UNITED KINGDOM: PM backs fraud-reducing student application system

David Jobbins26 January 2013 Issue No:256

 

 British prime minister David Cameron has intervened to help a business management graduate, who has devised an automated application system for educational agents and international students, to approach the UK Border Agency (UKBA) at the right level.

Dawood Fard (25) came up with the idea for the system, Centurus One, during a business management masters course at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan).

While on a business experience placement working in Delhi, he witnessed the bureaucratic process that international students face when applying to study in the UK.

“The day after I came back from India I got about 20 people together and we thrashed out ideas,” Fard said. “The current process is tedious, slow, inflexible and expensive. We have developed a revolutionary system that is easy to use, transparent and not at all intimidating.

“We can reduce the amount of administrative time from weeks to just minutes, streamlining the management of international recruitment.”

University, college and English language school applicants will be able to use the system to track and process applications for multiple institutions online on a single platform.

The document trail will help prevent abuse of the visa process and should reduce administrative errors, helping genuine students find a place, Fard says.

The impact of tougher visa regulations on recruitment of international students is a matter of huge concern for UK universities.

Institutions using Centurus pay a small fee per student enrolled, with a monthly service fee, and can process as many applications as they wish.

Students and agents pay nothing and can save money through a built-in payment system provided through the Uni-Pay system. Payments processed through Uni-Pay’s network of local banks and credit card platforms give better exchange rates for students and allow institutions to avoid bank commission charges, which currently cost them an estimated £35 million (US$55 million) a year.

During a visit by the prime minister to UCLan, Fard got a commitment from Cameron that he would be able to talk to the appropriate people at UKBA about ways Centurus can help institutions comply with visa processing requirements.

Centurus is only in its infancy but is already in use at several colleges and at Glyndwr University’s London campus, where admissions staff say it has already reduced the number of queries from students about the progress of their applications.

INDONESIA: Higher education haunted by corruption – Graft watchdog

Ria Nurdiani25 January 2013 Issue No:256

 

 A graft watchdog in Indonesia has sounded a red alert for the education sector as it recorded some 40 cases of corruption in 2012, causing losses to the state of around Rp139 billion (US$14.4 million).

Corruption was found at all levels of education, from elementary schools to universities, and from local education agencies to the House of Representatives, said the non-profit Indonesia Corruption Watch, or ICW.

According to the group’s latest report, around a third of the country’s entire education budget was misappropriated during procurement of goods and services.

ICW researcher Febri Hendrik said corruption meant that the country’s operating education budget was well below the stated figures, and the misappropriation could affect education quality.

“It could push the quality of our universities below the required standard. Eventually it would have an effect on the quality of our graduates – they will become unqualified graduates,” Febri told University World News.

A recent high-profile case involved a member of the House of Representative’s budget board. Angelina Sondakh, a former beauty queen and singer turned politician, was found guilty of misdirecting the 2010-11 budget for university projects under the Ministry of Education.

She was sentenced on 10 January to four and a half years in prison, ostensibly for accepting US$3.6 in bribes from a construction company.

In its report published this week, ICW pinpointed five types of corruption: fictitious reporting of events, projects or official trips; price mark-ups; extortion; embezzlement; and misuse of funds.

The biggest losses are caused by price mark-ups, where the difference is pocketed by corrupt officials. It is common practice in Indonesia's education institutions, driven in part by lack of transparency in budgeting processes.

“Whenever there's procurement in a university, then there's the possibility for a price mark-up,” Febri told University World News.

According to Febri, procurement of facilities and infrastructure are the most likely to be subject to corrupt practices.

Sondakh, for example, had been responsible for procurement for 16 universities in the states of Sumatra, Java, Bali, Sulawesi, East Nusa Tenggara, Maluku and Papua with projects worth Rp20 and Rp75 billion.

According to the law, procurement proposals for facilities and infrastructure must be submitted to the Ministry of Education by the university, and the ministry submits it to the House of Representatives, where the budget is approved or rejected.

Haris Iskandar, secretary general of higher education in the Ministry of Education, was quoted by local media as saying some House members had already seen through about 16 procurement proposals, when he had not even received them yet.

