationship with this emerging giant of 240 million people on our doorstep, the focus will need to move beyond not only the "boats", but also beyond the other two dominant issues that suck oxygen out of the larger and more significant issues facing our two countries: beef and Bali.

The term "Beef, Boats and Bali" was coined on the recent ABC Q&A program was filmed live in Jakarta. It was a phrase that did in a way summarise how many Australians see our relationship with Indonesia; a relationship built upon misperceptions, fear and a narrow community mindset trapped in a 20-year-old time warp.

The Prime Minister and his Foreign Minister, Julie Bishop, may therefore, as a first step, take a look at a snapshot of how Australians view today's Indonesia. The recent survey conducted within Australia by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade revealed a community perception of Indonesia that is insightful but disturbing in its misunderstanding of our near neighbour:

* 50 per cent see Indonesia as a military threat to Australia.

* 53 per cent see Indonesia as having an undemocratic political system.

* 50 per cent see Indonesia as having laws based on the Islamic code.

* 20 per cent of Australians see Bali as an independent nation, and the two words most associated with Indonesia were "holidays" and "Muslims".

Ironically, very few Australians see Indonesia as it really is: the absolute opposite of the above. These misperceptions are often fuelled by politicians who seem to focus only on the "three Bs", and also some sections of our electronic media, who appear interested only in the latest Bali holiday disaster.

The second thing Bishop should consider doing is to attend the inaugural Conference of Australia & Indonesia Youth in Canberra next month.

Thirty youth leaders from both countries will attend this event, which has the appropriate title, "Our turn to decide". They are right, as these young people can provide our Foreign Minister with an honest and achievable vision for the future, and some good starting points.

These could include making it easier for youth to move more freely between our respective shores; to be able to work, holiday and learn without bureaucratic red tape that makes it simply too hard at present for many young people.

We need to see how more young people from Indonesia can undertake temporary work here in the hospitality and tourism sectors, and how young Australians can live and study in Indonesia.

In this regard the Coalition's reverse Colombo Plan is an excellent initiative. As part of the review of our foreign aid budget for Indonesia, we need to ensure the focus is on how to lift the living standards and education of young people. Indonesia is already No 3 in the world for Facebook usage and No 2 for Twitter, yet online banking using smartphone technology is almost non-existent.

Their youth are hi-tech savvy, but the country's internet infrastructure is run down and outdated.

Here is an opportunity for Australia to make a difference.

So while the immediate challenge for Abbott and Bishop will be about turning around the boats, there must be a broader agenda to completely review the relationship to move beyond the cliche of needing to build closer ties because without a coherent plan they become just words.

The Indonesia Strategy as developed by DFAT provides the framework for a substantial upgrading of the bilateral relationship. Australia and Indonesia are very different in many respects, but we are also natural partners.

Therefore the sooner we start to look beyond Beef, Boats and Bali, the sooner we will genuinely strengthen the relationship, starting by re-focusing on our young people, language skills, technology and exchange programs. Then business, cultural and educational opportunities will flow to benefit both countries and the region.

It's a matter of whether Abbott and Bishop are willing to seriously invest in a new and more vibrant relationship with our close - and very youthful - neighbour.

All the indications are that they will.

Ross Taylor is chairman of the Indonesia Institute (Inc) and Australia's 2013 "Presidential Friend of Indonesia".

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