A Conversation with Joanne Wallis & Jack Corbett

Join us for an in-conversation and book launch of Neighbours: Australia and the Pacific, written by Professor Joanne Wallis (Adelaide University) and Professor Jack Corbett (Monash University).

To be launched by Her Excellency the Honourable Frances Adamson AC, 36th Governor of South Australia.

Australia has a long history in the Pacific. Many Australians might have forgotten it, but the region has not forgotten us.

This book provides a new vision of the way Australia might relate to its Pacific neighbours. It replaces amnesia with storytelling that emphasises common ancestors, interests and language. It replaces Australian ambivalence with recognition, humility and respect. It does not seek to wish away the realities of asymmetry and hierarchy between Australia and Pacific Island countries, but instead outlines how Australia can work more productively within them.

It argues that Australia can only work towards being a better neighbour if it understands its history in the Pacific Islands, and the ideas that have guided its foreign policy in the region for the last two centuries. Tracing the many dimensions of that past engagement, it provides an up-to-date account, written by two highly experienced experts. In doing so it presents a new vision for our wonderfully diverse region.

Books will be available for purchase and signing at the event.