MIDDLETON: Minister, welcome to the program.
WONG: Good to be with you Jim.
MIDDLETON: Chinas Ambassador in Canberra says that Australians still suffer a major gap in understanding his country. Thats a big handicap, is it not, given that the nations of Asia have been the source of Australias prosperity for decades now?
WONG: Weve certainly come a long way in Australia in terms of our understanding, not only of China but of other nations in the Asian region in the last decades. But we still have more to do.
MIDDLETON: More to do does seem to be the theme of this White Paper do this, do that, do the next thing, all with no money attached. It is a bit of a to-do list, a wish list, isnt it?
WONG: I dont agree. I think this is an incredibly important document. Its a blueprint, if you like, that sets out a whole range of pathways across the economy across a whole range of policy areas that says these are the things we need to do and these are the ways we need to think when approaching public policy, not just tomorrow, not just for one or two Budgets, but for the decades ahead.
Because that is the nature of the transformation, Jim, as you know. Were seeing a transformation in the global economy; were seeing the centre of the world economy come towards Australia, which is a great thing for us. But that means a very large change as well here in Australia.
And to manage that change, to guide that change and to grasp the opportunities that change presents, does require us to make sure we rethink how we approach so many areas of public policy. And I think that is the great benefit of this paper.
MIDDLETON: Is this White Paper also an appeal to Australians to update their image of the countries to their north, which for many are still impoverished, not as central to Australias imagination as Europe or the United States a cheap place for a holiday. Is that something that needs to go?
WONG: Im less interested in image than in content. And what I want to see, and what I think will be best for Australia, is more and more Australians becoming more Asia literate, having a deeper understanding of the cultures of our region and more Australian businesses integrating more closely with the markets of Asia which is where, as you know, well see increasing numbers of consumers in the decades ahead. What we should be interested in is content, the real change. Its not just about image.
MIDDLETON: You mentioned Asian consumers. Australias made an awful lot of money out of selling energy and minerals to Asia. Does Australia now have to shift its economic priorities to become a nation selling more products, more food, more services, to the hundreds of millions of people entering the middle class in Asia?
WONG: Theres no doubt that you cant simply rest on the minerals boom; you cant simply rest on the high prices that were getting for iron ore and for coal forever. And the reality is that the great opportunity for Australia is in the rising middle classes of Asia.
As people in China, in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam become, increasingly, consumers, not just exporters, now that presents an extraordinary opportunity for this nation.
And youre right. In order to grasp that opportunity we need to more than simply sell commodities. Were going to have to make sure we provide the services, the high value products that middle class consumers in Asia want. In part the White Paper looks very closely at some of the ways in which we have to develop those capabilities in the years ahead.
MIDDLETON: Launching the White Paper, the Prime Minister noted that China is ageing while India is young. That implies, does it not, that India may become a more attractive market for Australia in the years ahead; that the days may be numbered when Australia can rely on China as a major source of wealth?
WONG: I think Chinas growth and Chinas place in the world economy is a trajectory thats not going to be shifted. But the Prime Minister is making a very important point: that we shouldnt only focus on China. We should focus on the many economies, the many nations in the Asian region, who are going to continue to develop, to become more affluent, to be able to consume more of the products and services that hopefully Australia will provide. And India is the most obvious example.
MIDDLETON: A personal note: you are the only Cabinet Minister both of Asian descent and born in Asia. Does that give you a more perceptive insight into the opportunities and challenges offered by Asia?
WONG: I think that, certainly growing up in Malaysia and growing up with a father who always impressed upon me the importance of China and the importance of Asia and really I often think back and think I should have listened more closely to Dad, because he used to speak very often of what he saw as happening in the decades ahead certainly I hope I bring to the Cabinet table an understanding of Australias place in our region and the opportunities in our region. But I have to say I think thats a view shared around the Cabinet table and certainly a view that the Prime Minister has very strongly held.
MIDDLETON: A revival of the ability of more Australians to speak an Asian language is one of the White Papers priorities. How much harder have you found negotiating with your international counterparts when you find yourself in a situation where you have to work through a translator?
WONG: It is more difficult and Ive always tried to remember a few words in the language of the person to whom I was speaking, and obviously being from my background I could do a little bit in Malay and I could do a little bit in Indonesian; I could do a few phrases in Mandarin. And that helps, I think, because you get a deeper personal connection.
But my view is that we do have to increase our Asian language capability in Australia. It is critical not only to our economic opportunities but also to really more fully integrating with the Asian region and understanding the markets into which we export and the people with whom were dealing.
MIDDLETON: One of the barriers to increasing Asian literacy in Australia is this: Mandarin, for example, is a difficult language to learn and in the competitive years at the end of high school, kids who have learned Mandarin from birth have a natural advantage. Wont there need to be positive incentives to encourage children and perhaps even more so their parents to opt for Mandarin or Hindi, rather than Italian or German for example.
WONG: Ive no doubt theres going to be a whole gamut of changes that will be required, not just in the area of schooling but elsewhere, as a result of these policy objectives. And what the Prime Minister has said in the White Paper is that we need to make sure that access to priority Asian language is something all Australian students have and we want to lift the number of Australian students who have those capabilities.
You mentioned some of the practical issues that need to be worked through. I think another one is making sure we have sufficient teachers to provide these services which is why ensuring we are able to access teaching via the National Broadband Network is obviously one of the ways we can deal with that.
So you mentioned one practical challenge, there are many practical challenges. But we cant let those deter us from the central proposition which is more Australians will need Asian languages and Asian capabilities in the decades ahead.
MIDDLETON: Minister, thank you very much indeed.
WONG: Good to speak with you.
ENDS