A Problem of Mixed Messages An Indonesian insider's view of the Australian relationship In the lead up to the release of the 'Australia in the Asian Century' white paper, Dewi Fortuna Anwar writes that Australia should be doing more to foster relations with its near northern neighbour. Indonesia isn’t worried about being ‘neglected’ by Australia – because half the world is knocking on its door. Recent ‘flashpoints’ with asylum seekers, the cattle trade, drug arrests and terrorism tend to obscure the fact that Australia has some of the world’s best intellectual expertise on Indonesia. READ THE ESSAY http://asialink.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/614425/Mixed_Messages-Anwar.pdf An excerpt of this essay appears in today's Australian newspaper.

About the author Prof. Dewi Fortuna Anwar is Deputy Secretary for Political Affairs to the Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia. In addition to the role with the office of the Vice President, she is a Research Professor and held the position of the Deputy Chairman for Social Sciences and Humanities at The Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) from 2001-2010. She is also the Chair of the Institute for Democracy and Human Rights at The Habibie Center, a member of the Board of Advisors of CIDES (Center for Information and Development Studies) in Jakarta, and a member of the Board of Advisors, The Institute for Peace and Democracy, The Bali Democracy Forum.