Strengthening Australia-Latin America Ties Through Education and Research

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29 – 30 August 2012
Report of Proceedings

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Contents
Foreword
Our supporters and acknowledgements
Introduction
Observations
Recommendations
Keynote address
Crispin Conroy, Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner
to Latin America, Austrade; Consul-General of Australia to Colombia
and Ronaldo Veirano, Honorary Consul of Australia in Rio de Janeiro
Sessions
Session 1 Welcome and opening remarks
Session 2 Resources and the changing global balance
Session 3 (concurrent): Researcher lunch – Connecting with Melbourne:
resources and research and Opportunities for strengthening Australia-Latin
America relations
Session 4 Agriculture and food security
Session 5 Australian strategic relations
Session 6 Liveability and resilience: Urban design, planning and community
engagement in Melbourne and Latin American cities
Session 7 Opening of Latin American Architecture and Design Exhibition
Session 8 Engaging Latin America – an education perspective
Session 9 Latin America in the world
Session 10 International education and leadership in languages
Session 11 (concurrent): Business roundtable on green growth and energy
security; Student lunch and Mexican Travelling Design Exhibition; and
Roundtable on the future of Latin American studies in Australia
Session 12 Opportunities and challenges for the Australia-Latin America
Relationship
Session 13 Closing remarks
Selected Profiles: Alumni, Staff and Students
Contact us
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Once thought of in the minds of European explorers as a distant and exotic continent promising
fabulous wealth and adventure or as a troubled land tarnished by exploitation and conflict,
Latin America is now emerging as a dynamic, competitive, reliable global player in all areas —
from the economy to education.
After a long, shared history of reciprocal distancing, Australia and Latin America have awoken in the
21st century to the realisation that they have much to learn from each other and more in common
than they had previously suspected.
The response of the Australian tertiary sector to this realisation has been to move quickly to position
itself as a serious player in the emerging Latin American research, research training and higher
education sectors.
The University of Melbourne is contributing to the dialogue between Australians and Latin Americans
with a broad range of initiatives including collaborative research projects, new teaching programs
with a focus on Latin America such as the Spanish program in the Melbourne School of Languages
and Linguistics, and the Melbourne Latin American Dialogue.
The 2012 Melbourne Latin America Dialogue was significant because it brought together over one hundred
academics, researchers, diplomats, business people and artists from all over Australia and Latin America.
The Proceedings collected in this report are testimony to the wide range of issues that were discussed
during the two days of the Dialogue. Alas, they cannot fully convey the high intensity and the lasting benefits
of the interactions, the networking and the new friendships that emerged between sessions and during
the artistic and social events.
To use one of the metaphors that caught the imagination of many Dialogue participants, the tide
is beginning to turn in the way Australians and Latin Americans perceive each other and work together.
We cordially invite you to delve into these Proceedings and give thought to the accompanying
recommendations. The paramount conclusion of the 2012 Dialogue was that engaging with Latin America
is no longer a matter of seizing opportunities — but of adapting to new, unstoppable global flows.
We wish to express our gratitude to all the participants in the 2012 Melbourne Latin America Dialogue
for their thought-provoking presentations. The dedication and energy of the organisation team led by
Zoe Dauth and supported by a cohort of volunteers deserves our sincere applause.
Forward
Professor Susan Elliott
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Engagement)
Professor Alfredo Martínez-Expósito
Head, School of Languages and Linguistics,
Faculty of Arts

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AcknowledgementsSupporters
The University of Melbourne would like to thank the Latin American Heads of Mission
for their encouragement and attendance at the Dialogue. We would also like to thank
the chairs, speakers and panelists for their enlightening contributions over the two days.
The Dialogue would not have been possible without the support of university staff from
the Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Engagement), the International Relations Office
and the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning and the enthusiasm of the
student volunteers.
We would also like to thank Dr Victor Del Rio for his ongoing encouragement of the Australia –
Latin America relationship and Professor Alfredo Martínez-Expósito for his support in making
the Dialogue such a success.
A special thank you to Zoe Dauth, whose passion and dedication has been the driving force
behind the Dialogue and to Tim Harcourt for his role as master of ceremonies.
Finally, a big thank you to the Dialogue delegates, many of whom travelled from overseas
and interstate to attend.
Australia-Latin America Business Council (ALABC)
The Australia-Latin America Business Council (ALABC) promotes, encourages and facilitates
commerce, trade and investment between Australia and the countries of Latin America.
ALABC was established in 1989, and today the Council’s membership is comprised of leading
companies and individuals who are at the forefront of forging business links between Australia
and Latin America.
Council on Australia Latin America Relations (COALAR)
The Australian Government established the Council on Australia Latin America Relations
(COALAR) in 2001 to enhance Australia’s economic, political and social relations with
Latin America. The Council is focused on enhancing and strengthening links between
Australia and Latin America in the priority areas of business, education, sustainability,
tourism and cultural promotion.
The Global Foundation
The Global Foundation is a citizens’ organisation with extensive private sector membership,
based in Australia. Fully independent of government and funded by its members, The Global
Foundation promotes high-level thinking within Australia and cooperation between Australia
and the world. It works with government and institutions, the private sector, academia and the
community, to help shape longer-term solutions to great challenges.
The State Government of Victoria
The Department of Business and Innovation (DBI) is Victoria’s lead economic, business
and innovation agency. DBI’s mission is to build a more productive Victoria by being responsive
to business needs. The department engages with Victorian business and industry to help
them become competitive, innovative and connected, and to generate investment, jobs and
exports. At the firm level, the department’s business engagement strategy is building enduring
relationships through which it can better target the support to business and help stimulate
business productivity, while representing industry needs to government at all levels.

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Introduction
The University of Melbourne hosted the inaugural
Melbourne Latin American Dialogue in August 2012
in order to strengthen the institutional underpinning
of the relationship between Latin America and Australia
and to provide a forum for a high-level exchange of ideas
and experiences. The Dialogue brought together some
200 Latin American and Australian stakeholders from
scientific, technological, artistic, business, governmental
and educational fields to discuss and identify concrete
ways in which the two regions could cooperate in a range
of sectors. The Dialogue provided an opportunity to
showcase cutting-edge research conducted collaboratively
between Australian and Latin American partners, and
addressed the exciting opportunities arising from Latin
America’s economic growth and geopolitical emergence.
This report includes edited versions of the presentations
by Crispin Conroy and Ronaldo Veirano as they provided
a context for the Proceedings and indeed around the
Australia – Latin America relationship. It also recognises
the work of the various faculties of the University of Melbourne
in engaging with the region, and highlights the qualities
of the University’s talented Latin American alumni.
In order to capture and convey the dynamic and exciting
tenor of the discussions, a summary of each of the Dialogue
sessions is included in the body of the report, as well as
a consolidated set of outcomes and recommendations that
will be forwarded to stakeholders. Among the more notable
findings of the Dialogue was the realisation of the need to
reposition Latin America’s higher education sector as
a significant global player in academic mobility thanks
to increased state-funded scholarship programs, research
productivity and private investment in education. Public sector
involvement drives many of the global research relationships
formed through higher education and the links between key
research institutions, and has an important role to play in
partnership with private sector collaborators and investors.
Accordingly, this report contains:
• Observations and recommendations drawn from
the Dialogue Proceedings
• Two edited keynote speeches by Crispin Conroy,
Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner to
Latin America, Austrade; Consul-General of Australia
to Colombia and Ronaldo Veirano, Honorary Consul
of Australia in Rio de Janeiro
• Summaries of each Dialogue session
• Selected profiles of Latin American alumni, staff
and students
• Acknowledgement of sponsors and supporters
• Media coverage of the Dialogue
This report on the proceedings of the Dialogue
has two objectives:
• The first is to provide a set of recommendations flowing
from the exchanges and discussions in the course of
the two days of the Dialogue. These will be disseminated
to all the stakeholders, including Government
• The second is to inform future initiatives of this kind,
so that a platform for the development of the relationship
is recorded, along with the networks that are being created
through this and future events. This will encourage
momentum and an ever-expanding narrative.
The Dialogue identified areas of progress in the relationship,
and these are outlined in the body of the report, under the
various session summaries. Key areas of progress include:
• The growth in education links between tertiary institutions
in areas such as the sciences, languages and cultural
exchanges. Professor Simon Marginson, from the
Melbourne School of Graduate Education, pointed out
the strong recent performance by Latin American
universities in terms of scientific output and the growth
in Latin American graduate students in Australia
• Strong investment and collaboration in mining, agriculture
and infrastructure. Ronaldo Veirano, Honorary Consul
of Australia in Rio de Janeiro, noted the importance
of Brazil’s metal and mining company Vale in Australia,
while Pacific Hydro’s Rob Grant noted the importance
of his company’s investment in renewable energy in Chile
and Brazil
• Greater Australian community awareness of the new
economic environment in Latin America with increased
openness to trade, and a benign climate for foreign
investment. Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner
to Latin America, Austrade and Consul-General
of Australia to Colombia, Crispin Conroy, noted the
increased importance to Australia of the new emerging
economies in the Andean region, especially Peru and
Colombia, following on Chile’s solid performance as
a gateway to Latin America for Australian companies.
Despite the obstacles to achieving sustainable growth
in the relationship between the two continents — incipient
transport links; cultural differences and language barriers;
economic development gaps to close and poverty to defeat;
and the lure of Asia which beckons us both —
the Melbourne Latin America Dialogue helped harness the
energy and goodwill that exists between the two continents.
There are sufficient building blocks to provide a strong
foundation for the future, particularly as the next generation
of Latin Americans and Australians forge even closer
transcontinental ties.
The considerable body of information and analysis in
this report is the product of only two days of discussions,
but it is underpinned by all the preceding inputs into
Australia’s relationship with Latin America made by
Government agencies, especially the Council on Australia
Latin America Relations (COALAR); Associations, such as
the Australia Latin America Business Council (ALABC);
and the efforts of countless companies, educational
institutions and individuals. The University of Melbourne
hopes that this summary of proceedings will contribute
to this process and the future development of relations
between Australia and Latin America, with a Melbourne-
based perspective, but a ‘team Australia’ approach.

