Word: downers
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...sixth leader in a decade, not a single national opinion poll - and by election day there'd been more than 100 - had put Howard's conservatives in the lead. "Throughout the year I have had a fairly gloomy view of our prospects," conceded former Foreign Minister Alexander Downer...
...Alexander Downer "Being Foreign Minister is the second best thing in politics in Australia." Experience: Foreign Affairs Minister since 1996; former Liberal leader Scion of an Adelaide political dynasty, Downer has led Australia's forays into world affairs for a decade, from peacekeepers in East Timor and the Solomons to combat troops to Afghanistan and Iraq. He has energetically promoted ties with Asia, notably Indonesia and China, but is reportedly keen to swap departure lounges for budgets if Costello becomes...
...APEC exists to promote economic growth through freer trade, but for this summit Australia, using its prerogative as host, has put climate change at the top of the agenda. Some may connect this with the fact that there's a national election coming up, but Downer believes "APEC very much has the potential to launch a new approach on the issue." Last year Australia helped launch the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, five of whose six members belong to APEC. Rejecting Kyoto Protocol-style restrictions, the AP6 vowed a voluntary, collaborative effort to promote clean-energy technologies...
...countries that have agreed to take action under Kyoto. Many of those members are developing nations, with mushrooming emissions and, under Kyoto, no obligation to limit them. "If we could get all 21 economies to agree to make some kind of a contribution to address the issue," Downer says, "it would be a very big step forward." Alan Oxley, chairman of the Australian APEC Study Center at Monash University, agrees. "The Chinese will not accept the sort of regulation Kyoto proposes," he says. "But they are showing increasing interest in the AP6 model. So there's a significant opportunity...
...leaders are expected to issue a statement urging a breakthrough, but they did that last year and the year before that to no avail. And if the Doha talks fail, says economist Edwards, "it becomes all the more important that this region have the widest free-trade agreement possible." Downer, however, sees that as a very remote prospect: "It's an aspiration. There's not going to be any timeline set" in Sydney...