The various components of my move to Brisbane have finally come together to the point where I can update my website properly, starting with my opinion piece from the Fin. The first one, APEC is simply a sideshow, 24 October, deals mainly with the EU rather than APEC. Opening and closing grabs

When John Howard returns from the APEC Summit next week, he is sure to bring back one thing: A declaration that the progress made over the past year proves that APEC is more than a ‘talking shop’. Such declarations have been made every year since APEC was established in 1989, and will no doubt continue to be made until the organisation disbands or, less likely, actually does something significant enough to silence its critics.

….

As with America 200 years ago, the creation of what Churchill envisaged as a ‘United States of Europe’ is a complex, messy and often unedifying process. Nevertheless, its success or failure will determine the shape of the world in the 21st century while APEC will remain a sideshow.