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Observations
• Australia and the Latin American region are experiencing
greater engagement than ever before in trade,
investment, education, scientific research, innovation
and cultural exchanges.
• Particular progress has been noted in education
exchanges, investments in the Latin American mining
sector, and in scientific research collaboration.
• While the focus on education, mining and scientific research
is important, there are also opportunities to be explored
in other sectors and markets, including defence and
regional security.
• Further initiatives are warranted to continue to grow the
scope and level of engagement between Australia and
the Latin American region as a whole, as well as initiatives
to enhance bilateral relations with individual countries.
• The engagement between Australia and Latin America
has to rest on a platform of mutual respect and mutual
benefit, rather than the outdated and erroneous view
that Australia could help Latin America by dint of more
advanced developed country technologies.
• The notable growth in the global strategic and economic
importance of Asia (reflected in the concept of the Asian
Century) provides great scope for Latin American – Australian
collaboration in key areas where we have a comparative
advantage including in agriculture, mining, education
and professional services. Accordingly, developments
in Asia should form a regular part of the Dialogue in the
future. In this regard, the White Paper on the Asian Century
warrants consideration through Latin American and
Australian think tanks in a knowledge-based, networked,
collaborative approach.
• Improvements in and prospect for further growth in the
Latin American economies have brought more investment
from and commercial opportunity for Australia, while
better access to the Australian market has enabled more
Latin American companies to successfully do business
in Australia.
• Forthcoming major global sporting and associated cultural
events being held in Brazil (the FIFA World Cup 2014
and the Rio Olympics 2016) provide an opportunity to forge
closer personal, business, cultural and diplomatic ties
with the region as a whole.
• Stakeholders should note that among the areas in which
Latin American representatives considered Australian input
welcome are:
Mining services, technology and equipment in the newly
emerging Andean economies of Peru, Chile and Colombia
Industrial design, urban renewal and transport
and infrastructure in Brazil
Agriculture and viticulture services, technology and research
in the ‘southern cone’ economies of Argentina, Uruguay
and Chile
Renewable energies including hydro-electricity in Chile
and environmental technologies in Brazil
Professional development of VET teachers in several
Latin American countries, where enhancement of VET
is a priority, especially in Colombia, Peru and Chile
Closer collaboration between Australian and Latin American
educational institutions and private and public sector
research bodies on innovation and RD, following the lead
from the inspiring CSIRO Chile project in Antofagasta
bringing together Australian, Chilean and Peruvian
universities.
Further investment in young professionals who have
a specialist interest in Latin America and Australia through
the Australia Latin America Leadership Program.

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Recommendations
The following recommendations, drawn from the content
of discussions during the Dialogue, were not formally
adopted by participants; however, they reflect widespread
views expressed by contributors and present opportunities
for further action. Each recommendation is accompanied
by suggestions for stakeholders who might wish to
pursue them.
1. Learning from and building on the experience
of enterprises such as Pacific Hydro and CSIRO, the
Australian and Latin American governments, private
companies and the research community should explore
ways to intensify collaborative research endeavours in
the mining sector, focusing on innovative and practical
solutions to the challenges of sustainability and more
complex mining operations.
Possible stakeholders: CSIRO, Pacific Hydro, university
faculties, COALAR, Mining Tertiary Education Council
(MTEC)
2. Through the Chilean Embassy in Canberra, or directly
through appropriate agencies in Chile (for instance CORFO,
Chamber of Construction), Australian companies with the
assistance of state and federal governments should explore
how to engage in Chile’s Year of Innovation activities.
Possible stakeholders: Embassy of Chile, CORFO,
Chilean Technology Development Corporation (Inova
Chile), Australian Embassy in Santiago, Austrade,
faculties
3. That in any future Dialogue events, the Latin American
communities in the relevant city should be involved
to a greater extent.
Possible stakeholders: University of Melbourne,
community organisations (for instance, ABRISA
for the Brazilian Community)
4. That, jointly with the Lowy Institute for International
Policy, COALAR conducts a review of what might be
broadly termed think tanks currently in existence in
Australia and Latin America, dedicated to enhancing
knowledge about and cooperation between the two
regions (including Asia). The review should assess
10. Australia should consider establishing a Technical
Teacher Training Centre of Excellence based in Bogotá
or Lima, to service several Latin American countries.
Possible stakeholders: TAFE institutions,
education faculties
11. That COALAR should fund a study of whether
it is feasible and desirable for Australia to join
the Inter-American Development Bank.
Possible stakeholders: DFAT, Austrade,
state governments
12. That Australia and Victoria develop a long term
strategies for education engagement drawing
on Australia’s relative strengths and areas where
there are urgent and common policy interests
between Latin American countries and Australia.
Possible stakeholders: federal and state governments,
COALAR Education Action Group
13. That Victorian Universities meet in order to map out
a collaborative strategy to enhance the delivery
of Latin American studies throughout the State.
Possible Stakeholders: All Victorian universities;
Department of Business and Industry
the desirability of developing lines of cooperation between
existing think tanks or, if such think tanks do not exist
or are inoperative, consider options for the creation of a new
organisation along the lines of a Centre for Australia-Latin
America Research and Cooperation.
Possible stakeholders: Lowy Foundation, ANCLAS, ALABC,
universities offering Latin American studies, COALAR
5. That Australian educational and business institutions
promote the study of bilateral agreements and instruments,
such as free trade agreements, among exchange students,
to familiarise professional generations with these valuable
tools and build understanding of their implications for
markets and employment opportunities.
Possible stakeholders: universities, business institutions,
students, government
6. Given the importance of water, highlighted by various
speakers, the next Dialogue should include a water focus,
bringing together top researchers and key administrators
from Australia, Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay among others,
to explore enhanced research cooperation.
Possible stakeholders: universities and government
agencies in Australia and Latin America responsible
for research and management of water resources;
Pacific Hydro
7. With support from COALAR, develop a project to research
Latin American communities in Australian rural areas,
and how there might be greater research cooperation
in science and the social sciences.
Possible stakeholders: COALAR, faculties of interested
universities
8. Include foreign aid on the agenda of the next Dialogue
and invite AusAID to present.
Possible stakeholders: Dialogue organisers, AusAID, DFAT
9. Increase the number of Latin American officials
visiting Australia.
Possible stakeholders: COALAR, state and federal
governments

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Crispin Conroy, Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner
to Latin America, Austrade; Consul-General of Australia
to Colombia
The tide Is beginning to turn
Edited extracts
My thanks to the University of Melbourne and the Victorian
Government for this initiative. For those of us who know Latin
America and are true believers in the need to build commercial
and diplomatic relationships, this is a fantastic initiative.
I believe the interest that has been generated over the
past couple of days and the energy and the intensity of the
presentations, reflects the theme of my remarks today — that
the tide is beginning to turn in the relationship. That is to say,
that Australia, on the government and business side, is really
starting to engage seriously with the key countries in Latin
America commercially, politically and strategically. And many
countries in the region are starting to engage with Australia,
in particular, as part of their Asia-Pacific strategy. But let
me stress, the tide is turning and the engagement process
does have momentum but there is a lot more to do. I think
José Blanco reflected that in his remarks at the ALABC dinner
last night. We’re really just beginning. We can’t be complacent;
we need to give it lots more energy and it is great
to see a lot of young people here, particularly the students,
who I know will take on the baton from our gods and
goddesses here.
Before touching on the major challenges and opportunities
in the commercial relationship, I want briefly to highlight
where we’ve come from in terms of engagement. When
I first started as Ambassador to Chile some seven years ago,
I discovered at the back of my cupboard a very dusty copy
of a Senate Standing Committee Report and that report
was on commercial engagement with Latin America. I think
it was dated 1996 or 1997.
Bernard Wheelahan and José Blanco both made submissions
to that report, highly critical ones. In fact the Standing
Committee itself came out very negatively against the
government’s commercial engagement strategy with Latin
America, or the lack of it. At the time, our Senior Trade
Commissioner was based in Miami, and as all of us know,
trying to do fly-in fly-out in most places, but particularly
Latin America, where relationships and commitment are
so important, just doesn’t work.
Shortly after the committee’s report was handed down,
the Trade Commissioner was moved to Argentina to begin
with, and then that position moved to different locations in
the region depending on government priorities and commercial
interests. It moved to São Paulo, then it moved to Santiago
when I took it up and now, reflecting the government’s more
nuanced and deeper commitment, we have three separate
trade commission roles; one I’ve taken with me from Santiago
to Bogotá which covers the Andean region; and then a senior
trade commissioner in Brazil; and a trade commissioner
in Mexico; and they all report directly to Australia rather than
the old regional approach, which was all reporting into me,
into Los Angeles, Los Angeles to Australia. So it is a much
more nuanced approach and a more direct approach.
At a Latin America Down Under this year, one of the two mining
conferences that have just started to focus on junior mining
investment in Latin America, Senator Carr referred to a speech
by Gareth Evans twenty years ago at the 500th Anniversary
Conference on The European Discovery of the New World.
Gareth was, in my view, one of our great strategic thinking
foreign ministers. He was my first minister in DFAT and also
of course a Melbournian (very important). He noted (this
was twenty years ago) that our contact with Latin America had
been minimal, our government relationships underdone, and
that it was in Australia’s interest to reach out to key countries
in the region. He noted that important economic, social
and political transitions were underway in the region. Indeed,
he was right. Many Latin American countries, indeed most of
them, have left behind that political instability and rollercoaster
economic tradition of the past and many of them demonstrate
stability and sustained growth making them the darlings
of international investors.
Keynote Address
Many Latin American countries ...
demonstrate stability and sustained growth
making them the darlings of international
investors.

