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Articles by Dick Grant
George Nigh Jan 1979 3
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George Nigh Jan 1979 3
Skip to main contentSkip to main content You have permission to edit this image. You don't have any notifications. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. Topics Breaking News Subscribe News Alert Subscribe Secure transaction. Cancel anytime. Have an account? Log In Account processing issue - the email address may already exist User information Username (Optional) This is the name that will be used to identify you within the system.
Is Russia finally getting serious on climate change?
At last month’s annual Valdai forum in Russia, President Vladimir Putin said it was “impossible” to deny climate change when disasters had become “almost a norm”. Acknowledging the reality and hazards of climate change is a big change for Russia’s leader. But how meaningful is this apparent shift? Climate change undoubtedly poses risks for Russia, as the upsurge in wildfires and melting permafrost across Siberia in recent years has shown, affecting lives, livelihoods and infrastructure.
Some reflections on the “anonymous Xinjiang paper”
During an event to launch the China Story Yearbook at the National Press Club in Canberra on 21 April, the Director of the Australian National University’s China in the World Centre, Professor Jane Golley, stated that she had received an anonymous “scholarly” article that “debunks much of what you have read in the Western media on this topic”. Golley has since clarified she should have perhaps used the term “challenge” rather than debunk.
Light at the beginning of the tunnel?
The world has had three months now – we are approaching the “100 days” – to observe the Joe Biden presidency. Have we learnt anything? Has anything changed for the outside world? Initial impressions are favourable. Twitter seems passé. Civility seems to be the order of the day. There appears to be some sort of system in Washington. Covid vaccinations have brought some hope of an end to a national tragedy that has seen more than half a million deaths.
How far would Australia go in defence of the rules-based order?
Last month, I alerted Interpreter readers to a new Lowy Institute debate feature on America and the Rules-based Order. In my comments about the debate, I said that Australia faced “the biggest foreign and security policy challenge of all: defending ourselves and our interests without the help of the United States”. But what I didn’t do was talk explicitly about the relationship between the rules-based order and defence policy.
What APEC has to offer in 2021
It’s almost a year since the world changed. We now know that we are in for the long haul with the pandemic and that 2021 too is going to be difficult. The unseemly scramble over vaccination supplies and policy which have played out in recent weeks, particularly in Europe, is not encouraging. As we look at the year ahead, what international options look good for helping the world through the stresses of the next 12 months? Remember, with the exception of China, economic growth is looking sickly.
Can vaccines offer an exit plan from Covid-19?
As recently as six months ago, naysayers were warning, “We may never have a vaccine against Covid-19”. Yet a year after SARS-Cov-2 emerged, the first vaccine programs are already rolling out in the US, the UK, India, China, Israel, Chile, Indonesia and many other countries. Israel has already vaccinated more than 20% of its population within one month of commencing, and is seeing a dramatic impact on infection rates.
Commentary: RCEP a huge victory in tough times
HASTINGS, New Zealand: News that 15 governments had signed the text of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement did not force either COVID-19 or the presidential transition in Washington off the front pages. It probably attracted the attention it did because it was a virtual signing ceremony – a super Zoom meeting of leaders in the Asia-Pacific region.
RCEP revives the art of the deal
News that 15 governments had signed the text of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement did not force either Covid-19 or the presidential transition in Washington off the front pages. It probably attracted the attention it did because it was a virtual signing ceremony – a super Zoom meeting of leaders in the Asia-Pacific region.
The tyranny of the present: American politics catches up with the past
One of the ironies of the age is that as the United States’ prestige declines, its “virtual power,” its power to command attention, has never been greater. Last month, the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was not only global news but a matter of grave concern for people from Chile to Norway, many of whom probably couldn’t even name a member of their own country’s highest court. A tweet by Donald Trump is by definition an international incident.
Commentary: A landslide victory was easier for Ardern than what lies ahead
HASTINGS: The challenges that lie ahead for Jacinda Ardern will be a real test of the nation’s confidence in her leadership The weekend ballot wasn’t really an election contest so much as a question whether Labour could govern in its own right. Advertisement Advertisement Since the introduction of proportional representation in New Zealand in 1996, no single party has won an outright majority. This year, circumstances combined to make that happen. In New Zealand politics, this is a stunning result.
New Zealand’s landslide election and the challenges ahead
The weekend ballot wasn’t really an election contest so much as a question whether Labour could govern in its own right. Since the introduction of proportional representation in New Zealand in 1996, no single party has won an outright majority. This year, circumstances combined to make that happen. In New Zealand politics, this is a stunning result.