One of the proposals approved was for Universitas Cendana in East Nusa Tenggara province, he said. When it was proposed, the budget allocation was Rp15 billion. But after discussion in the House, it rose to Rp70 billion.

Haris was questioned as a witness last October, during Sondakh’s trial.

Linked to the Sondakh case, the Attorney’s Office has also charged at least eight senior officials in four universities: Universitas Negeri Jakarta, Universitas Sriwijaya in South Sumatra, Universitas Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa in Banten and Universitas Negeri Malang in East Java.

According to the Attorney’s Office, they were involved in laboratory procurement bidding.

The trial of the provost of Universitas Negeri Jakarta started on 15 January. The trial of the head of administration and finance and two lecturers from Universitas Negeri Malang started last November.

Those named at Universitas Sriwijaya and Universitas Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa have yet to be brought to trial, with pressure groups such as ICW criticising the delays.

Febri said many graft cases were not handled properly, adding: “It is not clear whether police investigations are completed or not. Even when they are completed, the Attorney’s Office often does not start the trial immediately.”

GLOBAL: Internationalisation has corrupted higher education

Roger Y Chao Jr26 January 2013 Issue No:256

 

 Over the past two decades, neoliberal globalisation has opened up trade borders, commoditised the higher education sector and established a global higher education market.

Furthermore, the changing political and economic environment especially after the Cold War resulted in rapid globalisation, technology development and a contraction of borders for trade, labour and academic mobility purposes.

Currently, a global higher education market exists particularly for internationally mobile students and lately for domestic students wishing to take international programmes in their home countries.

This article focuses on the commercialisation of higher education and its role in ushering corruption into higher education.

Corruption in higher education

Corruption in higher education should not only be seen in terms of misuse of research funds, presentation and construction of fraudulent data or inequitable admissions practices.

It should also include micro-level university-related practices in learning, assessment and certification of students and graduates respectively. Grade inflation, sub-standard graduates, and the usage of postgraduate students in teaching and research as free or low-cost assistants form part of the phenomenon of corruption in higher education.

The commercialisation of higher education has made universities into corporations whose primary objective is the profit motive and gaining market share and rankings. This is seen in the design and offering of market-based programmes, practices in assessing and awarding degrees, opening offshore (and domestic) branch campuses, and even offering overseas programmes.

The tensions between universities and key stakeholders – industry, society, governments and students themselves – within an environment of decreasing public sector funding, society’s and industry’s demand for higher education and the rise of a global higher education market, further complicates the matter.

In fact, the demands of the key stakeholders take precedence over traditional university mandates around the betterment of society and the formation of global citizens.

International higher education

The establishment and rapid increase of tuition fees, business enterprise within universities and increased privatisation of higher education show the commercialisation of national higher education systems.

The proliferation of overseas (and even domestic) branch campuses and programmes in (but not limited to) developing nations goes beyond national and regional boundaries, expanding a highly lucrative but increasingly competitive global higher education market across national borders.

What these trends have brought into the higher education sector is an increased competitive environment and the decline of the capacity of universities to function efficiently.

New university standards seem to be characterised by increased student intake, the importance of ranking high on national and global tables, financial sustainability and a short-term focus on meeting industry demands at the expense of quality, relevance and a sense of communal identity and responsibility.

Offshore branch campuses and overseas programmes have followed the money trail to developing nations, charging high tuition fees and granting degrees affiliated to or even awarded by their mother institutions.

Questions about quality, learning, assessment, recognition and awards linger, but the profit motive of offshore branch campuses cannot be denied.

In Hong Kong, degrees from overseas programmes are not recognised (although allowed) by the government, and industry is given the choice to accept or decline recognition. Similarly, local programmes are increasingly offered based on consumer and industry demands.

Short-term demands and contemporary trends dictate university programme offerings based on a profit rationale rather than society’s needs and the long-term skills and competencies required by university graduates to survive and prosper in an ever-changing knowledge-based economy.

