Values matter now more than ever, and should underpin all public policy.
Those were the thoughts of Senator The Hon Penny Wong, who delivered Griffith Asia Institute‘s Perspectives: Asia lecture in Brisbane on the topic of ‘Australian values in a time of disruption’.
Senator Wong is the Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate.
She emphasized that Australia needs a foreign policy that is both transactional – to deal with the day-to-day – and transformational.
“A transformational foreign policy is one that pursues our national interests and is informed by our values,” she told the crowd at the Gallery of Modern Art.
“A transformational foreign policy is critical to Australia’s ability to navigate a disrupted world.”
The Senator argued that values and interests differ, but are intimately interrelated when it comes to creating robust contemporary foreign policy.
“For nations like Australia, there is no alternative to a foreign policy that is built