Reports reflect a changed Australia

Reports reflect a changed Australia

By Rob Goodfellow

WOLLONGONG, Australia (JP): The positive reaction of the
Australian press to the visit of President Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus
Dur) demonstrates an ever-maturing level of sensitivity, insight
and analysis into the complex bilateral relationship between
Australia and Indonesia.

What is more, this indirectly reflects a changed Australia,
one where a broad cross-section of the Australian public are
actually interested in knowing more about life and politics in
the world's forth most populous nation, and Australia's nearest
northern neighbour.

The Sydney Morning Herald, arguably Australia's most respected
newspaper (SMH), known by many Indonesians for David Jenkins'
critical analysis of Soeharto polity, leads with the front-page
headline "PM's man talks treaty on eve of Wahid visit". In this
article by Jakarta-based Craig Skehan and Lindsay Murdoch, the
Liberal-Conservative Head of the Parliamentary Committee on
International Treaties, Andrew Thompson, is reported as seeking
to revitalize aspects of the Keating Labor Government's security
relationship with Indonesia (an astonishing turn of events in
itself), or as the Prime Minister John Howard diplomatically
commented, "a ruling-off of problems in the bilateral
relationship".

Continuing from the front page, the SMH's analysis and
editorial achieves two things. The first is that it provides
readers with a culturally insightful background to the Indonesian
President's domestic political concerns. The second is that it
focuses on the symbolic importance of the first visit of an
Indonesian head of state in more than 25 years.

In the lead article, Hamish McDonald realistically suggests
that, "no one expects more than symbolic outcomes -- Australia's
validation of Indonesia's territorial integrity and a declaration
that the East Timor issue is behind us". However the influential
SMH editorial warmly states "Welcome Gur Dur" - and further, "The
symbolism of the visit of Indonesia's first democratically
elected President to Australia cannot be underestimated ...
Australia should welcome Gus Dur as a true friend".

This is in sharp contrast to the public anger associated with
the visit of former president Soeharto during the time of Prime
Minister Gough Whitlam's administration in 1975. Clearly casting
back to this time, the SMH editorial states, "it would be
pointless and wrong for the President's visit to be marred by
misguided demonstrations against it".

The national broad sheet, The Australian, had a similarly
positive front page: "We'll start again with Wahid: PM", followed
by no less than two major analytical articles, starting with Greg
Sheridan's "Wahid's visit a new beginning".

This made the strong point that Gus Dur's visit to Australia
makes it much easier for an Australian Prime Minister -- either
John Howard or Kim Beazley (depending on the result of a national
election expected in November) to pay a reciprocal visit.

This would give either leader an opportunity to reaffirm the
absolute importance of the Indonesian relationship as a symbol of
Australia's continued integration with the region (as Paul
Keating did in 1993). The editorial also points out that no
matter what happens in Indonesian domestic politics in the next
month, the largely symbolic visit "sets a positive precedent for
a future successor to Mr Wahid".

In The Australian opinion column former diplomat Duncan
Campbell's less than diplomatic commentary talks at length about
the complications in the relationship. However, what he does
suggest is that "the Wahid visit could ease us into the next
period of bilateral relations" and that "the greatest immediate
menace to Australia's future with Indonesia lies in the risk of
disintegration in the eastern archipelago".

The national business daily, The Financial Review, uses its
front page to publish the first in a three part series on the
social and economic problems faced by East Timor, but then also
dedicates considerable attention in critique to the visit.

For instance, Tony Walker's "Howard sees end to strained
ties", and the excellent analysis of Brendon Pearson in "Wahid
visit seen as step of historic significance". Peason sums it up
nicely with his comment, "no grand initiatives, but an important,
symbolic step in the renovation of one of Australia's most
important political relationships -- that's how the Howard
Government sees today's visit from the Indonesian President".

However, perhaps of greatest significance to most Australians,
the Sydney Daily Telegraph, which many New South Wales-based
Australian politicians acknowledge represents, or perhaps forms,
the opinion of more voters than any other newspaper, dedicated a
sensible page two story to the visit, including an itinerary.
(The front page was devoted to more important matters -- a ruby
league game).

The significant thing was that the Daily Telegraph was not
jingoist or shallow in its reporting, but rather echoed the
general thrust of the more academic press, and the raised
interest in "things Indonesian" of most Australians.

A decade ago it could be said for most Australians, Indonesian
was a place of which much was believed, but little known. The
visit of Gus Dur to Australia has already achieved a great deal
in just being reported on here, with an even handed, subjective
candour.

The writer, a social researcher and Indonesian cultural
consultant to Western businesses, is based at the University of
Wollongong, Australia (sujoko@ozemail.com.au).