The time has come: Histories of Asia literacy

In February 1988 Prime Minister Bob Hawke (1988, p. 8) noted in a speech given to the Asian Studies Association that Australia was entering its third century facing one of its most testing challenges: ‘finding our true place in Asia – of recognizing that our self-interest lies in our becoming an integral part of our region, a full participant in regional efforts towards peace and security’. Despite the significance of this challenge, the nation had ‘scarcely any Australian in a position of leadership in business, government, education or the media [who] has a command of an Asian language’ (p. 11). Hawke stated that he would not allow this to continue and allocated $28 million in 1988-89 to increase the study of Asian languages. Copyright © 2015 Christine Halse.