Australia: the global citizen returns

It's the ALP's foreign policy message month. A couple of crackers from Australia's Alternative Prime Minister and Alternative Foreign Minister on our place in the world.

Alternative PM Kevin Rudd in a speech to the Global Foundation in Melbourne today: "We should not fulfil our citizenship of the world by sending just arms to fight, but rather sending aid to foster growth and development, and extend the hand of friendship. We should be a more proactive supporter of debt relief and coupling aid funds with social, economic and institutional reforms. We should also be looking at the underlying causes of poverty."

Alternative FM Robert McClelland: on 14 March at the Lowy Institute, in his first major speech as Shadow Foreign Minister, Mr McClelland will discuss Labor's determination to regain Australia's reputation as a good international citizen. He argues that over the last decade Australia's international reputation has declined as the Howard Government has moved away from multilateralism and has failed to effectively address the issue of weak states in our region. Mr McClelland will argue that a new focus on good international citizenship would further the national interest.

"Government is a place where people come together." (PJB, WW S1 E12)