These new standards have led to lax admission requirements, a focus on short-term goals and short-term relevance of academic programmes. Furthermore, university practices such as limiting failures have led to grade inflation and the awarding of degrees to sub-standard graduates.

Practices of students assessing lecturers and professors' teaching performance also enhance grade inflation as poor student assessment affects promotion and tenure possibilities. Similarly, university practices of using postgraduate students in teaching, grading, and research worsen the quality of teaching, the students’ learning experience and even the quality of research conducted by these postgraduate students.

In essence, when we disregard the quality of student learning and its outcomes due to the profit motive and the race to the top of the league tables, we have ventured into a new form of corruption in the higher education sector.

Long-term needs

Universities' diminished power and effectiveness is seen in the case of City University of Hong Kong, whose students protested against Hong Kong’s national education plan last September. The students demonstrated just outside the library, an area where silence is a necessity, and even painted the floor of the university with giant white Chinese characters.

In spite of repeated emails and reminders by the university administration, these demonstrations outside the library and other public areas within the university continued for some time and as of 12 January, the giant painted characters are still on the university's floor.

Do we teach students to respect the rights of other people and public property? Or is it no longer the university's role to mould the future leaders of society and give them a sense of responsibility towards local, national and global issues? I am sure a vast number of similar cases can be found not only in Hong Kong, but in other parts of the world as well.

The commercialisation of higher education tends to diminish the role and power of universities to function effectively, given the competitive environment and the demands of the various stakeholders.

Giving in to the pressures and tensions faced by universities, however, leads to corruption in higher education in the sense of not fulfilling the traditional university role of societal betterment, lowering the quality of teaching and learning, and providing sub-standard graduates lacking a sense of responsibility and the necessary long-term skills and competencies to survive and adapt in a rapidly changing knowledge-based society.

It is time to step back and rethink the role and function of contemporary universities and the contribution commercialisation has made to corrupting the higher education sector.

* Roger Y Chao Jr is a PhD candidate in Asian and international studies at City University of Hong Kong, and vice-president of the Comparative Education Society of Hong Kong. His research mostly focuses on regionalism, higher education and internationalisation of higher education.

ASIA: Better planning and data needed to raise HE quality

Patrick Boehler23 January 2013 Issue No:256

 

Education professionals from Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand met in Hong Kong from 14-18 January to better understand how to improve the gathering and processing of data for more accurate planning for their education systems up to universities, under a UNESCO programme to promote education policy coordination in Asia.

Citing the need for better planning Aryo Sawung, a director general with the Indonesian Ministry of Education, said: “We have not yet addressed problems beyond increasing the [education] participation rate.”

“Our next step will be to look into more accurate budgeting and how to set quality standards,” said Aryo, who attended the weeklong workshop, which involved almost 85 ministry officials and university researchers from Asia.

Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous country, is decentralising its education budget to give provincial authorities more responsibility.

It will be more difficult for provinces to deal with their new responsibilities and make budgetary predictions with data that the central government has not gathered before, said Aip Badrujaman from the faculty of education at the State University of Jakarta.

According to participants, accurate projections into the future needs of their education systems are difficult, and education quality in countries such as Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam has suffered because of inadequate data on demographic changes – especially as birth rates are slowing.

Against this changing backdrop, “We need to find ways to address two [education planning] problems: budget and the training of educators,” said Charoen Puwijit, a Thai Ministry of Education official.

“Education, especially higher education, is expanding in all three countries, possibly over-expanding. In South East Asia, the focus is on how to raise the quality of education,” said Mark Bray, a professor at Hong Kong University who organised the workshop.

The education picture in these countries had become more “fluid” than in the past. Education policy planners needed to consider a more complex picture, including cross-border migration as well as declining birth rates, Bray told University World News.

“The three countries have universal secondary education, which has increased demand for tertiary education,” he said. For education administrators, the challenge was also to deal with cross-border flows of students and manage new ways of teaching, such as distance learning.

While the most pressing challenges lie in primary and secondary education, reforms were necessary to guarantee a healthier development of the tertiary sector. “The base of the house needs to be kept standing, otherwise the roof, higher education, will fall,” Bray said.