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For my presentations, and I am giving one in Perth and one in
Brisbane, I have shamelessly stolen the title of a Wall Street
Journal article, which focuses on Colombia and Peru calling
them the new ‘Latin Tigers’. So there is a real recognition that
countries like Colombia and Peru are globally competitive in
terms of foreign investment. Also, we saw in the presentation
from Professor de Oliveira this morning the amazingly
significant changes that have taken place in Brazil and I love
the figures that he came up with this morning; I think it was
20 years ago that 65 per cent were below the poverty line
and now 65 per cent are in the middle class. I mean that’s
an amazing figure.
So it is clear that we’ve come a very long way in terms
of our engagement. We now have a targeted and, I believe,
robust diplomatic and trade network in the region focused
on countries that share similar interests and values and follow
a similar economic development model to Australia.
Some of these countries are partners in APEC or the Trade
Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations or, like Colombia,
play an active role in those. In many of those, we work
in international trade fora like the WTO or the Cairns Group.
Indeed, I think there is recognition in government now that
many of these countries are ‘like-minded’ to use a similar
expression from the former foreign minister for Chile Alejandro
Foxley and very useful strategic partners.
So we’ve seen very useful strategic gains. Our bilateral
commercial architecture is being built as well. Think of Chile
with the FTA [Free Trade Agreement] enforced and tax
agreement signed. And we are seeing major political
interaction. Former Foreign Ministers Crean, Smith and Rudd,
all visited the region, as has Minister Emerson. The Prime
Minister was in Brazil recently. The first prime ministerial visit
to Brazil, which says something I think, but it’s happened.
President Piñera [Chile] will be visiting in the next couple
of weeks. Good luck, Ambassador, with that.
There is a growing awareness in business and government
of the trade and education opportunities in Latin America.
Austrade, with its new focus on trade support in growth and
emerging markets, has placed Latin America at the forefront
of our trade strategy. Despite difficult times in terms of
the Government’s budget we have seen significant resources
being given to Latin America and our trade focus in Latin
America. I have just opened a trade office, a Consulate-General
in Bogotá, Colombia. That is a significant financial commitment
and also, we have put a new resource into Brazil. So there
are now two trade commissioners in Brazil.
I know COALAR and ALABC over many years have pushed for
a greater Australian presence in Colombia and greater focus
in Brazil. Nor should we forget the opening of the embassy
in Peru in September 2010. This was also a decision taken
in a time of budgetary constraint.
Finally, in terms of the key parts of our engagement strategy,
we have built up in the past year or two a very strong
and dedicated education team and we have also established
the AusAID humanitarian program in Latin America. That is
something as Ambassador I argued for very strongly. Minister
Rudd actually started the process when he was Prime Minister
and came to APEC and Lima and said we must have a
microfinance project in Latin America and that really started
the ball rolling and we now have quite a significant program
that’s building quite nicely.
So, as someone obviously passionate about engagement
with Latin America, all these things are very pleasing and the
momentum is clearly going in the right direction. However,
there is a lot of work to be done and major challenges remain.
Now, these remarks are more from a personal perspective,
not a Government perspective so please take them in that
sense. I think that we have heard this from a number of
speakers; one of the major challenges remains the lack
of knowledge and awareness in Australia about key countries
in Latin America by Australians, even by policy makers in
government, and boards of companies already engaged with
Latin America.
One of my colleagues in Austrade, asked me why we were
opening an office in Colombia, and that’s a question that
came from within a trade promotion organisation. I frequently
get asked by Australian companies to come and talk to their
boards. They don’t understand Peru or they don’t understand
Brazil or they don’t understand the new Colombia. So even
where there’s engagement, there is more to be done to build
awareness and understanding.
When I was appointed to the Colombia post, a lot of my friends
asked me what I was doing? I think, 33 years ago,
Time magazine ran a cover with the title ‘The Colombian
Connection: Billions in Pot and Coke’. Now, perceptions are
hard to change. That’s 33 years ago. But in April this year
with a photo of President Santos, Time magazine ran a front
page again on Colombia ‘The Colombian Comeback: From
Nearly Failed State to Emerging Global Player’. So we need to
actively dispel these out-of-date perceptions not just about
Colombia but about the region.
I mentioned earlier the Wall Street Journal article that referred
to Colombia and Peru as the new ‘Latin Tigers’ forging ahead.
I see the Ambassador of Mexico mentioned this morning
the partnership between Chile, Peru, Colombia and Mexico.
My personal view is that it is a real arc of opportunity
for Australia in commercial terms.
We have talked quite a bit about distance. In Chile for
example, people think Australia is a long way away, but they
are quite happy to go to Toronto to PDAC [Prospectors and
Developers Association of Canada] which is 11 hours away
so we need to keep working on changing these mindsets.
I was really pleased to hear some of the comments on Brazil
today. I believe personally that we need to be much smarter
about Brazil in the same way that we are trying to be smart
and strategic in China and India. Although the BRIC [Brazil-
Russia-India-China] concept may be out of date, Brazil is
an important economy and will keep getting more important,
just as India and China are, and we may not be able to
put the same amount of resources into Brazil as in China
and India but my personal view is that we need to do more.
Brazil is a major economy. We need to understand it better.
We need to get Brazil to understand us better. There was
a comment from the floor today, a very frank one and I was
pleased to hear it ‘Brazil doesn’t really need us and they don’t
know what we stand for’. We need to change that perception.
I remember when President Sarkozy went to Brazil for some
defence and trade deals; he went with ten cabinet ministers.
And we’ve just had our first Prime Ministerial visit.
We need to explain to Brazil and Brazilians what we’re good
at and why they need to engage with us. That’s a task Ronaldo
[Veirano] and I were discussing before that will take some
time. It’s not an easy one. It’s a different strategy to that
So it is clear that we’ve come a very
long way in terms of our engagement.
We now have a targeted and, I believe,
robust diplomatic and trade network in the
region focused on countries that share
similar interests and values and follow
a similar economic development model
to Australia.
...one of the major challenges remains
the lack of knowledge and awareness
in Australia about key countries in
Latin America

1918
arc of opportunity and the relationship we have with other
countries like Argentina and Uruguay for example.
It’s a specific strategy where we need to be the suitors.
I also think in our commercial narrative, we, I mean Austrade
here, need to be much smarter in relation to Mexico. There’s
a lot of talk about Brazil but Mexico is a huge, dynamic and
very exciting market. From the political side and the diplomatic
side, I think we have done a superb job in Mexico. I think along
with Chile it is one of our deepest diplomatic relationships,
but on the trade side there is a bit of a lack of narrative.
What does Mexico stand for, for us? What’s the relationship?
For example, in education, the student numbers have been
static at 1500 for several years. That’s not good enough.
Mexico is now one of the most attractive places for mining
investment yet the Canadians have 70 per cent and we’re
the second largest foreign investor at six or seven per cent.
I’ve heard a couple of Australian juniors talk about their
experience in Mexico and they say it’s a dream. It’s got great
geology, great government support, great information, and
a great regulatory environment. But we don’t hear about that
or we don’t talk about it enough. Companies in Australia either
go through North America or go through Chile and we’ve got
to migrate that experience and interest up or down. So I think
as Austrade, we’ve got a lot of work to do in relation to Mexico.
We’ve also got to build our presence in more sectors and new
markets. Our focus on mining and education of course must
continue — it’s strong and increasingly multifaceted, and
it still provides huge growth opportunities. But opportunities
exist in other sectors such as water, and we’ve seen two
delegations from Chile, another coming shortly afterwards.
We’re looking at a defence mission to Chile next year; urban
design and architecture, Canada and the ICN have been active
in this area; in construction and infrastructure. I know José
Blanco wants to work more on infrastructure and believes
there are significant opportunities; and also new markets.
We focus on the ‘Latin Six’ as we call them now, but we are
increasingly looking at Uruguay in terms of agribusiness and
mining; Panama in terms of financial services and mining;
Venezuela for education and I believe we will increasingly look
to Ecuador and Bolivia for mining opportunities. They have
such mineral wealth.
Now to conclude, this is one of my pet challenges, and I am
very pleased, I thought I was being original but it had been
picked up by a few people today, we need to redress the
balance in education — so many students coming here, there
is an increasing flow of students going to Latin America but
I think we need to put much more effort into that. Learning
Spanish is significant but we have Portuguese as well, and
I was absolutely thrilled to hear the increase in numbers
of students studying Spanish, but it’s from a very low base.
I mentioned work and holiday programs this morning. I think
those are very underutilised by Australians going the other
way and there needs to be some structure put into that
to encourage them. I have a few ideas about that but won’t
go into them now.
My final point is that these sort of links, the two-way flows,
the research links we’ve been talking about with the CSIRO,
for example, the work and holiday programs, these are the
sorts of links that I believe will make the momentum we are
seeing, reflected in this event today, sustainable, and if we put
real effort into the education of student exchanges, research
exchanges, then I believe the momentum will be unstoppable.
Thank you very much.
...we need to redress the balance in
education — so many students coming
here, there is an increasing flow of
students going to Latin America but
I think we need to put much more effort
into that.

