David T. Hill AM

Recently, Indonesian language has begun to make an appearance in Australian popular media. There is evidence too that, after years of decline, student interest in Indonesian language and studying in Indonesia is on the rise. International comparisons suggest that popular culture and language learning may be connected. Bollywood cinema has spread Hindi through India more successfully than the shambolic national language policy. Some argued that the growth of interest in Japanese in the 1980s was fuelled by the global rise of manga comics. More recently, Korean pop music and video games have driven interest in Korean language in Australia.

The Asian Century has arrived and Australians with Asian study experience will be best placed to take advantage of it. But if we are to educate and prepare our graduates for the Asian Century and all the uncertainties it presents, then the best place for at least part of that education is in Asia. If we want Australian graduates to be able to operate comfortably in an Asian language, with an ability to interact productively with Asian communities, to understand how to adjust to a different culture, then ideally a semester or a year in an Asian country as part of an undergraduate degree should become common place.

A detailed report launched in Parliament House within hours of the ALP leadership ballot last Monday revealed that, whoever is Prime Minister, the Australian government needs to act decisively and urgently to rebuild our Indonesian skills. Such language skills are essential if we are to maximise our engagement with the burgeoning economies and nations of Asia. The report, Indonesian language in Australian Universities: Strategies for a stronger future), found university Indonesian enrolments plunging 40% nationally between 2001 and 2010. The most dramatic decline of 71% was in New South Wales. Six universities closed their Indonesian programs between 2004 and 2009. Although there are about 190,000 students studying Indonesian in schools, they are clustered at the lower levels. At Year 12 level, there were fewer students studying Indonesian in Australia in 2009 than there were in 1972.

Negative impact of the National Library of Australia's foreshadowed funding cuts to the Indonesian Acquisitions Project. I understand that, as a consequence of the ‘efficiency dividend’ that the Rudd government has placed on all government agencies, the National Library of Australia is intending to make major cutbacks in its Indonesian Acquisitions Project. This has grave implications for the future of Indonesian Studies in Australia, and places our capacity to maintain world-class research in this nationally-strategic area in jeopardy. I urge your committee to ensure Indonesian Studies is not undermined as an unintended consequence of the ‘efficiency dividend’. By way of background, the Indonesian Acquisitions Project (IAP) has enabled Australian and other universities to acquire the broadest range of current publications in Indonesia, for use in teaching and research. There are nine participant institutions besides the National Library of Australia (NLA), namely Murdoch, Monash, Flinders, and Melbourne universities, the British Library, the School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London), the National Library of Singapore, the ANU and ADFA. Participants pay an annual fee for the service according to a budget, which covers the costs of monographs and serials, freight/diplomatic bag and management of the service. An Australian acquisitions librarian is based in Jakarta to run the Project. If the efficiency dividend cutbacks are implemented, the NLA's representative in Jakarta would be replaced by local staff and collecting on behalf of other Australian libraries will cease.

In view of the broad-ranging terms of reference for this Review, this submission restricts itself to discussing educational aspects of Australian-Indonesian relations, and in particular it: • underscores the central importance of Indonesian language and studies of Indonesia to the future well-being of the Australian community. • recommends that Indonesian Studies be designated a strategic national priority; • recommends the Australia Research Council and the Department of Education, Science and Training prioritise Indonesian Studies when funding both research and teaching; • argues that special attention needs to be given to develop and support educational programs that assist Australian students to spend extended periods studying and living in Indonesia. • recommends specifically direct and substantial Commonwealth government funding for the Australian Consortium for 'In-Country' Indonesian Studies (ACICIS).