Gabriele Göttelmann-Duret, head of the education and training unit at UNESCO’s International Institute for Educational Planning, said problems were faced by many developing countries:

“On the one hand, we have more and more professionals working in the education sector. On the other, we are seeing increasing decentralisation in policy-making.”

The education sector planning workshop was the third of its kind organised by UNESCO. Earlier sessions, in 2008 and 2010, took education administrators from Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia to Paris.
 

GERMANY: Plagiarism proceeding against minister splits academia

Michael Gardner26 January 2013 Issue No:256

 

Allegations of plagiarism in the doctoral thesis of Germany’s Education Minister Annette Schavan have sparked a dispute among academics, universities and science organisations. Meanwhile, undaunted by considerable pressure from various sides, the University of Düsseldorf has initiated formal proceedings against former student Schavan.

Christian Democrat Annette Schavan wrote her doctoral thesis at the University of Düsseldorf 32 years ago.

Allegations of plagiarism arose last May, and the thesis was reviewed by Jewish studies scholar Stephan Rohrbacher, who concluded that wilful intent to deceive could be detected.

Nevertheless, Rohrbacher did stress that Schavan’s case could not be compared to that of her Christian Social Democrat colleague Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, who was stripped of his doctoral title and had to step down as defence minister in 2011.

Schavan denied the allegations. One of her most outspoken supporters was Jan-Hendrik Olbertz, president of Humboldt University in Berlin.

Christian Democrat Olbertz, who was formerly education minister of the state of Saxony-Anhalt, was particularly outraged over results of the review being leaked to the press, and claimed that Rohrbacher himself should have prevented this from happening.

He described the event as “disgusting” and said that attempts were being made to damage a successful higher education minister’s reputation.

Olbertz is now calling for a second, independent review, despite the University of Düsseldorf having commissioned Bonn law expert Klaus F Gärditz to assess its preliminary proceedings. Gärditz confirmed that no procedural errors had been made and that the review performed did not give any cause for complaint.

Only a few days before the university officially initiated formal proceedings, the Allianz der Wissenschaftsorganisationen, comprising Germany’s chief higher education and research bodies, issued a joint statement amounting to a harsh criticism of the University of Düsseldorf’s action.

The weighty alliance comprises the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the German Academy of Natural Scientists Leopoldina, the German Academic Exchange Service, the German Research Foundation, the Fraunhofer Society, the Helmholtz Association, the Rectors’ Conference, the Leibniz Society, the Max Planck Society and the Science Council.

It argued that withdrawing a doctoral thesis required procedural elements such as the principle of multi-assessor verification, assessors, evaluators and decision-makers acting separately, and expertise in the relevant subject.

And it demanded that “all those playing a responsible role in the proceedings should act in accordance with established standards, also in ongoing proceedings”.

The University of Düsseldorf maintained that the statement was an attempt to pressurise it. The rules referred to by the alliance, it argued, do not apply to formal procedures but merely to “internal procedures not tied to a legal form that are intended to settle issues of misconduct”.

Regarding the requirement to have separate assessors, evaluators and decision-makers, the university stressed that this is not stipulated in official regulations on doctorates. Referring to the issue of multi-assessor verification, the university said decisions were taken by the 15 members of the faculty committee, and not by a single person.

Politicians have responded cautiously to the matter. Not surprisingly Schavan, who is Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel’s closest ally, can reckon with her party’s support.

Christian Democrat Secretary General Hermann Gröhe has professed his unwavering trust in the minister, while opposition Green Party whip Jürgen Trittin said that innocence had to be assumed as long as proceedings were under way. However, Trittin added that if Schavan were stripped of her doctoral title, she would be “untenable” as minister of education and research.

Bernhard Kempen, president of the Deutscher Hochschulverband, which represents higher education lecturers, said the union fully trusted the University of Düsseldorf’s ability to conduct legally sound and orderly proceedings.

But he was highly critical of the intervention by the alliance of science organisations, arguing that “leading academic representatives are doing higher education and research a bad turn by creating the embarrassing impression that politically expedient results can be encouraged by speaking out for them in public”.

