Year 10: Military - US/Australia Alliance

1.Who is Steven Smith and what important role does he play for the Australian Government?
Steven Smith is the Defence Minister for the Australian Government. This means that he is in charge of all affairs regarding defence.

2. What is the Brookings Institution where Mr. Smith delivered his speech?

The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, DC. Our mission is to conduct high-quality, independent research and, based on that research, to provide innovative, practical recommendations that advance three broad goals:

• Strengthen American democracy;
• Foster the economic and social welfare, security and opportunity of all Americans and
• Secure a more open, safe, prosperous and cooperative international system.

Brookings is proud to be consistently ranked as the most influential, most quoted and most trusted think tank.

3. What role does the Australia/US Alliance play in Australia's 'strategic and security arrangements'?
Mr Smith said it was unambiguously in Australia's national interest for the US to be active and engaged in the Asia-Pacific, as the region became the world's centre of gravity and as economic, political, military and strategic influence shifted.

4. What is important about Australia's global location for this alliance?
He said Australia saw greater US focus on the Asia-Pacific as the demands of current operations reduced and the US strategic priority returned to the region.

5. What contributions has Australia made to this alliance for the last 50 years?
"For almost 50 years, through the joint defence facilities in Australia, we have made a significant contribution to US national security by hosting or supporting some of the US's most sensitive and critical strategic capabilities," Mr Smith said. "These include systems related to intelligence collection, ballistic-missile early warning, submarine communications, and satellite-based communications."

6. What did the minister say about the Australian companies who do business with the US?
The minister said 9000 Australian companies did business in the US. "They pay an average wage of $US70,000 ($63,490) per employee per annum and include your largest shopping-centre owner and two of your largest 20 banks," he said.

7. Why does the minister point out this information about this company? What does it highlight about the relationship between Australia and the US?
The minister points out the information to show how much help Australia is giving to the US and that they deserve the US's help if it is needed.

8. What is the country central to Australia's relationships in the region?
China

9. What is Australia trying to foster with this country?
Because China is becoming the new super power of the world, overtaking the US, and Australia wants a piece of the action. So it is in ally with China instead of being seen as a country that could easily be invaded by China.

10. Why do you think that this is important to Australia?
This is important to Australia in terms of security as well as relations with other countries in the region. If Australia does not have a solid relationship with China within the next 10 years there will be a threat of invasion from the new superpower of the world. 


2nd Article


1. What is the US planning on locating in Australia? Where? Why?

AMERICAN military hardware and personnel could be permanently located in Australia.

Defence Minister Stephen Smith in Washington yesterday revealed he was keen to cement formal links so the US could:

POSITION military equipment on Australian soil including at Woomera in the state's Far North.

HAVE greater access to Australian training and test ranges, such as Shoalwater Bay in Queensland and Woomera.

REGULARLY use Australian bases and ports.

2. What implications does this have on the coordination between Australian and American forces?
In addition to bases, the pair discussed worrying delays to the massive Joint Strike Fighter program and ways the US could assist Australia to develop its next generation of conventional submarines.

Year 10: Immigration

1. An asylum seeker is a person who has fled their own country and applies to the government of another country for protection as a refugee. The term ‘asylum seekers’ refers to all people who apply for refugee protection, whether or not they are officially determined to be refugees.

2. Someone who is unable or unwilling to return due to a well-founded fear of being persecuted because of their:

• race
• religion
• nationality
• membership of a particular social group
• political opinion.
  

3.As a signatory to the Refugee Convention, Australia is obliged to provide protection for those people to whom it has obligations under the Convention, regardless of whether they entered Australia lawfully or unlawfully. Australian law requires that people who have not succeeded in their claim for refugee protection and who have no lawful basis to remain in Australia, be removed from Australia as soon as practicable. Their removal takes place following the conclusion of any litigation and when arrangements have been made to return them to their country of residence.

4. 

• Africa (70.6%): major source countries included Sudan, Ethiopia and Liberia.
• Middle East and South West Asia (24.4%): major source countries included Iraq, Afghanistan and Iran.
• Europe (3%): major source countries included the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. 

