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).