Former Australian P.M. Speaks at IOP

Former Australian Prime Minister John Howard spoke about his country’s relations with China and the United States last night at the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum.

Howard, who governed Australia from 1996 to 2007, surrendered the top post after losing his re-election bid last November.

Howard’s lecture covered a range of topics, with a focus on politics and trade between the three countries, including both the relationship Australia has been developing with China in the past 15 years and the “old, deep, and rich” partnership between Australia and the United States.

Howard expressed reservations about China’s political system but said economic progress in the country would result in a less authoritarian government.

“We take the view that China’s growth is not only good for China but good for the world and good for the Asian-Pacific region,” he said.

Howard also defended Australian nuclear policy, saying that Australia was “keen to supply uranium to China” and that adequate safeguards exist to guarantee that any fissile material China purchased would be for “non-military use.”

The defense came in response to a question from Mitchell L. Dong ’75, who suggested such a policy was “hypocritical” given the country’s lack of support for a domestic nuclear power industry.

During his final term, Howard was criticized in Australia for his unwavering support of President George W. Bush even as the war in Iraq became increasingly unpopular internationally. However, Howard’s successor, Kevin Rudd, has differed from Howard in more policy areas than just Iraq.

Rudd has issued an official apology to indigenous Australians, who in the past have received questionable treatment by the Australian government. Howard, who publicly declined to issue the apology, defended the decision last night, saying he did not believe that “one generation can assume responsibility for the acts of a previous generation.”

Students said they had mixed impressions of Howard. Several audience members said that Howard appeared to measure his responses carefully when answering listeners’ questions.

Australian Alexander M. Wheen ’11 said that Howard “was a fantastic PM” and that Howard’s governance spurred “a long period of solid economic prosperity.”

New Zealander Belinda R. J. O’Donnell ’11 was more skeptical, questioning Howard’s presentation of nuclear policy and calling him “evasive” on questions about an apology to indigenous Australians.

Howard’s Harvard visit continues today. In the afternoon, he will speak with Harvard Kennedy School faculty in a discussion moderated by former Kennedy School Dean Joseph S. Nye, Jr., and with Kennedy School students in a roundtable discussion.

“We’ll be interested in exploring with him the choices he’s made” as a leader, said Nye.