Andreas Keller, head of the higher education and research board of the teachers’ and scientists’ union Gewerkschaft Erziehung und Wissenschaft, echoed that sentiment. Keller said that if the University of Düsseldorf did not confirm the allegations of plagiarism, this would create the impression that the alliance had been putting pressure on it.

He believes that in future, “as soon as decisions are made concerning the alliance, for example, issues such as university funding or money for research, the question will always arise whether this is because a helping hand was lent at the right time”.

Value of construction in Cambodia skyrockets

Last Updated on 23 January 2013

By Hin Pisei

 

The amount of money spent on construction in Cambodia soared by 72 per cent in 2012 compared to 2011, according to data from the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction.
The ministry said it had issued 1,694 construction patents covering 6.5 million square metres of land, involving total capital of $2.1 billion in 2012, compared with 2,125 patents for 4.2 million square metres and capital of $1.2 billion in 2011, an increase of 71.9 per cent, the data shows.
Lao Tip Seiha, deputy general director of construction at the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction and an adviser to the Supreme National Economic Council, said the significant growth of capital was due to several construction projects in 2012, as many high buildings on more than 3,000 square metres each had been constructed in Phnom Penh in 2012 and in provinces such Preah Sihanouk, Battambang, Kampong Thom and Kandal.

“Because Cambodia’s economic situation is stable, the capital has increased well, local and international investors are confident in the political policies, and our country is rich in infrastructure,” he said.

As Cambodia’s population and economy have climbed steadily, the demand for housing, trade buildings, offices, factories, hotels, schools, hospitals and entertainment centres has increased as well.
“In 2013, construction will be boosted further than in 2012 despite Cambodia holding a general election, because the economic situation, daily life, micro-finance and security are good, and investors have confidence in the government. All these are the foundations to push the national economy, because it can provide many jobs to people such as workers, architects, engineers, technicians... and urge the price of real estate up further,” Tip Seiha said.

Many countries have invested in Cambodia since 2000, such as China, South Korea, Britain, Thailand and Malaysia.

In 2012, several big Japanese companies have also invested heavily in Cambodia.

 

Interesting times for Phnom Penh office market

Last Updated on 23 January 2013

By Ryan O’Sullivan

Tight market conditions, strong demand for office space and constrained levels of new supply are the principal reasons behind the rising occupancy costs in prime office markets across the globe. 

Canadia Tower in central Phnom Penh. Photograph: Heng Chivoan/Phnom Penh Post

Out of the top five most expensive office markets in the world, the Asia Pacific region contains four: Hong Kong, Tokyo, Beijing and New Delhi. With Hong Kong’s inherent lack of office supply, prime rents remain robust at $171 per square metre per month (psqm/m).

Demand from global financial and manufacturing companies kept occupancy costs high in Tokyo, while in Beijing pharmaceutical companies continued to expand.

Worldwide, office demand stemmed from the automotive, high-tech and energy industries. The latter is evident in Cambodia, where drilling off the coast near Sihanoukville has helped to increase office demand. Thus, companies such as Total and Chevron are large office occupiers, and new Japanese oil exploration firms will also establish operations in Cambodia by the end of 2013.
The growing insurance industry, particularly life insurance, is also a key office demand driver in Phnom Penh.

Cambodian Life, Manulife and Prudential jointly occupy more than 3,000 sqm of office space in Phnom Penh and will likely expand by the end of this year.
The top office buildings in Phnom Penh are seeking rents of between $21 and $28 psqm/m, and with the lack of high-quality office developments, rents are unlikely to decrease.
In terms of new supply, Vattanac Capital will be ready for occupation this year. The building will be the first Grade A office development in the Kingdom.

The development recently won an award for the best commercial property in Southeast Asia, and its specifications match many office buildings in Hong Kong and Singapore. This is not only welcome news for occupiers, but also helps to elevate Cambodia’s standing among investors.
Cambodia’s sound macro-economic fundamentals, the first Grade A office development in the country, and the continued expansion of multinational corporations will make 2013 an interesting year for the Phnom Penh office market.

