For a long time it has seemed like academics are the only ones drawing attention to the decline of Indonesian studies in Australia, and after a certain point governments tune out because this seems too self-serving. So it is a relief to see that the media are finally turning their attention to the issue. There have been a number of articles in all the newspapers about the state of language studies, and on the study of Asian languages (including a very good piece in the Australian Financial Review a couple of weeks ago), and I was particularly heartened by broadcaster Mike Carlton's pieces in recent columns in the Sydney Morning Herald, especially last Saturday's (12-13 May 2007) where he talked about visiting the ACICIS (Australian Consortium for In-Country Indonesian Studies) students in Yogyakarta, and finding them all to be enjoying themselves. No horror stories of terrorists or other dangers, but rather a pleasant picture of the normality of life of Java. I await Carlton's documentary on Australian-Indonesian relations with great interest.
In the article he also draws attention to opposition leader Kevin Rudd's promise to restore the National Asian Languages Program, cut by the Howard Government. Apparently Rudd was the original architect of this program. Its restoration will be a great boost, but given the decline in students at University studying subjects such as Indonesian, where will the teachers come from? Let's hope that a restored Program is not done on the cheap, with untrained teachers being thrust into situations for which they are not prepared.