news, federal-politics

EXCLUSIVE Former Liberal prime minister John Howard has delivered a coded rebuke to his successor Tony Abbott for his diplomatic handling of boat turn backs in his first year in office. And Mr Howard's former Immigration minister Philip Ruddock has suggested the Abbott government may have embarrassed Indonesia in its handling of the controversial policy. The Prime Minister, for his part, has conceded "the world has turned out to be more difficult and less certain over the last few months in particular than we imagined it would be 12 months ago". The comments are made in The Adolescent Country, a new paper for the Lowy Institute penned by Sydney Morning Herald Political Editor Peter Hartcher, which will be published next Wednesday. The essay is one of the first in-depth examinations of the Abbott government's approach to foreign policy, just over a year after coming to power. Coming on the eve of the G20 leaders meeting in Brisbane, the paper examines Mr Abbott's shift from an opposition leader who argued Australia "shouldn't have tickets on ourselves" to a prime minister who has become a diplomatic activist. Drawing on interviews with Mr Abbott, Mr Howard, Kevin Rudd and Julie Bishop – as well as senior officials from the United States, Singapore and Indonesia, The Adolescent Country argues that foreign policy matters deeply to Australia and that Australian leaders must engage more deeply with the world. The essay argues that in opposition, Mr Abbott stressed Australia's relationship with Indonesia was its most important while the now Prime Minister's promise to stop the boats and turn them back when safe to do so offended Indonesia. Mr Howard tells the author that to work effectively with Indonesia on turn backs, "You don't test it formally with another government". "You see if the [Australian government] agencies have contacts with their counterparts in Jakarta and if they do, you can make things happen. Whereas if you write a letter asking, `Can we please take the boats back?', you're not going to get very far. But if you have their understanding you can make it work," he says. Mr Ruddock, for his part, says that "Indonesia will work with you if you don't decide to embarrass them over it". But by broadcasting its intentions in opposition, the essay argues, the Abbott government violated the Howard precedent and the Ruddock rule. Tensions were then exacerbated by the mass leak of classified files by National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden. Nevertheless, after a year in office, the Abbott government appears to have found its feet on the international stage with sure-footed handling of the Malaysian Airlines MH17 disaster, the disappearance of MH370, the rise of Islamic State and embrace of Japan's reinterpretation of its pacifist constitution. Mr Abbott's activist approach to foreign policy through its leadership of the G20 and its place on the UN Security Council – along with the able work of Foreign Minister Julie Bishop – also wins praise. The Prime Minister has, in the space of a year, been transformed into a leader who believes the world should not underestimate Australia. "When you get something like the murder of 38 of your citizens, that's very significant. When you get 60 of your citizens fighting overseas with a death cult and the prospect of these people coming back to Australia to put their horrible practices into place here, potentially that's pretty significant as well. These things do demand an important policy response," Mr Abbott says.

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