Video Questions:

1. It is an asylum seeker swap plan. Australia will send 800 asylum seekers in exchange for 4000 genuine refugees. 

2. They will be treated with dignity and respect. The agreement says Australia will cover the cost of any health and education expenses. They have the right to work.

3. They are sent to detention centres if they are found on a work site. They are generally treated with hard punishment such as caneing. They are not treated with proper medical attention and usually get sick.

4. Yes

5. The 567 people who have arrived in Australia since the 7th of May will have their claims processed in Australia.

6. Refugee advocates are worried that they can not guarentee that the refugees will not be treated as they normally are and are concerned that they will recieve the same treatment despite Julia Gillard telling everyone that they will have equal rights. 

7. The goal of the plan is to get rid of asylum seekers and to take on refugees who require serious assistance. Their goal is also to prevent any of the asylum seekers from suffering under traditional Maylasian treatment such as caneing and the lack of medical assistance.

8. I do think that this deal will work because I think that Malaysia will stick to their agreement of not caneing the asylum seekers as well as treating them properly and giving them the oppertunity  to work the same as any other citizen. I hope that this does work but there is always the chance that it will not.

Year 10: Monday 25/7 Period 4

1. What title does Kevin Rudd have in the Australian Government? Explain what this role entails.

Kevin Rudd is currently the  Minister for Foreign Affairs who is responsible for overseeing the international diplomacy section of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

2. What is Kevin Rudd's concern?

Kevin Rudd believes that North Korea's development of long range missiles is a threat to Australia's safety.

3. What forum was he at to express his concerns?

ASEAN Regional Forum

4. What actions have North Korea performed recently which have Rudd alarmed and the region lacking stability?

"Mr Rudd told Mr Pak it was “unacceptable” for North Korea to blame on others the security problems it had caused for the whole region, having recently torpedoed a South Korean naval frigate, shelled civilians’ homes across the border  and defied two UN Security Council resolutions by pursuing an enriched uranium weapons program."

5. What is a 'direct threat' to Australia according to Rudd?

"Mr Rudd said North Korea’s uranium weaponisation program had the objective of putting nuclear warheads on long-range missiles was a direct threat to Australia."

6. What do you think that Rudd is trying to accomplish diplomatically by calling out his North Korean counterpart publicly? 

He is trying to show the world what North Korea is doing so that he is not in the fight alone, so that the rest of world also see it as a threat and back him up.

7.How does this relate to Australia's relationship and role in the region? How does this relate to Australia's relationship to major allies?

Within the region it may be seen as a dumb move for Australia to be telling North Korea that what they are doing is "unacceptable" because Korea may now want to retaliate. Australia may be frowned upon by our major allies as Mr Rudd "calling out" North Korea isn't very wise because if they were a threat before they may be even more of a threat now.

Year 10: Australian Aid

1. Summarize the article in dot points on your blog and then write a paragraph stating your view on what the author is presenting.

• In the past five years Australia's overseas aid budget has doubled. In the next five years it will double again.
  
• Kevin Rudd announced a review of Australia's overseas aid program last year.
• The report is full of good sense about how to allocate and administer all the extra money.
  
• However the report doesn't give an answer to the bigger underlying questions of the aid program and why it's growing so fast
• Relief after massive disasters such as a tsunami definitely helps, however this only accounts for 7 percent of today's foreign aid program. Spending money in ways that makes no difference is a complete waste of money.
• A vast bulk of our aid is supposed to overcome long term poverty, however extreme poverty by 2005 has already fallen to 25% and by 2015 it is said that extreme poverty will only be in 15% of the world
• Also, poverty is not being removed because of aid, it is being removed because of economic growth. For example China's economic growth has lifted half a billion people out of poverty since 1990.
• Economic growth requires a remarkable confluence of factors - social, political and technological - to start whole populations moving from semi-subsistence farming to paid work.
  
• As some of the world's poorest countries start to grow economically of their own accord, we can see more clearly how aid does not make much difference.
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1. Why do you think Australia is giving more Aid? What would be the benefits of such a policy? What would be the negatives?