2120
Ronaldo Veirano, Honorary Consul of Australia
in Rio de Janeiro
The future bodes well for us
My involvement with Australia started when I joined Baker
McKenzie in 1972 and I had the opportunity of coming to
Australia quite frequently. More recently in 2002, I was invited
by Ambassador Garry Conroy to become the Honorary Consul
in Rio. I think I have a certain feeling of being a frustrated
diplomat because when I was young and I was studying law
I considered going into a diplomatic career. But I did not have
good French and it was a compulsory language to enter into
the Instituto Rio Branco, which schooled foreign diplomats;
however, I did not take the exam. I continued with my legal
career but later in life I had this opportunity to work with career
diplomats and help to build up a relationship with Australia.
I have a deep passion for what I do. I believe it is important
work that all of us do in terms of increasing the proximity
between the two countries and I am very optimistic about the
future. I think that despite all the difficulties you heard today,
I think the future bodes well for us and I am very optimistic
about this approach, this engagement of Australia with Latin
America and with my country in particular.
transformation, even for us who live in Brazil who look back
five or ten years. The changes that have happened in the
country are fantastic.
We still have a long way to go. But when you consider that
all these changes took place in a very short period of time,
and the irony of it all — it happened under the administration
of a leftist government, a Labor leader that took three failed
attempts before he got the presidency. I think for democracy,
this has been very good. President Lula, I think, demystified
that fact that we can have changes in government like you
have in Australia, like you have in the United State, like you
have in England, Labor and Conservatives, without upsetting
the legal institutions of the country. Under Lula, we had this
transformation. The country started to grow, he incorporated
30-35 million people into the official economy — something
that serves us well during a crisis when sales abroad start
to dwindle, we have this big internal market that keeps the
economy going.
So it is a fantastic moment we are living with many
opportunities for Australian companies, for companies from
other countries and Brazilian companies. President Dilma
Rousseff has just announced this infrastructure process,
which involves a substantial sum of money. There are
opportunities in many fields, and many Australian companies
are investing more and more in Brazil. So that’s why I feel
optimistic because with a greater presence of Australian
companies in Brazil, with a growing number of students from
Brazil coming Australia — we have on a yearly basis about
17,000 Brazilian students coming to Australia. This has to
have had an impact of the future because these people will
be the future of Brazil. They will be the new diplomats, the new
entrepreneurs, they will be the new professionals and they will
remember that experience. When you have these experiences
when you’re young, you never forget.
The key factor to this transformation was the control of
inflation. Brazil had inflation so high that I like to tell the joke
that it was the only country in the world where it was cheaper
to take a taxi than ride a bus. Why? Because the bus you paid
when you went in and the taxi you paid when you went out.
Inflation was so big that the time it took for you to get to your
destination inflation took care of it.
Keynote Address
I believe it is important work that all of
us do in terms of increasing the proximity
between the two countries and I am very
optimistic about the future.
The interesting thing is that I have been speaking to audiences
like this for many years, much longer than I would like to
admit. In the past I was always justifying why Brazil didn’t work
out. Why we had hyperinflation, why we had political instability,
why we had unstable government, why we had coup d’états
in our country. I grew up with the idea that Brazil was a country
of the future, and as I got older, the future didn’t get there
so I thought I was going to die without seeing my country
perform as well as it is doing today. And it is a tremendous

2322
Nowadays, we have inflation like any other developed country.
This was something that was corrected under the Fernando
Henrique administration, but Lula had the vision of maintaining
that policy and that has been a very good thing for the country.
We have attracted in the last few years record levels foreign
investment and this comes from all parts of the world. I think
Brazil is fairly open to investment from abroad. There are
very few restrictions on what foreign capital can do in Brazil
and I think this has been very good. I think we have to get to
work at engaging the two largest economies in the Southern
Hemisphere. It is true that we have some difficulties as we
have heard this morning but I, as I mentioned before, am a
believer that these things can change if we work hard at them.
Both Australia and Brazil have to get over the old paradigms.
We have to start thinking outside the box. We have to be
creative. We have to be innovative. I think if we are going to
overcome these obstacles, there are many areas in which we
can cooperate. We have to get rid of this idea, this paradigm
that we are competitors and because we are competitors we
cannot do things together. A good example of an investment
Brazil has made, is in a company in the United States with
assets here in Australia, which resulted in a Brazilian company
dominating about 35 per cent of the Australian meat market.
But what does that mean? It means that this Brazilian
company is working with Australian workers and opening new
markets including Brazil. Maybe some of you don’t know you
export marbled beef to Brazil and that it is a Brazilian company
based in Brisbane that does that.
It is inconceivable that two countries as important as our
two countries are, that this has not happened and we have
to work on that. We have to encourage more trade missions.
I do my little part. I have brought trade missions to Australia.
Next February I am bringing 50 people from Brazil to work
with the Australia Institute of Company Directors. I am very
active in corporate governance and I think you have one
of the most important corporate governance institutes in
the world, second to Britain. That’s an area of cooperation.
The knowledge gap is still very big. I think governments should
be thinking of inviting serious journalists into their country.
Let them spend some time there. Give them some freedom
of activity to report on what they have seen. They will report
good things, not so good things and some bad things, but
people in this country will get to know the other and vice versa.
I think that is not such a big investment, but it goes a long way
to fill this knowledge gap.
Now I am going to end by making a few remarks because
the topic of the conversation is ‘challenges’ in doing business
in Brazil. It is a very difficult country to do business in.
It’s not easy. Bureaucracy is tremendous. We inherited that
from our Portuguese discoverers and we perfected it. So you
get to Brazil and you start doing business and it’s very
frustrating. You feel like packing your bags and coming home.
But you have to understand the cultural differences. If you
get adequate support, adequate advice, you can live with
that bureaucracy, you can make progress and you can make
profits in Brazil.
We Brazilians hate to say no. We feel that saying no is
impolite. We like to beat around the bush and make you
understand that what you are saying is not acceptable to us
but we won’t be straight like you are in Australia or America.
This sometimes creates difficulties because when you are
too straight, Brazilian people feel offended. So you have
to understand that cultural difference.
We are not very punctual. We inherited this again from the
Portuguese. When the Portuguese invite you to something,
they don’t say come at two o’clock, they say around two
o’clock because the ‘around’ gives you flexibility. We are like
that and the world doesn’t end because you are not there
at two o’clock.
Different social habits. You go to a meeting with a government
official and you don’t start talking about business immediately.
You have to talk about the weather, you have to talk about
their family, you have to talk about the results of last week’s
football game and then, when you are getting ready to leave,
you start talking business.
Building relationships is extremely important. The Chinese
have guanxi and we have our own form of guanxi. You build up
a relationship, you build up confidence and trust and then you
can do business. People will walk the extra mile to do business
with you if you build that kind of relationship.
Knowing who is as important as or more important than
knowing how. Sometimes, you have situations in which you
have a legal solution and you go to court and get a court order
for somebody to do something and you win the battle but lose
the war.
Choose well your partners. Take time to do your homework.
Don’t do what the Americans did and fly from New York, arrive
in the morning and want to sign a contract in the afternoon and
start business the following day. That’s a recipe for disaster.
Get to know people, build the relationship and build trust
and it’s like a marriage, if you’re going to do a joint venture.
Sometimes you’re right, sometimes you’re wrong.
Take time selecting who is going to assist you in Brazil. It may
sound self-serving because I am a lawyer, but Brazil is a
country where you cannot do business without the assistance
of a good lawyer. If you don’t like the Brazilian firms we now
have plenty of foreign firms operating in the country. You have
a wide choice of counsel. You will need good lawyers, a good
accountant, auditors and a good consultant. If you do that,
I think you can be extremely successful.
We deal with foreign companies that have been in Brazil for the
long haul, and I bet you that if you asked if they are pleased
with the investment they have made in the country, the answer
is invariably yes. But those people have made the right choices
and made the right decisions. I think that if you do that,
you can be extremely successful. Thank you very much.
Both Australia and Brazil have to get
over the old paradigms. We have to start
thinking outside the box. We have to be
creative. We have to be innovative.
Vale has been here. It is true you have fantastic mining
companies but there is space for cooperation. There is space
for doing things together. I mentioned this morning the
example of ethanol. I think that is a good area for us to
cooperate and service new markets, service new areas that
are not being served today. I think a little bit of creativity from
Australian and Brazilian communities can go far. I think we
have to encourage our governments to work closer together.
Somebody mentioned here (and its absolutely true), the Prime
Minister of Australia was in Brazil recently. It was the first time
the Prime Minister of Australia visited Brazil. The President
of Brazil has never visited Australia. We have to correct that.
Building relationships is extremely
important ... You build up a relationship,
you build up confidence and trust and
then you can do business. People will
walk the extra mile to do business with
you if you build that kind of relationship.
I will give you a very simple example. We once had a client
who was drilling for oil in northeast Brazil. Two days before
Carnival, the Port Captain in the Port of Salvador impounded
the supply boat that supplied all the goods to the platform,
alleging that the boat didn’t have a crew composed of 100
per cent Brazilian sailors. He would have been right if that boat
had been a Brazilian flagged boat. But the boat happened
to be a foreign flagged boat authorised to operate in Brazilian
territorial waters by the Brazilian authorities. So that Port
Captain was wrong.
The client calls me two days before Carnival desperate
because you know how much it costs to operate a rig off shore.
I said, ‘Sir, you have two options. One, the legal option.
I guarantee you getting a judge to tell that captain to free the
boat’. He asked if he should do that and I said no, because if
you do that, we are going to free the boat but that poor captain
is going to chase you throughout your contract in Salvador.
He asked how we should resolve the problem, to which I said
we have to find out who his boss is, talk to his boss and try
to convince him to tell him the captain he is wrong.
His boss was the admiral who was in Rio and my client asked
if I knew him. I said no, but I have friends that know him. I will
find out who knows him. I solved it. I went to the admiral,
I explained to him not to scold this guy and berate him for
what he has done. ‘I just want you to convince him that he is
wrong’. We freed the boat and developed as good relationship
with the port captain. Knowing who is more important than
knowing how.

