Prime Minister Julia Gillard today released the Australia in the Asian Century White
Paper, which the government says is a roadmap for maximising Australia's opportunities in the Asian century.
The White Paper lays out a plan to strengthen Australia's position over the decades ahead, by taking advantage of the opportunities offered by the Asian century, and emphasies the role of the education system in preparing Australians to reap the rewards of being part of this fast-emerging region.
Despite a decline in the number of Australian students learning Asian languages over the past two decades, the White Paper says that children now in kindergarten will eventually graduate from high school with a sound working knowledge of Asia because, throughout their schooling, the curriculum will have included studies relevant to Asia and access to a priority Asian language.
During the 21st century, Asia is set to emerge as the home of the the world's largest middle class, its largest producer of goods and services, and the largest consumer of them.
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The White Paper sets out the opportunities and challenges this shift represents for Australia.
"It is not enough to rely on luck—our future will be determined by the choices we
make and how we engage with the region we live in. We must build on our strengths
and take active steps to shape our future," said a government statement upon this morning's online launch.
The White Paper sets out a number of goals over the next 13 years to help ensure Australia can compete effectively in Asia:
• By 2025, Australia's GDP per person will be in the world's top 10, up from 13th in
2011, requiring a lift in Australia's productivity.
• This will mean Australia's average real national income will be about
$73,000 per person in 2025 compared with about $62,000 in 2012.
• By 2025, Australia's school system will be in the top five in the world, and 10 of our
universities in the world's top 100.
• Globally Australia will be ranked in the top 5 countries for ease of doing business and
its innovation system will be in the world's top 10.
• Studies of Asia will be a core part of the Australian school curriculum.
• All students will have continuous access to a priority Asian language—Chinese
(Mandarin), Hindi, Indonesian and Japanese.
• Australia's leaders will be more Asia literate, with one-third of board members of
Australia's top 200 publicly listed companies and Commonwealth bodies having
deep experience in and knowledge of Asia.
• Australia's economy will be deeply integrated; our trade links with Asia will be at least one-third of GDP, up from one-quarter today.
• Australia's diplomatic network will have a larger footprint across Asia supporting stronger, deeper and broader links with Asian nations.
The White Paper considers how Australia will successfully navigate the years ahead, setting out the role for government, but also calling on businesses and communities to play their part in shaping Australia's future.
The White paper outlines possible working holiday agreements between Australia and its Asian neighbours, greater integration of financial markets, opportunities for Australia farmers to sell high-quality products to an increasingly wealthy Asian middle-class, and increased tourism from Asia to Australia.
