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NOVEMBER 2019
SPEECH
Foreign Minister addresses USSC
The United States Studies Centre was honoured to host Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator the Hon. Marise Payne for a major foreign policy address this week at Bloomberg's Australian headquarters. The minister used her speech to warn that western democracies cannot be complacent about guarding the international rules-based order and vowed to continue to challenge China on its human rights abuses.
Declaring Australia's alliance with the United States as "more important to us than ever", she said Australia's long-term interests would depend on "taking a firm stand", even if it displeased other countries, including an "increasingly assertive and influential China".
You can watch the full speech and Q&A with CEO Professor Simon Jackman on our website here.
SPECIAL GUEST
Mia Love visits Australia
Mia Love, the first black Republican woman to be elected to the US Congress and now USSC Non-Resident Senior Fellow, visited Australia in October for a series of events and media engagements.
Love had a sold-out event at Melbourne's Wheeler Centre, and appeared in conversation with the ABC's US political analyst John Barron and CEO Professor Simon Jackman at Sydney's Museum of Contemporary Art. She was joined by Linda Burney, MP for an event at Parliament House in Canberra discussing the challenges and opportunities for women from diverse backgrounds in politics.
Love also appeared on TEN's The Project, ABC News Breakfast, ABC Radio Melbourne and Planet America to discuss US politics, President Trump and the future of the Republican Party during her visit.
You can hear her tackle all these issues on the Centre's 2020Vision podcast here.
EVENTS
#MeToo's champions in conversation
The MeToo Movement – recipient of the 2019 Sydney Peace Prize – has changed the way we understand and talk about sexual harassment and violence around the world, in homes, public spaces, and workplaces.
Tarana Burke began building the movement in 2006 to help survivors of sexual violence, particularly black women and girls, connect to resources for healing, and to build a survivor-led community of advocates against sexual violence. Tracey Spicer AM spearheaded the movement in Australia, producing award-winning investigations into sexual harassment in media workplaces.
The United States Studies Centre will host both Burke and Spicer in conversation with journalist and presenter Jan Fran, to discuss the founding and future of the movement.
This event is presented in partnership with the University of Sydney's Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, and the Sydney Peace Foundation.
DATE & TIME
Tuesday, 12 November 6pm–7.30pm
LOCATION
Lecture Theatre 1110, Abercrombie Business School Building (corner of Abercrombie and Codrington Streets), University of Sydney
COST
Free, but registration required.
CENTRE NEWS
Rare earths: Is there a case for government intervention?
As US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross visited Australia for discussions on rare earths security last month, new USSC research by David Uren, the former economics editor for The Australian, published by the Centre's Trade and Investment Program, was released. It examined how the Australian government should respond to a US push for non-Chinese sources of supply.
The Australian Financial Review, Sydney Morning Herald, West Australian, The Australian and Forbes reported on its findings. You can read the full report here.
Ex-Reagan, Bush official joins USSC
Kim Hoggard, a former US government official under Presidents Reagan and George H.W Bush, has joined the Centre as a Non-Resident Fellow. Hoggard served as White House Assistant Press Secretary and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Treasury for Public Affairs during the Reagan administrations, and as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs during the George H.W. Bush administration.
She has worked as a media commentator and speaker on US politics and foreign affairs in recent years, and will assist the USSC with its 2020 US presidential election coverage.
FP&D heads to DC
Members of the Foreign Policy and Defence Program will be in Washington DC next week for the second round of the US-Australia Indo-Pacific Deterrence Dialogue, an annual Track 1.5 initiative convened by the United States Studies Centre and Pacific Forum.
Building on the inaugural dialogue in Canberra last year, it will advance bilateral policy debate among officials and experts about the role of deterrence and counter-coercion within the alliance. Program Director Ashley Townshend will also speak at an event on Capitol Hill on the USSC special report Averting Crisis, hosted by the Committee of 100 and the United States Association of Former Members of Congress. He will be joined by Brendan Thomas-Noone and Matilda Steward for briefings on Averting Crisis for congressional committees and for a roundtable on American alliances in the Indo-Pacific at the National Bureau of Asian Research.
USSC-YouGov polling
Major new polling, released as part of the Centre's partnership with market research and opinion polling company YouGov, has been published on a diverse range of topics in the past several months.
In late July, 1,820 Australians and 1,800 Americans were surveyed on issues including the 2020 US presidential election, the US-Australia alliance, and women's reproductive rights.
The polling results have been featured in media outlets including The Sydney Morning Herald, Canberra Times, Buzzfeed, and ABC News.
Anti-Americanism and American Exceptionalism
A new book written by Associate Professor in American Politics Brendon O'Connor was launched in Sydney last week. Anti-Americanism and American Exceptionalism argues against the tendency to see America as the worst or best nation. It instead presents a case for seeing anti-Americanism as a counterproductive prejudice, arguing that while there are many reasons to criticise American policies, politics and American society, a crucial distinction should be drawn between criticism and prejudice.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
New branding: You may have noticed that we have had a makeover. Our new logo and visual identity is brighter and bolder, and encapsulates who we are and what we represent. Our tagline – Analysis of America. Insight for Australia – captures our primary mission which is to build Australia’s awareness of the dynamics shaping America and their implications for Australia. We hope you enjoy our new look.
Foreign policy and the Democratic Party in 2020: A new report by Non-Resident Fellow Dougal Robinson examines the ideological differences at play in the current field of Democratic Presidential hopefuls and how they will shape future of the party's foreign policy platform with consequences that demand Australia's attention.
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United States Studies Centre
Institute Building H03
University of Sydney NSW 2006
