Who should be the role model for centre-left US president-elect Barack Obama? The Sydney Morning Herald’s political editor quotes the Wall Street Journal columnist William McGurn, formerly chief speechwriter for George Bush: “It should be Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd” whose Labor Party has made their peace with the global economy.
Knowledgeable Americans have pointed to Australia as some kind of model, exemplar, or best case. They complimented Australia on competent governance, wise political management, successful politics, sound economic management and prudent economic reform, writes Peter Hartcher, the Herald’s political editor.
“Economic modernisation, a vigorous private sector and a competent system of public institutions have combined to make Australia a success story. And other countries – the US, in this case – have noticed.
“One remarkable and little-noted feature of Australia’s performance is that, this year, Australia overtook the US in income per capita. In the September quarter, US per capita income was $US47,100 and Australia’s was $US48,600. As the ANU’s Professor Ross Garnaut has pointed out, it is the first time that Australia has pipped the US on this measure since World War I.
“Still, on the more comprehensive measure of living standards in the UN’s annual human development index, Australia remains in the topmost echelon, ranked third among the world’s 190 countries. Only Iceland and Norway rated higher in the 2007-08 listing, and Iceland’s plunge into insolvency in the past few months won’t help its human development one bit.” More here…
Later this month prime minister Kevin Rudd will be in India to meet with his counterpart Dr Manmohan Singh to discuss a range of issues including security and climate change. This is Rudd’s first visit to India as prime minister.
During my longish stay in Australia last year, it was clear that Rudd has opted to keep China and India on the top of the list of his economic allies.
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.