Number of construction companies in Cambodia soars

Last Updated on 09 January 2013

By Seun Son

 

Construction and design companies that have registered for business in Cambodia have grown to number 1,205 at the end of 2012, according to an official at the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction.

Lav Tepseiha, deputy director of the construction department of the ministry said it is a large number, and is good for Cambodian construction.

“The construction sector in Cambodia has increased every year and it is continuing to boost the Kingdom’s real estate,” he said.​

There are 932 Cambodian and 273 foreign construction and design firms at the end of 2012, he said.
“I have noticed that foreign companies that invest the construction in Cambodia have climbed much more, especially in 2012, because they are looking for the potential of construction investment in Cambodia,” he said.

Foreign investors in Cambodia come from 16 countries: China, Korea, England, Japan, Russia, Lao, Malaysia, Taiwan, India, Vietnam, the United States, Singapore, Belgium, Australia and France. China is number one, South Korea number two and England third.

This growth is a good sign for Cambodia’s real estate, said Tepseiha. With the Kingdom’s political stability and rich human resources have come technical prowess, and specialist construction companies have sprung up.

“Companies will increase more and more next year because the number of proposed projects that are being submitted for permission continue to increase,” he added.

Key Real Estate Company CEO Soun Seap said that this growth is good for Cambodia’s economy.
Cambodia’s construction sector has increased due to economic and political stability, he said.
 

Phnom Penh’s historic quarter to go pedestrian

Last Updated on 14 January 2013

By Bennett Murray

 

 

 

A new tourist promenade is to open in the heart of Phnom Penh’s old French quarter.

Scheduled for a February opening, the tourist walk zone will provide an outdoor leisure area on Street 13 that will be closed to cars and motorbikes on weekends from 6pm till 12am, as well as on national holidays.

It will be adjacent to the colonial-era post office that today houses the Ministry of Post and Telecommunication.

“Everywhere in the world, especially in the cities, there are some places for the people to walk down,” said Minister of Tourism Thong Khon, whose ministry is helping Phnom Penh Capital Hall build the tourist walk zone.

“In Cambodia, we also need a place for tourists to walk down.”

The neighborhood includes some of Cambodia’s most prominent examples of French architecture from the turn of the 20th century, including the disused police commissariat, Manolis Hotel and the Banque de l’Indochine that today houses Van’s Restaurant.

“It is good to walk down for tourists because of the large, colonial-style buildings,” said Khon.

According UNESCO Head of Office Anne LeMaistre, it is not just tourists who stand to benefit.

“Phnom Penh has a unique chance to have a garden-city image with large avenues and trees, which is extremely rare for a capital in the region. The colonial heritage and the Khmer New architecture contribute enormously to the identity and beauty of the city.

“It is an opportunity which should not be missed for ob­­vious touristic reasons but also for the memory of all inhabitants of Phnom Penh,” she said.

“Heritage, silence, space and green environment are part of this quality of life and appreciation of living in a city. In addition, this area is unfortunately the only remaining coherent his­toric quarter of Phnom Penh,” she added.

Restoration and preservation in the area has been erratic, with some buildings getting far more treatment than others.

“The post office and the Van’s Restaurant were restored and are well-maintained buildings,” said LeMaistre.

“The Manolis Hotel and the former Commissariat are magnificent buildings but which need urgent interventions,” she added.

LeMaistre said that despite widespread enthusiasm for preserving Cambodia’s Angkorian heritage, more needs to be done to promote the country’s more recent urban heritage.

UNESCO is supporting the efforts of the Heritage Mission, which is attached to the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, to make the old French Quarter a special heri­tage protected zone.

However, increased visitation to the area may encourage preservation of the historic quarter.

“The tourist walk zone will hopefully attract Phnom Penh inhabitants who will discover this area, maybe, for the first time and invite them to appreciate the harmony of the architecture and the pleasure of walking in a nice environment,” said LeMaistre. “We hope that this discovery and appreciation will lead to the understanding of preserving heritage.”

