In the aftermath of 9/11, Americans have been asking why the world hates them. Now it’s Australia’s tum. Why do Asians applaud when Dr Mahathir mocks us? Why docs the Indonesian prime minister snub Australian leaders? Why, despite progress with bilateral trade agreements, do we seem to be permanently locked out of organisations such as ASEAN and ASEM?

Australia’s Ambivalence towards Asia, a thoughtful and wide-ranging book, tackles these questions. It is a jeremiad which examines the racism underlying Australian attitudes towards Asia, as conveyed through political statements, media representations and Blanche D’Alpuget’s Turtle Beach ( 1981) – one of the best-selling Australian novels about Asia. The central argument is simple:

If white Australians have not first learnt to relate with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Australia, it is unlikely that they will be equipped to adequately relate to peoples who arc the Asian ‘others’ within Australia, leave alone those ‘others’ in the wider Asia-Pacific region.