Backbencher

For the Radio Review, I listened to an Australia Talks titled 'Our Place in the World.' This was about what the role of Australia should have, whether or not Australia is a middle power in international diplomacy and whether Australia should try to get a seat on the UN Security Council. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd went to Washington and Beijing in order to promote Australia's role.

There was talk about free trade agreements with China and whether that would be good or not. Prime Minister Rudd knows a lot about Chinese customs and language so he can easily talk to them. He can understand where they are coming from with some of the issues that have been brought up in the government about Tibet. The conversation between China and Australia may be very important to the future of the relationship between these two countries.

The first half of the show is made up of people who are experts in the topic. After hearing their views and what they think about the topic, the show then goes on to callers but also keeps some of the guests to discuss what has been brought up by the caller.

They were also wondering how the United States was going to react to Australia's relationship with China. There was talk about the Olympics and what they thought about the strikes. There was also talk about whether or not Australia should be on the UN Security Council. There was talk about the pros and cons if they made this expensive move.

This radio program showed how people see Australia and what they believe that Australia should do in regards to diplomatic policies. I thought it was very interesting to hear what they think about the United States. They also talked about different leaders from Australia and other countries which was interesting.