2022 Year in Review

In May 2022, Anthony Albanese led the Australian Labor Party to government after nine
years in opposition. The Labor Party’s campaign was far from ambitious, opting for a
‘small target’ approach which left little room for criticism. But while the ALP’s win came
with little that would radically rock the boat domestically, the win ushered in a revised
approach to Australia’s foreign policy.
In contrast to his predecessor Scott Morrison, Albanese along with Foreign Affairs
Minister, Penny Wong, instantly prioritised efforts to ‘repair’ Australia’s international
standing. Both were busy abroad, with August the only month this year that the new
Prime Minister’s calendar didn’t include an overseas trip.
In light of the new government’s efforts to re-establish Australia’s position on the global
stage, here are the three defining characteristics of the government’s foreign policy since
coming to office:
A THAWING OF RELATIONS
It took less than two months in office for
Anthony Albanese to visit the French
President in Paris, seeking to remedy the
rift between the two nations after
Morrison tore up a $90b submarine deal
with the French. Bonding over their joint
distaste for Morrison, the meeting
demonstrated the new Government’s
intent to put out the fires Morrison
started around the world.
“I DON'T THINK,
I KNOW”
F r e n c h P r e s i d e n t E m m a n u e l M a c r o n w h e n
a s k e d i f h e t h o u g h t f o r m e r P M S c o t t
M o r r i s o n l i e d t o h i m a b o u t a s u b m a r i n e
d e a l .
However, Albanese’s meeting with
Chinese President Xi Jinping in Bali in
November marked the most significant
re-thawing of relations since he came to
office. Tensions with China began with
Malcolm Turnbull’s blocking of Huawei’s
5G expansion into Australia in 2019 and
came to a head in 2021 when Australia
P A G E 3 4
P H O T O : G E T T Y I M A G E S