19 April 2024: The Week in Australian Foreign Affairs

This week in Australian foreign affairs: new support for Solomon Islands elections; Wong discusses potential momentum on Assange case; PALM workers to boost aged care in Australia; Ayers to Singapore and Malaysia to boost trade opportunities, and more.

On 16 April, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles released a joint statement with Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Minister for Finance Katy Gallagher, and Minister for Defence Industry and Minister for International Development and the Pacific Pat Conroy announcing new support for Solomon Islands elections on 17 April. The support included “investment in logistics, operations and training, Australian election observers and the deployment of additional police and defence personnel.” The AU$25 million package will contribute to longstanding cooperation with the Solomon Islands Electoral Commission (SIEC) in efforts “to strengthen the electoral cycle, improve election administration and boost women’s participation in the political process.” Also at the invitation of the Solomon Islands Government, “Australia is deploying additional Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel to help deliver safe and secure elections.” The AFP will work alongside the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force and partners from Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and the New Zealand Defence Force to provide logistics and enabling support.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong addressed questions on 12 April about the potential for the US to drop charges against Julian Assange. Wong argued that there was nothing to be “gained from Mr Assange’s continued incarceration.” These sentiments have been “consistently said both publicliy and reflected in our private engagement.” The Biden administration has suggested the Assange case is under consideration, building hope in the government that “positive momentum” was being built behind Assange’s release.

On 13 April, in a joint media release with Minister for Aged Care, Minister for Sport Anika Wells, Conroy announced the largest cohort of Pacific aged care workers to arrive in Australia. Over the coming month, “nearly a hundred Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme aged care workers from Fiji will arrive in Australia under the Australian Government’s Aged Care Expansion (ACE) program.” The workers will complete “six weeks practicum in Australia, as required to achieve a Certificate III in Individual Support (Ageing).” This training has followed from “16 weeks of training in Fiji with Australian training provider, Alphacrucis University College, which is the first international university registered to deliver training in Fiji.” Australia faces critical workforce shortages in aged care, particularly in regional areas. “The ACE program helps aged care providers secure qualified, long-term staff from the Pacific and Timor-Leste by supporting PALM scheme workers to complete Australian standard qualifications.” The scheme seeks to build “deeper connections with our Pacific neighbours is a priority for the Government, and responds to calls from the Pacific.” It continues, “we are working closely with the Pacific and Timor-Leste to continue to grow the number of PALM scheme workers in this vital sector.

On 15 April, Assistant Minister for Trade and Assistant Minister for Manufacturing Tim Ayers announced he will travel to Singapore and Malaysia “to lead a delegation on Australia’s first-ever Business Mission as part of the Australia-Southeast Asia Business Exchange program.” According to the release, the “landmark Business Mission demonstrates the Albanese Government’s commitment to increase two-way trade and investment between Australia and Southeast Asia.” “The Australia-Southeast Asia Business Exchange program is a key initiative recommended by Invested: Australia’s Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040.” Ayers will meet with “government and business officials in Singapore to scope further opportunities for economic collaboration.” Singapore is Australia’s fifth largest trading partner globally and shares a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Australia. Ayers will also meet with government officials, investors, and industry leaders in Malaysia “to discuss how we can unlock economic opportunities for our countries and the region.” He will also be engaging further with “Australian businesses who are successfully investing in Malaysia’s high-end tech industries, including Cochlear and AirTrunk.”

Dr Adam Bartley is the managing editor for AIIA’s Australian Outlook and weekly columnist for The Week in Australian Foreign Affairs. He is a former Fulbright Scholar and resident fellow at the Elliot School for International Affairs, the George Washington University. Adam also has positions as post-doctoral fellow at the Centre for Cyber Security Research and Innovation RMIT University  and as program manager of the AI Trilateral Experts Group. He can be found on Twitter here.

This article is published under a Creative Commons License and may be republished with attribution.