The Lowy Institute

The economy, tax, debt and health are the issues that are most likely to dominate the federal election campaign. But there are other matters of importance to Australians that should be debated. Which party is best able to balance our delicate relationships with Washington and Beijing? Both parties have promised to give a higher priority to our relationships in the Pacific but whose plans are most likely to succeed? Both parties are committed to increasing defence spending but will this fall victim to the competition to cut income taxes and achieve sustainable budget surpluses? Will spending on foreign aid also be sacrificed because of budgetary pressures? What do the findings of the Lowy Institute Poll tell us about voters’ attitudes?Lowy Institute experts discussed these and other important foreign policy and defence issues of the federal election campaign. Dr Michael Fullilove is Executive Director of the Lowy Institute and a leading expert on Australian and US foreign policy. He is the author of Rendezvou