2524
Sessions Session 1
welcome and opening remarks
During the opening remarks, Master of Ceremonies Tim Harcourt welcomed guests
and outlined the sessions that would occur over the following two days. Aimee McCartney,
a second year Indigenous student from Ormond College, performed the Acknowledgment
of Country.
The Vice Chancellor of the University of Melbourne, Professor Glyn Davis AC, opened the
Dialogue and welcomed delegates to the University. He observed how many Australian students
were developing a greater interest in Latin America through language courses and electives
offered in the Melbourne Model breadth subjects and indicated that Spanish language courses
had undergone a 600 per cent increase in recent years. Professor Davis viewed the exchanges
between young people as leading to the increasing internationalisation of Australian campuses.
David Luboff, Chairman of the Council on Australia Latin America Relations (COALAR)
and Executive Director of Macquarie Funds Group, also spoke of the importance of the emerging
links that students were developing between Latin America and Australia as they studied and
travelled between the two continents.
HE Pedro Villagra Delgado, Ambassador of Argentina, on behalf of the Latin American Group
of Ambassadors, thanked the University of Melbourne, the Australian Government and the State
Government of Victoria for promoting the relationship between Latin America and Australia.
He spoke of increasingly mutual interests between the regions in agriculture, tourism, water and
education. While the connections were only gradually being made, Ambassador Villagra insisted
that the distance between countries was relatively small and required further investment of time
and resources.

2726
Session 2
rESOURCES AND THE CHANGING GLOBAL BALANCE
Professor Michael Crommelin, Zelman Cowen Professor of Law at the Melbourne Law School,
explained that the objective of this session was to strengthen the dialogue between people
in private industry, government and the university sectors. Professor Crommelin introduced
the session with his observations about the enormous importance and even greater potential
of the resources industries. But he also asserted that there were considerable challenges
and opportunities to be addressed by both Latin America and Australia. Professor Crommelin
identified competition, global markets, and opportunities for collaboration as vital aspects
for discussion. The resources industry is one of great sophistication that requires advanced
technologies, research and development, and which also depends heavily on the provision
of sophisticated services and project finance.
Professor Doreen Thomas from the Melbourne School of Engineering focused her presentation
on the importance of innovation in mining and how it was vital to maintain a vigorous
international mining sector. Professor Thomas spoke of the economic significance of mining
to the Latin American and Australian economies, including the investment opportunities they
offered. She singled out the importance of Australia’s $200 billion in mining exports from 2011
to 2012, which increased by 10 per cent over the previous year. But these opportunities are
not without risk, as global economic growth slowed. Companies are apprehensive about funding
and implementing new technologies and methods of mining. Yet, innovation is essential
to excavate deeper deposits globally. It is important to explore and encourage new methods
and technologies for mining and for sources of energy needed to supply large mining projects.
The senior executives of organisations must drive innovation and collaborate within the sector
and with government to find new solutions for mining.
Jonathan Law, Director of the Minerals Down Under Flagship at the CSIRO, spoke of their
long-term commitment with Chile through the CSIRO Chile Centre of Excellence in Mining and
Mineral Processing. In referring to CSIRO’s financial investment in this research, he noted that
‘innovation requires collaboration and innovation requires scale of investment’. As many of the
challenges faced by Chile are common to Australia, they could collaborate to overcome these
challenges and explore the shared opportunities. Through research in energy and water as well
as issues of productivity, safety, recycling, environmental performance and social responsibility,
the Flagship provides an integrated approach to innovation. By working with other research
organisations and global industry partners, the Flagship creates links between research,
industry and communities to increase the long-term sustainability of the mining industry.
Many international companies successfully maintain their presence globally and had done so
to remain competitive. The Flagship is focused on adding value to the Australian mining industry
by increasing the productivity of the sector and reducing its environmental footprint, both in
Australia and globally. The Centre of Excellence opportunity is due to the CSIRO being welcome
in Chile — the most important factor when commencing business in Latin America.
Rob Grant, Chief Executive Officer of Pacific Hydro and Director of the Council on Australia Latin
America (COALAR) considered the importance of clean energy to the economy. He explained
how Pacific Hydro was directly involved in producing clean energy from natural resources and
did so with an innovative approach to all projects. Australian companies needed to adopt a long-
term view. The success of Pacific Hydro, since its inception in 1992, has been due to its vision
of a cleaner world by producing electricity with clean energy.
Professor Adrian Pearce from the Melbourne School of Engineering addressed the topic of
Resources and the Changing Global Balance through two prisms: how could universities play a
role and how could they transfer their expertise. The complex nature of many problems requires
a team of researchers and other experts to confront them. Bringing disparate areas of expertise
together and exchanging knowledge could transform the resources sector and other industries,
including agriculture, through innovation.
Recommendation
Learning from and building on the experience of enterprises such as Pacific Hydro and CSIRO,
Australian and Latin American governments, private companies and the research community
should explore ways to intensify collaborative research endeavours in the mining sector,
focusing on innovative and practical solutions to the challenges of sustainability and more
complex mining operations.

2928
Session 3
Researcher lunch — connecting with Melbourne:
resources and research
This session aimed to highlight Australia’s research asset base and potential opportunities for
collaboration in Latin America. Speakers included Professor Steven Prawer, Director, Melbourne
Materials Institute; Professor Keith Nugent, Director, Australian Synchrotron; Terry Cutler,
CSIRO-Chile Centre of Excellence in Mining and Mineral Processing; and Susannah Powell,
Manager, Melbourne Energy Institute (MEI).
Poster presentations, which aimed to demonstrate the connections between Australian
and Latin American researchers, were presented by Dr Roger Dargaville and Robert Huva
(Melbourne Energy Institute); Dr Liza Forbes (CSIRO Clayton); Dr Ignacio González-Álvarez
(CSIRO, Minerals Down Under Flagship) and Dr Daniel Gomez (Melbourne Materials Institute
/School of Physics). The session also profiled early and emerging career researchers from
Australia and those with Latin American links to demonstrate potential for greater interchange
opportunities.
The presentations provided an overview of how resource sciences addressed a range of needs
from the macro to the nanoscale; from the applied challenges of managing our exploration
processes to efficiently harnessing renewable energy, through to the discovery stages
of understanding the physical and chemical properties of our energy and mineral resources.
Speakers illustrated how Australia and Latin America shared similar resource challenges
with potential for further research collaboration for significant gains in both the mining and
renewable resources sectors. Melbourne’s key research assets and its place as a destination
for early career researchers were also profiled.
Key outcomes
The Ambassador of Chile highlighted opportunities for funding in Chile in 2013, which had been
designated as the Year of Innovation in Chile.
The Poster Series developed for the event is to be shared for display at CSIRO and in key
locations in Latin America to raise awareness of Australian-led research in fields of energy
and material science.
Recommendation
Through the Chilean Embassy in Canberra, or directly through appropriate agencies in Chile
(for instance CORFO, Chamber of Construction), Australian companies, with the assistance of
state and federal governments, explore how to engage in Chile’s Year of Innovation activities.
Principal managers for this event were Gaby Bright (Melbourne Materials Institute), Elise Kavanagh (International
Relations Office) and Yuko Wakamatsu (CSIRO). Program design was by Gaby Bright (Melbourne Materials Institute)
and Megan Power (International Relations Office). Poster concept was by Megan Power. Final Design was by
Chris Hanger from Stibbo Design.

3130
Dr Victor Del Rio, Director of Red River Strategic Communication, spoke of the need to define
strategic directions in order to enhance the relationship between Australia and Latin America.
There is a need for a more influential voice to do this and Australia’s Latin America community
of around 200 000 Spanish and Portuguese speakers needed to find a way to mobilise. There
are a number of areas in which change could occur in a meaningful manner, including prioritising
the learning of Latin American languages in Australia. Dr Del Rio emphasised the importance
of creating familiarity between the regions through tourism, trade, research collaboration and
student exchanges; the proliferation of groups such as chambers of commerce; parliamentary
debates and the creation of at least one think tank in each country designed to study the other.
Session 3 (Concurrent)
OPPORTUNITIES FOR STRENGTHENING AUSTRALIA –
LATIN AMERICA RELATIONS
Dr Raul Sanchez Urribarri, Lecturer, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at La Trobe
University, spoke of the relationship between Australia and Latin America, noting that we
must seek new opportunities to build a stronger connection. One such opportunity is to build
engagement through Latin American communities here and Australians in Latin America.
H.E. Alberto Fajardo Klappenbach, Ambassador of Uruguay, emphasised the first step towards
strengthening links between Australia and Latin America would be to ease visa requirements.
The Ambassador recounted his own experiences negotiating a working holiday visa agreement
with Australia during which he witnessed how seemingly insurmountable bureaucratic
obstacles at the departmental level were overcome with the necessary political resolve at the
ministerial level.
H.E. Pedro Monzón Barata, Ambassador of Cuba spoke of the limitations to Cuban trade
and how more products could be traded in the future. He outlined Cuba’s strength in the health
sector and its provision of thousands of scholarships internationally to study medicine.
The Ambassador detailed how the Australian Government signed a joint agreement with Cuba
to provide medical care to Haiti and how both countries are working towards cooperation in the
improvement of health indexes and standards in the Pacific Islands. He outlined several areas
of current collaboration between Cuba and Australia, including education, science and research.
A dynamic relationship already exists, with reciprocal art exhibitions, musical performances
and dance tours.
Telmo Languiller MP, representing the Parliament of Victoria, focused his presentation on
education and the opportunities that currently exist. He believes a continued effort is required
to change the paradigm that defines the relationship between Australia and Latin America.
Generally, the relationship is perceived as one of competition. By altering that paradigm much
more can be achieved to create complementarities, collaboration and partnerships. Australia’s
state governments can become fundamental drivers in the relationship with Latin America.
All interested parties, including academics, should become activists and lobbyists for Australia-
Latin America exchanges. Agribusiness, farming technology, and scientific research and
technology are possible growth areas. In the future, Australia and Latin America will play
an important role in feeding the world.
Diego Velasco von-Pilgrimm, Consul-General of Chile in Melbourne, spoke about the misguided
perception, developed through popular culture, that each region had of the other. Latin America’s
view of Australians as ‘cool gringos’, is an asset that should be taken advantage of. Educational
exchanges assist the two regions to understand one another, but more opportunities should
exist for Latin American students to engage with Australian industry and to bring that experience
with them when they return home.
Recommendation
That in any future Dialogue events, the Latin American communities in the relevant city should
be involved to a greater extent.
That, jointly with the Lowy Institute for International Policy, COALAR conducts a review of what
might be broadly termed think tanks currently in existence in Australia and Latin America,
dedicated to enhancing knowledge about and cooperation between the two regions (including
Asia). The review should assess the desirability of developing lines of cooperation between
existing think tanks or, if such think tanks do not exist or are inoperative, consider options
for the creation of a new organisation along the lines of a Centre for Australia-Latin America
Research and Cooperation.
That Australian educational and business institutions promote the study of bilateral
agreements and instruments, such as free trade agreements, among exchange students,
to familiarise professional generations with these valuable tools and build understanding
of their implications for markets and employment opportunities.