Commentary: Global trade policy at a lull, but for how long more?
CHRISTCHURCH: Like a sailing ship caught in the doldrums, the international trade policy world seems stagnant and listless. Is there any fresh wind to be detected? Can we create some movement? Advertisement Advertisement In this coronavirus–dominated environment, nothing much is happening. The trend in global trade itself is not easy to judge. There are signs that cargo volumes are back up.
Global trade policy at a lull, but for how long?
Like a sailing ship caught in the doldrums, the international trade policy world seems stagnant and listless. Is there any fresh wind to be detected? Can we create some movement? In this coronavirus–dominated environment, nothing much is happening. The trend in global trade itself is not easy to judge. There are signs that cargo volumes are back up.
Commentary: Regional trade deals must still go on, even if they are a lesser substitute
CHRISTCHURCH: Did anyone notice that the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA), the revised North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), entered into force on Jul 1? If not, do not be too concerned, as the COVID-19 crisis has probably affected that as well. Advertisement Advertisement Still, this deal is (without getting too much into the weeds of whether it is more or less liberal than NAFTA) one of the few examples we have of negotiated trade liberalisation in 2020.
The world can still prosper from free trade
Did anyone notice that the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA), the revised NAFTA, entered into force on 1 July? If not, do not be too concerned, as the Covid-19 crisis has probably affected that as well. Still, this deal is (without getting too much into the weeds of whether it is more or less liberal than NAFTA) one of the few examples we have of negotiated trade liberalisation in 2020.
New Zealand and China: Contending with words and actions
New Zealand was one of the more than 130 countries which, at the recent World Health Assembly, sponsored a resolution setting up an independent inquiry into Covid-19 – a proposal initially rejected by China. New Zealand also backed Taiwan gaining observer status at the World Health Organisation, despite Beijing’s protests. Like every country, New Zealand is grappling with how to manage its relationship with China.
Covid-19 and foreign policy: What’s changed, what hasn’t
A lot of ink is flowing about the “new normal” that will prevail post-crisis. A brief look at four different international issues offers a glimpse of what this “new normal” in international cooperation might be. The first concerns global health. Leaving aside for the moment the call by countries such as Australia to clarify where, how, and why Covid-19 started, everyone must wish for a series of actions that lead globally to control of the virus, and establishing an effective vaccine.
Commentary: After four weeks, what New Zealand has learnt about the realities of COVID-19
CHRISTCHURCH: Where are we after four weeks of lockdown in New Zealand? The borders are still sealed. As I was writing this, the Flight Radar 24 app had only two domestic flights taking place across the entire country. There were no outbound international flights, and only three aircraft heading in. Advertisement Advertisement The government has released further details of its economic support package.
Good government, bad government: The politics of public health
Among the weapons Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison has deployed in the early stages of the battle to slow the spread of the coronavirus was an appeal for the assertion of our “culture”. Attempting to shame into submission the hordes who were storming supermarkets and coming to blows in the toilet rolls aisles, Morrison pleaded: “Stop it. It’s un-Australian” What this actually meant is hard to say. What is appropriate Australian behaviour?
Covid-19: New Zealand, isolated, yet far from alone
Tumultuous times. Along with every other country, New Zealand faces an uncertain period. Remoteness might mitigate some impact of Covid-19, but it does not provide protection from the consequences of global disruption. It is hard to imagine in late January as the disease took hold in Wuhan that seven weeks later New Zealand would be in total lockdown.
Coronavirus pandemic
Inside a temporary field hospital at Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, New York (John Lamparski/Getty Images) “Resilience” has become a popular concept in 21st century life. In times of far-reaching social and economic change, with increasing stress and strain on both individual and group-level resources, “resilience” is often invoked as the thing that will see us through to emerge stronger and better able to cope in the aftermath. The Covid-19 pandemic is certainly testing all of our resilience.
Xi saves sea slugs on the sea floor
This post is based on Episode 16 of The Little Red Podcast, featuring Kate Barclay and Michael Fabinyi of the University of Technology, Sydney. My first culinary meeting with a sea cucumber - bêche-de-mer or BDM in its processed form - came out of curiosity. After nearly two decades travelling and working in the Middle Kingdom, I was yet to try one of China’s most classical delicacies. Could I claim to be a credible ‘old China hand’? How bad could it be?
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