Australia's new cabinet

Australia's new cabinet

Our southern neighbor, Australia, now has a new cabinet. The
27-member cabinet of Prime Minister John Howard was sworn into
office on Monday and is now officially executing its duties.

What does this mean for Indonesia? Will Australia drastically
change its political course? Will the new government adopt a
tougher attitude with regard to East Timor, for example, which
could create tensions between the two neighbors?

Howard, in his campaign rhetoric, promised to sharply correct
the political course of his predecessor. One of the major
correction involves putting the country's domestic interests
before foreign relations. This promise proved successful in
attracting voters and Howard is now committed to keeping his
word.

In liberal democratic countries such as Australia changes in
policy follow a change of government, which in theory can happen
once in every four years.

The presence of new people in the government always brings
opportunities as well as risks. New people need time to
familiarize themselves with the old patterns established by their
predecessors. At the same time they have the potential of looking
at the existing problems with fresh eyes and creativity. It is
not impossible that they may even establish closer relations
between Australia and Asia, and Indonesia in particular.

Australia cannot disregard Asia. In this era of globalization
no country can afford to serve its own domestic interests while
neglecting the world outside. Still, Australia under its new
government will probably need some time for fine tuning,
consolidation and reflection.

-- Republika, Jakarta