Pivot to India: Why Australia needs to deepen ties with the Subcontinent
For more than two decades, Australia has been riding the wave of the ‘Asian Century’. But to increase our ongoing prosperity and security, we need to forge stronger bonds with our Indo-Pacific neighbours. Chief among these is India, whose economy is now the world’s fastest growing and presents a myriad of opportunities, yet our linkages with the subcontinent remain distinctly underdeveloped. In this talk, Tasmanian Senator Lisa Singh, discussed the steps that can be taken to improve Australia-India relations. It will draw in particular from the recently released India Economic Strategy Report by Peter Varghese AO, whose key recommendations are supported by both major parties.
Lisa Singh has been an Australian Senator since 2010, representing the state of Tasmania. She is regarded as the first woman of South Asian heritage to be elected to the Australian Parliament and follows in the political footsteps of her grandfather Ram Jati Singh, a member of the Fijian Parliament in the 1960s. Her great-grandparents migrated from India to Fiji as indentured laborers under the British Scheme around the turn of the 20th century.
Lisa has a deep understanding of the Australia – India relationship and is committed to strengthening ties between both countries. She has participated in Australia-India Youth Dialogues, the Lowy Institute’s Australia-India Roundtables, and Australia-India Leadership Dialogues in New Delhi, and as a keynote speaker for the Australian Institute of International Affairs.
She has visited India several times on issues including foreign affairs, aid and development, human rights, environment, energy and workplace health and safety. She has been a regular visitor to the exiled Tibetan community in Dharamsala, Northern India and, in her role as co-chair of the Australian TB (tuberculosis) Caucus, she assisted members of the Indian parliament in creating an Indian TB Caucus.
In 2014, the President of India awarded her a Pravasi Bharatiya Samman award for her exceptional and meritorious public service as a person of Indian heritage in fostering friendly relations between India and Australia.
In 2016 Lisa was appointed as a Board Member of the Centre for India Australia Studies (CIAS) at O.P. Jindal Global University in New Delhi. That same year Lisa was seconded to the United Nations General Assembly in New York as a delegate from the Australian parliament.
Prior to being elected to the Australian Senate, Lisa served in the Tasmanian Parliament as a Labor Member for Denison from 2006 to 2010 and was a Minister in the Tasmanian Labor Government from 2008.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts with Honours from the University of Tasmania and a Masters in International Relations from Macquarie University. She was Hobart Citizen of the Year in 2004.