I am sure that, like me, you are coming to terms with the impact of a Trump landslide. It seems we all missed something about the plight of American voters and now it’s become clear that they wanted real, significant and sustainable change. It’s easy to think it was (yet another) aberration but the writing is now on the wall. Trump has made his position very clear and, with a decisive victory, a majority in both houses and all the learnings from his first term, there shouldn’t be many surprises ahead….we know what’s coming and we can’t count on the Democrats getting back in next time around.
From an Australian perspective, there is an urgent need for Canberra and the business/investment community to form an independent view of what serves our best interests in Asia, especially with our largest trading partner, China. As it stands, our $4 trillion superannuation industry invests 70% of their foreign assets in America, are setting up offices in New York and London, and remain severely underweight in Asia (almost zero exposure in China, the world’s 2nd largest economy). The Australian Government relies on advice from ASPI, which is mainly funded by US defence companies, and AUKUS appears to have the support of both sides of politics.
When I migrated to Australia almost 30 years ago, I was inspired by Keating’s vision of Australia as a bridge-builder and APEC leader which seemed so obvious at the time. We have only gone backwards since then. If there was ever a moment for Australia to be jolted into taking an independent view of its place in the world (economically, politically and geographically) then surely it must be now?