3332
Session 4
agriculture and food security
Professor Rick Roush, Dean of Melbourne School of Land and Environment at the University
of Melbourne, gave a presentation about the role of gene technology in agriculture and food
security. He detailed some of the advances in agricultural productivity made through transgenic
technology, which had improved the control of pests, diseases and weeds through strategies
that incorporate insect or virus resistance and herbicide tolerance in crops. One of the most
exciting new technological developments is improving water, fertiliser and nitrogen efficiency in
food plants. The adoption of transgenic crops has the highest uptake of agricultural technology
in history, at a rate of 10 per cent each year from 1996 in 30 countries including Australia and
10 Latin American countries. The advantages of the biological and non-chemical control of crops
include a dramatic reduction of insecticide use and decreasing the environmental footprint
of agriculture as a whole. The shared interests of Australia and Latin America reside in the
management of environmental stress in the face of climate change and increasing agriculture’s
sustainability.
Associate Professor Ruth Nettle, from the Rural Innovation Research Group (RIRG) at the
University of Melbourne, focused her presentation on how science could best address the
challenges of agriculture and food security. Maintaining food security required an innovation
perspective from which Australia and Latin America could benefit. The practice of agriculture
is evolving as a result of who is farming (both international corporations and family farmers)
and why they are farming. An Australian parliamentary inquiry on the farming workforce observed
an ageing demographic profile in farming communities and noted the importance of providing
attractive careers for young people. One concept to be explored further is multi-functional land-
usage arrangements such as those that exist in Europe. The relationship between agriculture
and bio-fuels is also of interest. Models of agricultural research and how they relate to a range
of intersecting interests, need to be further considered. There is a considerable amount of
collaboration occurring in dairy industry innovation across Australia, New Zealand and South
America. There needs to be greater understanding of the social transitions in farming that go
beyond the science.
Dr Tony Gregson AM FTSE, chaired the session, noting that efficiencies in energy, water
and genetics were keys to the future. He spoke of how his connection with Latin America
was derived from six years spent as a board member of the International Maize and Wheat
Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) based in Mexico. CIMMYT is one of the fifteen international
agricultural research centres that make up the Consultative Group on International Agricultural
Research (CGIAR). CIMMYT is important to Australia because 90 per cent of Australia’s wheat
varieties are descended from the CIMMYT gene bank. A collaborative culture in agricultural
research is crucial and productivity gains are essential to improving global food security. Latin
America will become increasingly important in solving global food crises due to its large areas
of land, the availability of water and agricultural expertise and the region’s ability to export
a range of food globally.
Professor Snow Barlow, FTSE, FAIAST, Professor of Horticulture and Viticulture in the
Melbourne School of Land and Environment at the University of Melbourne, explained that wine
was the canary in the coalmine of agricultural industries in relation to global climate change.
By researching wine production a better understanding of changes across the broader
agricultural industry could be gained. Chilean wine is emerging as a strong international
competitor, behind only Italy, Spain and Australia in volume. Australia and Latin America
have ‘new world wine industries’ based on innovation and technology rather than tradition.
Globally, the vines used in wine production have little genetic variation and the history of
agricultural research relies on exploiting plants that have grown in other areas. This is an area
of possible collaboration between Australia and Latin America. For the agricultural sector
to adapt successfully to climate change, more research is needed into how the climate system
is operating. Climate change is only partly due to a rise in temperatures; subsoil moisture
is also a significant factor. Learning more about La Niña is a common interest between our
regions. Like other agricultural industries, the challenge for the wine industry is to produce
a quality product to the specifications of targeted markets in a consistent manner in the face
of climate variability.
Professor Andrew Western, Deputy Head, Department of Infrastructure Engineering at the
University of Melbourne, discussed the ways engineering can assist in rationalising water use
in agriculture, which is one of the largest users of water. The global water industry is facing
many challenges as the reallocation of water towards agriculture creates significant impacts.
Climate change adds a large degree of uncertainty in agricultural outputs in many regions.
Latin America and Australia need to improve overall water efficiency through technology
and adjustment mechanisms for water sharing between urban areas, agriculture and the
environment. Uncertainties faced by both regions need to be approached with resilience and
adaption in mind. Through technology, water delivery systems can be operated more efficiently.
In the southern Murray Darling Basin, water availability may decline by up to half by 2030,
and more adaptive ways to allocate water for different purposes will need to be found.
Recommendation
Given the importance of water, highlighted by various speakers, the next Dialogue should have
a water focus, bringing together top researchers and key administrators from Australia, Brazil,
Argentina and Uruguay, to explore enhanced research cooperation.
With support from COALAR, develop a project to research Latin American communities
in Australian rural areas, and how there might be greater research cooperation in science
and the social sciences.

3534
Session 5
Australian strategic relations
Dr John Minns, Director of the Australian National Centre for Latin American Studies at the
Australian National University, noted that only one per cent of the Australian foreign aid budget
was currently spent in Latin America. Aid could be significant in developing the relationship
further because it added another facet to the engagement process. But while the Australian
aid budget had risen to $27.2 million in 2011 – 12 from $9.2 million the year before, there
were criticisms that the aid was politically tainted because it was too closely related to our
foreign policy objectives — although foreign aid is generally linked to political agendas in some
way. A second criticism was that we should be addressing poverty in our own region of the
Asia-Pacific, but that discounts the fact that significant pockets of poverty continue to exist in
Latin America despite economic growth. In addition, Latin American countries are often good
candidates for aid because they have the infrastructure and governance to distribute it. A final
criticism questioned Australia’s capacity to deliver foreign aid in Latin America in a meaningful
sense given our lack of experience and expertise in the region. With this in mind it is important
that Australia’s small aid budget should be highly focused in order to have an effect. The
communities impacted by mining could be one useful recipient. The government should focus
on tailoring its aid into one program or partnering with economically stronger countries like Brazil
and Chile to invest in existing programs.
Professor John Sinclair, Honorary Professorial Fellow at the Australian Centre at the University
of Melbourne, gave a detailed analysis of the current media and advertising market in Latin
America and explained what opportunities existed for Australian engagement in the market.
Professor Sinclair identified the similarities of Australia and Latin America’s media markets,
noting that both relied heavily on free-to-air television to advertise FMCG [fast moving consumer
goods] products. The Latin American media landscape differs from Australia in that the
commercial model of television dominates while there is little to no public service broadcasting.
There are several opportunities for Australian companies to enter the Latin American media
environment but there is strong competition. Companies interested in Latin American media
should find niche programming for these markets, following the example of Australian children’s
television programs, which are shown across Latin America.
Professor Margaret Gardner AO introduced the session by noting how Latin America and
Australia have experienced similar paths towards nation building. Some of these experiences
include the colonial experience and the importance of agricultural resources. We have not
discussed our strategic relationship deeply enough, nor seriously explored the relationship
beyond the experts and the converted. While there are many people committed to these
strategies in all areas including government, education and industry, for the relationship to
strengthen, it is necessary to ‘collaborate to mutual advantage’ and convince those outside
COALAR to commit to new relationships. Education is a vital element of a strategic relationship.
Dr Sean Burges from the Australian National University, compared the relationships of
‘prototypical middle powers’ Canada and Australia with Latin America and noted that Canada
had much stronger relations with that region than Australia, despite similar proximity. Canadian
strategy with regard to Latin America is based on three objectives: grow the economy at home,
reinforce democracy and advance common security (in areas such as drugs, crime, pandemics
and natural disasters). In order achieve these objectives, Canada focuses on reinforcing
bilateral relations, strengthening regional organisations, bolstering Canadian partnerships and
expanding the Canadian presence. The difference between Australian and Canadian strategic
relations is a matter of investment money and time. Canada’s expanding presence in the region
is attributable to ‘getting the bodies on the ground’, nurturing links and exchanging people,
particularly within government. In Australia the challenge is to have a ‘whole of government
approach to policy’ and to develop interdepartmental government groups to contemplate
the challenge of engaging with Latin America. It is important to promote more regular visits
from high-profile politicians and government officials, be humble in approaching Latin America,
look for small deliverables and encourage Latin Americans to visit Australia.
Mr John McCarthy, the Prime Minister’s Special Representative for Latin America, responded
to Dr Burges’ presentation, noting that Australia needed a strategy towards Latin America.
Moreover, though Australia could learn from Canada’s strategies in Latin America, we could
not create an analogy because ‘we’re way behind the game’. There had been a ‘benign
neglect’ of Latin America. In order to develop an Australian strategy towards Latin America,
we needed to look at what was actually happening there in comparison to our current outdated
perception of a group of somewhat unstable developing countries. To advance the relationship
with Latin America, we needed to develop a strategy that took into account our strength in
mining and resources and our interests in a broader sense. For this to happen, the government
had seriously to focus the bureaucracy on producing a strategy and ‘get big people into
big meetings to make big decisions’. The business community also had a clear role to play,
as powerful business groups got results. Mining was not our only asset, we needed a
multifaceted approach, involving a whole range of commercial activities, education and people
to people exchanges. Our association with some countries of Latin America through our
common membership of the G20 and APEC would continue to matter.
Recommendation
Include foreign aid on the agenda for the next Dialogue and invite AusAID to present.
Increase the number of Latin American officials visiting Australia.

