This episode examines developments in Australian diplomacy and foreign policy including Marise Payne’s visit to China and speeches by Scott Morrison and Bill Shorten.

It has been a busy few weeks for international affairs and this week Allan and Darren cover three pairs of issues:

• a pair of foreign policy speeches by PM Scott Morrison and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten;
• Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne’s visit to China and the Australian Government’s raft of new initiatives for engagement with the South Pacific (with a quick detour into the State of Victoria’s participation in the Belt and Road Initiative); and
• a pair of elections: the US midterms and a new President in Brazil.

Allan Gyngell AO FAIIA is National President of the Australian Institute of International Affairs and an Honorary Professor at the ANU’s College of Asia and the Pacific.

Dr Darren Lim is a Lecturer in the School of Politics and International Relations at the Australian National University. 

Allan and Darren would like to thank the people who helped make this possible, in particular: AIIA interns Stephanie Rowell (research assistant) and Mani Bovell (audio engineer); Martyn Pearce and Maya Bhandari of the Crawford School for technical support; Rory Stenning for composing the theme music; and AIIA National Executive Director Melissa Conley Tyler for her hard work behind the scenes to help make this happen.