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To contact the reporter on this story: Bennett Murray at ppp.lifestyle@gmail.com

Australians mourn King Father’s passing

Australian Ambassador to Cambodia, H.E. Penny Richards

Last Updated on 25 January 2013 

By Penny Richards

Australia Day is an occasion on which we reflect on the events of the past year and look forward to the challenges of the coming year.

Cambodians are currently mourning the death of the King Father, His Majesty Norodom Sihanouk. Prime Minister Gillard visited the Royal Palace on 19 November 2012 to express her condolences to Her Majesty the Queen Mother NorodomMonineath and His Majesty the King NorodomSihamoni upon the death of His Majesty the King Father Norodom Sihanouk.

The King Father was a towering figure in Cambodian history: he oversaw Cambodia’s independence and its development as a modern state.  He played a significant role in global and regional relations. He was integral to the negotiation of the Paris Peace Accords signed in 1991.

The King Father’s death reminds us of the warm historical ties between Australia and Cambodia. Australia’s former Minister for Foreign Affairs, Gareth Evans, worked closely with the King Father and other Cambodian leaders to draft the Accords.  Australian General John Sanderson led the military component of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC), which oversaw the election of a new National Assembly in 1993 and the promulgation of Cambodia’s current constitution.  Since then Australia has assisted Cambodia’s development in many fields.

Cambodia’s role as Chair of ASEAN in 2012 provided the impetus for a higher pace of activity in Australia Cambodia bilateral relations and regional cooperation. Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator the Hon Bob Carr, visited Cambodia twice, in March and again in July. His visits highlighted the work Australia is doing to support Cambodia’s health sector, especially through our midwifery program, the avoidable blindness initiative and the anti-drug resistant malaria initiative we are progressing through the East Asia Summit.

His visits underlined our cooperation with APSARA and UNESCO to build a sound framework for managing Cambodia’s cultural heritage, in particular growing tourism flows to the Angkor World Heritage Park. Senator Carr also reinforced Australia’s support for the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, to which Australia has been the second largest donor, emphasising the importance of judicial independence.

Australia’s Minister for Trade and Competitiveness, Dr Craig Emerson MP, also visited Cambodia twice, in August and again in November. As one of ASEAN’s six free trade agreement partners, Australia has joined negotiations for a Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) which were launched in Phnom Penh in November.

Australia will work with Cambodia and other partners to conclude a comprehensive, high quality agreement which will further deepen regional economic integration and trade liberalisation.

Dr Emerson is also Minister Assisting the Prime Minister on Asian Century Policy. Australia’s White Paper on Australia in the Asian Century sets out a blueprint for further deepening Australia’s already strong engagement with Asia, including through business, education and people-to-people links with Cambodia and other Asian countries.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard attended the East Asia Summit Leaders’ Meeting chaired by Prime Minister Hun Sen in November. Australia considers the East Asia Summit to be the premier forum for discussion of political and security issues affecting our region. We were pleased that Leaders were able to engage each other in frank discussions with no issues off the table. Australia will also work closely with other EAS members to take forward practical cooperation in key areas: finance; education; energy and environment; disaster management; and pandemic diseases.

In her public remarks, Prime Minister Gillard acknowledged that Cambodia had made a great deal of progress on human rights since the days of the Khmer Rouge but said that more needed to be done, with a focus on extrajudicial killings, land disputes, electoral reform and freedom of speech.

Looking forward to next year, we will mark the 20th anniversary since the 1993 general election supervised by UNTAC, the military component of which was led by Australian General John Sanderson. In the context of the July 2013 National Assembly elections it will be important for Cambodia to defend and implement the rights enshrined in its 1993 Constitution, including the rights of freedom of assembly, association and speech.

Throughout 2013 Australia will continue to work with Cambodia in many fields: reducing poverty, promoting regional security and fighting transnational crime. We will strengthen our people-to-people links through our scholarship and volunteers program.  I would like to thank all our partners, both Cambodian and international, for your ongoing contribution to and support for those goals.

I would like to wish everyone a happy Australia Day, and a safe and successful 2013.