3736
Session 7
Opening of latin american architecture and design exhibition
Session 6
liveability and resilience: urban design, planning and community
engagement in melbourne and latin american cities
This public panel discussion on urban planning in Melbourne and Latin America was led by
Dr Peter Raisbeck, Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning with panel members
Associate Professor Justyna Karakiewicz, Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning;
Lorenzo Castro, Colombian architect; Professor Pedro Pacheco, Instituto Tecnológico
y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM); and Rob Adams, Director City Design,
Melbourne Council.
Key outcomes
The Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning (ABP) has developed closer links with
academics at the University of Los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia, through links with Lorenzo
Castro. ABP is preparing a multi-disciplinary research proposal regarding transportation case
studies in Bogotá, Hong Kong and Melbourne. Melbourne City Council is also interested in the
research and has requested to be part of the application process.
PhD student Isabella Czerniakowski is now working collaboratively with Professor Pedro Pacheco
(ITESM). Isabella will be going either to the University of Monterrey in Mexico, or University of
São Paulo in Brazil as part of her PhD work.
Managers for these events were Rosanna Verde (ABP — exhibition) and Elise Kavanagh (International Relations Office
— student component). Program design was by Dr Peter Raisbeck (ABP) and Megan Power (IRO).
The Exhibition took place in the Atrium of the University of Melbourne Architecture Building.
‘Colombian Architecture’ was a visual narrative of two cities, curated by Lorenzo Castro
and Alejandro Echeverri. Both architects have taken part in the transformation of Medellin
and Bogotá and were still working on urban planning and architecture design in Colombia.
These projects powerfully renewed the image of those cities, becoming models of social
inclusion. There was evidence that different forms of architectural infrastructure helped
to reduce violence and cement a cultural legacy for future generations.
The Ambassador of Mexico, H.E. Beatriz Lopez Gargallo was a guest speaker at the
Open Studio event.

3938
Session 8
engaging latin america — an education perspective
Roger Frankel, Honorary Consul of Brazil to Victoria, recalled the time when education links
with Latin America were not seen as viable by Australian Government agencies. This had
changed considerably since the advent of COALAR. In 2003, a symposium was held in Canberra
for education providers to consider how to approach Latin America and develop a strategy.
The Department of Education, through Wendie Jarvie, then Deputy Secretary of DEST, bought
into the process. The symposium concluded that Latin America had strategic importance
to Australian education and that there needed to be a collaborative approach to developing
links in a sustainable and balanced way. One possible initiative in the more mature market
is the creation of an Australian Technical Teacher Training Institute in Colombia because
there is recognition of an urgent need to improve the quality of the VET sector there. Australia
should also look at consulting opportunities in Latin America as there are many projects that
require training components. To become involved in many of these projects it is desirable that
Australia join the Inter-American Development Bank. It is also important to build up research
cooperation and link that to a better balance between the consumption abroad model (in-bound
students) and the commercial presence model (where we are present in the market). There are
opportunities in occupational health and safety training for the major corporations involved
in mining and construction.
Key outcome
During this session speakers supported the view that education was the first step to enhance
relations between Australia and Latin America.
Marion van Rooden, Executive Director of Labour Markets and International Education at the
Department of Business and Innovation (DBI), introduced the session. She remarked that the
aim was to consider education opportunities in a number of areas including student mobility,
institutional linkages and models for future engagement. Education is Victoria’s single largest
export earner with 160 000 international students currently studying here. The Government
is developing a longer-term education strategy that will outline how Victoria could be promoted
as an education destination. While the number of Latin American students studying in Australia
has increased fourfold in the last nine years, only 17 per cent come to Victoria. DBI are
exploring opportunities to engage with Latin America, including the translation of their website
into Spanish and Portuguese and is continuing to develop key networks within the region.
Professor Margaret Gardner AO, Vice-Chancellor, RMIT University, addressed the broader
relationship and education institutional linkages between Australia and Latin America.
She outlined how the COALAR Education Action Group brought together people from a range
of sectors to talk and be briefed about what could be done to improve the relationship
between the regions. COALAR’s objectives are highly reciprocal. The group is working to
increase the teaching of Spanish and Portuguese in Australia because the language barrier
is one of the inhibitors to Australians studying in Latin America. To increase engagement,
policy makers in Latin America need to understand qualification frameworks, recognition of
qualifications and how pathways existed between systems. However, Latin America has a long
history of tertiary education and Australians should not think they could approach the region
in the same way they did Asia.
Crispin Conroy, Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner to Latin America, Austrade;
Consul-General of Australia to Colombia, spoke of the importance of the Australian brand
in Latin America in the education sector. Australia’s relationship with countries such as
Chile is based on shared values and strong people-to-people connections brought about
by students and holiday exchanges. Austrade has recently taken up the global promotion
of Australian education. Education is one of Austrade’s priority sectors in Latin America and
the other sectors such as mining, water and agribusiness all have an educational component.
Australia Unlimited is the Government’s brand and it is looked upon as the contemporary voice
of Australia, telling the story of Australians at home and abroad. The brand was developed
because there was a difference between how Australians viewed themselves and how they are
viewed internationally. Internationally, Australia is not seen as a place to do business, but as
a holiday destination. The brand has been integral to changing this view but education requires
further definition. Future Unlimited is a brand launched for Australian education based on the
fact that students were looking for brighter futures. Austrade is currently working to reposition
Australia as a high quality education destination. This includes the provision of government-
funded scholarships.
Recommendation
That Australia look at establishing a Technical Teacher Training Centre of Excellence based
in Bogotá or Lima, to service several Latin American countries.
That COALAR fund a study of whether it is feasible and desirable for Australia to join the
Inter-American Development Bank.

4140
Session 9
latin america in the world
Ms Martine Letts, Deputy Director of the Lowy Institute for International Policy, noted that the
aim of this session was to consider the changes that had occurred in the relationship between
Latin America and the rest of the world. She identified the international focus on Asia and how
it related to Australia and Latin America as important in shaping our respective interests and
policies. The session would consider issues such as how Latin America countries continued
to be influenced by the United States and the shared challenge of China’s rise for Australian
and Latin America trade, investment and political culture.
Professor Marshall C. Eakin, Professor of Latin American History at Vanderbilt University
in Nashville, Tennessee outlined the historical background of Latin America and identified
the similarities it had with Australia. He made three points during his presentation. First,
the unity of Latin American countries is derived from their shared experiences of colonialism,
political culture, religion, indigenous culture and language; however, after independence,
their differences became more pronounced. Secondly, the United States continues to have
a predominant influence over Central America, but the rise of Brazil has changed the strategic
balance in South America. Latin America once looked north and northeast. Since China
replaced the United States as Brazil’s primary trading partner, it shifted focus to north and
northwest. The challenge is for Brazil and other Latin American countries to look even further
west toward Australia. The third important phenomenon is the emergence of a substantial
middle class in what was considered a third world region. This represents enormous economic
opportunities to engage with Latin America. There are obstacles such as the scarcity of
Australian Latin America historians and vice versa.
Associate Professor Amâncio Jorge Silva Nunes de Oliveira, from the Department of Political
Science at the University of São Paulo, spoke on the relationship with Australia from a Brazilian
perspective. He also presented the results of a survey on Brazilian perceptions of Australia
conducted through 2000 public opinion interviews and 200 ‘elite’ interviews. Japan and Spain
rated more favourably than Australia, which was situated with Chile, Canada and India.
Dr Adrian H. Hearn, Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellow at the University of Sydney,
spoke about the relationship between China and Latin America and drew some parallels
with Australia’s relationship with China. Around 90 per cent of Latin America’s exports
to China consist of mining and agriculture, and Chinese enterprises have begun to invest in
Latin American arable land. As in Australia, there is a concern about Chinese land acquisitions,
prompting a shift of emphasis among Chinese enterprises toward leasing over buying. The
Argentine Congress has responded by quashing a deal in Río Negro that would have enabled
Chinese investors to rent a large tract of land for twenty years, and by capping foreign land
ownership at 1000 hectares or fifteen percent of any single property. Brazil has taken similar
legal steps, while the Australian government is scrutinising the remit and composition of the
Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB). Dr. Hearn discussed regulatory and transparency
mechanisms under consideration both by MERCOSUR and by Australia, such as a registry
of investments and leases. Both Australia and Latin America need to manage these changes,
in dialogue with each other and with Chinese partners.

