Asia in Australia’s Strategic Imagination

Australia’s relationship with Asia has never been simply a matter of strategic or economic interest. It is also a story about identity, race, culture and Australia’s evolving sense of its place in the world.

From the era of White Australia, through assimilation and the emergence of multicultural Australia, the way Australia has understood and engaged with Asia has continually shifted. These changes reflect not only an ever-deepening relationship with the region, but also an ongoing conversation about who Australia is and where it belongs.

This Oration will explore how Asia has moved in the Australian imagination from a region often viewed through the lens of instability to one of opportunity and how the end of the US-led liberal international order is again reshaping Australia’s approach to the region.

As the international order itself undergoes profound change, Australia’s relationship with Asia is entering another period of transformation. This raises two fundamental questions:

• What does this changing global landscape mean for Australia’s place in the region?

• How might Australia’s understanding of itself shape the way it responds to the opportunities and challenges ahead?

Join us for the 2026 Laki Jayasuriya Oration with Peter Varghese AO, exploring Australia’s evolving relationship with Asia and what it reveals about Australia’s place in the world. Drawing on his extensive experience in Australian foreign policy and international affairs, Peter will examine the shifting ways Australia has understood and engaged with the region. The Oration will explore the shifting character of Australia’s engagement with Asia and its place in Australian foreign policy.

Speaker:

Peter Varghese AO is Chair of the Australian Public Policy Institute and an Adjunct Professor at The University of Queensland. He served as Chancellor of The University of Queensland from 2016 to 2026 and spent 38 years in the Australian Public Service, including as Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, High Commissioner to India and Malaysia, Director-General of the Office of National Assessments, and Senior Advisor (International) to the Prime Minister. He is also the author of the India Economic Strategy to 2035 and an Honorary Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities and Fellow of the Australian Institute of International Affairs.