Monthly Access December 2009 (Issue 6)

A monthly newsletter by ACCESS, the AIIA's Network for Students and Young Professionals. All the views expressed in this newsletter are solely those of the individual writers and that the AIIA, while providing a forum for discussion and debate on international issues, does not formulate its own institutional views, and eschews political bias.

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Message from the Editor

Our final newsletter for 2009 captures a variety of topics. Meet Dr Boaz Ganor in our Q&A section. In Melbourne for the Australia-Israel Leadership Forum, Dr Ganor is one of Israel’s leading counter-terrorism experts. He discusses with us the importance of dialogue between the two nations, why he gave up his life-long ambition of being a pilot and the motivations for groups to launch violent attacks.

Q&A with Dr Boaz Ganor

With Olivia Cable

Counter-terrorism expert Dr Boaz Ganor was in Australia for the Australia-Israel Leadership Forum. This annual dialogue between the two nations aims to foster closer relations on matters such as security and the environment.

Australia and India: A new partnership in nuclear diplomacy?

By Kurt Winter

During his recent visit to India, Prime Minister Rudd made a significant diplomatic overture, proclaiming his desire to build a “comprehensive, enduring strategic partnership between India and Australia”. Despite past differences, Rudd argued that India and Australia were “natural partners” with mutual interests in both the region and the world.

Reflections across the water: What our asylum seeker policy says about Australia

By Joanna Schuurman

Prime Minister Rudd’s refugee policy has struggled to take form, the recent Oceanic Viking scenario clearly catching him off guard. In his words, Australia’s response should be “tough, hard-line, humane, fair”. What this actually means is hard to decipher and obviously riddled with contradiction.

Website Review

Gapminder

www.gapminder.org

Who has the best teeth in the world? How fast has China's GDP grown compared to the rest of ASia? How has agricultural development impacted on longevity? Gapminder helps debunk statistics by displaying them in exciting, visual forms. It may sound boring but it's actually quite addictive. You may have already seen some of their famous videos, like this one, which shows -- via a graph -- how exactly the world has changed in 200 years: http://www.gapminder.org/videos/200-years-that-changed-the-world/

Left Right Think Tank

www.leftright.org.au

Left Right Think-Tank is Australia’s first independent and non-partisan think-tank for young minds. Staffed and run by people aged 15 to 24 it has generated ideas and opinions discussed in parliament, in the media and across all strata of society. Committed to inclusive debate, it is politically neutral and is run as a not-for-profit organisation.

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