4342
Session 10
international education and leadership in languages
Dr Wendy Jarvie, Visiting Professor in the School of Business at the University of New South
Wales in Canberra, spoke about Latin America’s perceptions of Australian higher education.
Her presentation was based on two studies. In the first study, she interviewed 50 university
officials, ministry of education officials and student agents in Colombia, Chile and Brazil. In the
second she interviewed around 200 applicants for AusAID postgraduate scholarships from
16 countries studying in areas such as natural resource management, project management,
public administration, mining and water. The first study showed that Latin Americans had a low
level of knowledge of Australian education, although there had been a marked increase
in recent years. At the same time there is opportunity to increase engagement between
Australia and Latin American countries through higher education. Only three percent of Latin
American higher education students undertake postgraduate studies, and in many countries
there is a limited range of Masters degrees. The potential postgraduate students were interested
in the range of multidisciplinary Masters programs in Australia. Students recognised that Latin
America and Australia face similar issues such as climate change, natural disasters, water
management, indigenous development and relations with China, so Australian degrees on these
topics are very relevant to their countries and to their careers. The Australian ease of relating
with China was of particular interest to officials and students in some countries. There
are a number of challenges to increasing Australian education links, including recognition
of Australian degrees which remains a problem in Brazil. But Australia must also address
the notion that its educational institutions only want to make money from Latin American
students, and in this Australian universities need to be supported by genuine government-to-
government education engagement.
Professor Alfredo Martínez-Expósito, Head of the School of Languages and Linguistics at the
University of Melbourne, introduced the session with a note on the increasing importance of
languages in pursuing a stronger relationship with Latin America. The session compared higher
education participation and research in Latin America and Australia, focusing on research
capacity and university rankings. It showed that Latin America was experiencing a rapid rate of
development in higher education. The majority of this development was concentrated in Brazil,
Mexico, Chile and Argentina, with Colombia, Venezuela and Cuba continuing to emerge.
Dr Angel Calderon, Principal Advisor, Planning and Research, at RMIT University, spoke about
Latin American higher education and the historical context of Latin American universities.
Colonial universities were established not long after the Spanish arrived as an extension
of the Crown and the Church to educate the clerical and secular elite. At the time there were
around 25 universities researching social problems whereas 3500 universities currently
exist in Latin America. The structure of these contemporary universities is founded on the
principles of the reform movement in 1918. Universities were involved in the social changes
taking place throughout history, including the democratisation process. This politicisation was
often viewed as a threat. In recent times, there has been a strong increase in the number of
student enrolling in higher education as well as the rise of private universities, with a share
of 50 per cent of all enrolments. Some Latin American countries (such as Chile and Brazil)
have a higher share of enrolments in private institutions compared to the rest of the region.
Latin American universities are minimally represented in the various World University Rankings
but their influence is increasing. It is expected that by 2035 there will be more than 55 million
of students in higher education, with Brazil expected to be in the top five globally. The nature
of Australian — Latin American relations has evolved considerably in the past 40 years, from
the period of humanitarian settlement (in the 1970’s and 1980’s) through a period of family
reunion and waning conflict (1990s) to an increased student mobility (since the 2000’s).
In recent years, an increase in the two-way trade has contributed to strengthen Australian
relations with the key Latin American countries of Mexico, Colombia, Brazil and Chile.
Professor Simon Marginson, Professor of Higher Education at the Centre for the Study of Higher
Education at the University of Melbourne, analysed the tertiary sector in Latin America. It is
expanding due to the increasing size of the middle class – an increase that will see it grow to
the size of North America’s middle class by 2030. Scientific output in Latin America is growing
rapidly from a relatively low base and has been doing so since the 1990s. The University of
São Paulo is increasingly recognised in the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Rankings amongst
other Latin American institutions and currently sits in the top 150 universities worldwide.
Recommendation
That Australia and Victoria develop a long term strategies for education engagement drawing
on Australia’s relative strengths and areas where there are urgent and common policy
interests between Latin American countries and Australia.

4544
student lunch and mexican travelling design exhibition
Session 11
business roundtable on green growth and energy security
The global rise in the demand for water, energy and other resources is going to dramatically
escalate in coming years. This will create significant challenges in managing scarcity in
an environment of unprecedented urban expansion in Australia. Australia has the potential
to play a stronger role in greening our region and the planet, including exploring long-term
options for genuine green city growth. Australia has much to learn from countries in Latin
America where green growth has been the norm for several years and is incentivised through
smart policy decisions.
This session was supported by the Global Foundation.
The Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning (ABP) and the International Relations Office
organised a series of sessions and engagement opportunities including a student lunch,
a public panel event and a more formal exhibition launch. A session was also offered for
students by Melbourne Global Mobility on exchange opportunities to Latin America.
The student lunch session highlighted opportunities to build engagement through student
exchange and faculty-led residential visits. An example of good practice was the Faculty’s
engagement with Latin America through the Mexico Travelling Studio, which had taken place
over the last couple of years at the Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey
(ITESM). Professor Margaret Sheil, Provost, opened the lunch session and key speakers
included Travelling Studio organisers Dr Peter Raisbeck for the University of Melbourne,
ITESM’s Associate Professor Pedro Pacheco and participating students from the 2010
and 2012 travelling studios.
The exhibition brought together works of renowned Colombian architect Lorenzo Castro,
who was sponsored by the University to attend the event, as well as the student design studio
work. Pedro Pacheco’s personal work from Mexico and other international work were displayed.
The public event and open exhibition were part of the overall program to highlight the University’s
international, as well as local, engagement through architecture.
Key outcome
Following the event, Dr Megan Power, International Relations Consultant, and Dr Peter Raisbeck,
Associate Dean (Engagement), met with the Australian Ambassador to Mexico H.E. Mr Timothy
George for a pre-post briefing. Key points of discussion were:
• ABP is looking to develop a (Melbourne) Winter School for students from Mexico as students
are keen to take up opportunities during their university break. Tecnológico de Monterrey
(TECM) was planning to bring a design studio group from TECM to Melbourne in 2013 and
is looking at linking with South Melbourne Council on a joint student project.
• ABP is also looking at running another joint studio in Panama or the Dominican Republic
with TECM/University of Melbourne students.
• Ambassador George welcomed the opportunity to meet with University of Melbourne staff
in Mexico to discuss further opportunities to support exchange and other engagement
activities.

4746
Session 12
opportunities and challenges for the AUSTRALIA –
LATIN AMERICA relationship
roundtable on the future of latin american studies
in australia
This session explored connections and collaborations between Australian and Latin American
universities in an age of competition. It considered themes such as the role of Latin American
studies in Australia; the role of the Association of Iberian and Latin American Studies of
Australasia; the emergence of Brazil; and how education providers could attract Latin American
students to study in Australia.
With wide ranging input from over 20 participants from most universities in Victoria, it was
agreed that no single university in Victoria, let alone Australia, could adequately cover the range
of disciplines needed to do justice to proper coverage of Latin American studies. Therefore,
there should be the maximum possible collaboration between institutions in teaching and
researching Latin American studies.
Recommendation
That Victorian universities meet in order to map out a collaborative strategy to enhance
the delivery of Latin American studies throughout the State.
This session consisted of two presentations by Crispin Conroy, Senior Trade and Investment
Commissioner to Latin America, Austrade; Consul-General of Australia to Colombia, and by
Ronaldo Veirano, Honorary Consul of Australia in Rio de Janeiro. Brief comments were made
by José Blanco, President of ALABC; Bernard Wheelahan, Past Chairman of COALAR; Cristina
Talacko, President of the Australia Brazil Chamber of Commerce; Roger Frankel, Brazilian
Honorary Consul in Victoria; and Martine Letts, Deputy Director of the Lowy Institute.
An extended, edited version of the remarks by Mr Conroy and Mr Veirano is at pages 15 – 23.
Crispin Conroy spoke of how the Dialogue delegates were true believers in the need to build
commercial and diplomatic relationships between Australia and Latin America. The Australian
Government has begun to engage with the key countries in Latin America commercially,
politically and strategically. It is important for government to have a strong presence on the
ground in Latin America in order to successfully do business. This included having senior
government officials making regular visits. The Australian Government has altered its one size
fits all approach to the Americas to a more nuanced and direct approach with the separate
regions. With the notable changes occurring in Latin America, Australia needs to view the
region as economically stable and like-minded in their politics. There is a growing awareness
of the trade and educational opportunities in Latin America and Austrade is focused on growing
markets. We also need Latin America to understand us better. More emphasis is needed on
learning Spanish and Portuguese and on encouraging young Australians to go to Latin America
on working holidays.
Ronaldo Veirano, Honorary Consul of Australia to Rio de Janeiro, spoke of his interest in the
relationship between Australia and Brazil and his pride in seeing his country prosper over such
a short period of time. Political and economic changes led to consecutive Brazilian governments
working to reduce poverty. There are many opportunities for corporations to invest to Brazil.
Australia and Brazil, the two largest economies in the Southern Hemisphere, are natural
collaborators. To improve our engagement, we need to overcome the competition paradigms
and find ways to cooperate and ‘fill the knowledge gap’ through industry, education and
government Brazil is a very difficult place to do business due to the bureaucracy. To succeed,
Australians must have adequate business support including lawyers, accountants, auditors
and consultants. Cultural communications also need to be carefully considered with a focus
on developing a rapport before doing any business. If Australians take the time to research
Brazilian culture, meet the relevant people and are willing to stay in the country for the long-
haul, investing in Brazil can provide profitable outcomes.

Strengthening Australia-Latin America Ties Through Education and Research

Strengthening Australia-Latin America Ties Through Education and Research

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