Papua New Guinea and the Pacific are to be at the centre of a new sport diplomacy policy being developed by Australia's opposition Liberal National coalition.

Then there's public diplomacy. Have we abandoned this completely? What we used to have was a fairly feeble attempt at a public diplomacy function, with some funding for cultural events and expos (which limp along) complemented by plans for some marginally more rigorous programs which were disbanded before they really started (like the ill-fated 'Australia on the world stage' program)

Cultural diplomacy underlies the exceptional works included in this year's international music festival. Performed in monumental spaces such as the national museum, the concerts, which have a strong East-West flavour, will reach out to everyone...

Cultural diplomacy underlies the exceptional works included in this year's international music festival. Performed in monumental spaces such as the national museum, the concerts, which have a strong East-West flavour, will reach out to everyone, Claire Low writes.

With critics calling for the axe, the Australia Network finds itself in territory familiar to many of its larger peers in the West. But under attack, the broadcaster has found defenders of its soft-power capabilities…

Taken as a whole, one can surmise that despite acknowledging the 'Asian Century' we are not properly prepared for it. Our recent leaders faced and continue to face obstacles to their soft power producing real world positive results.

In what could only be described as a complete pasting, Professor Judith Sloan has called for the axing of Australia's international television broadcaster, the Australia Network, dubbing it 'repetitive, pointless tosh'. Scrapping the service would save taxpayers millions of dollars, Sloan argues, largely based on what she saw of the service during a recent trip around Asia.

Australia’s advantages as the place for high quality education for Asians include being native speakers of the only pan-Asian language (English), and being acceptable to almost every country as a partner (or place to visit or study). Policy should build on these advantages to maintain a key place in the coming Asian mosaic.