Korea hosted the 2005 Annual APEC Study Centre Consortium (ASCC) Meeting at Jeju between the 22nd and 25th of May.

It was held in conjunction with the PECC Trade Forum. Three key themes featured throughout the Conference. One, the Regional economic architecture was discussed, following the proliferation of RTAs and FTAs in Asia Pacific. Was the changing architecture achieving APEC’s Bogor Goals?

The second theme was the nature of liberalisation. Were RTAs or FTAs contributing or hampering liberalisation, particularly during sluggish multilateral talks in the WTO and a decreased commitment to unilateralism from APEC economies. There was also discussion on the likely success of an APEC FTA. Coordinator of the PECC Trade Forum, Professor Robert Scollay, who presented the “Preliminary assessment of the proposal for a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific” which was developed for the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC).

The mandate of APEC and whether it needs to broaden its agenda beyond trade liberalisation was the third theme. Suggestions were if APEC should include a broader agenda of free markets and rejigging domestic governance architecture to entrench free market principles; or to look to reform APEC to broaden its agenda to include issues such as trade facilitation and trade and human security.

Participants attending the Conference noted that the Conference proceedings including some of the best papers in many years and comprehensively covered the broad number of issues facing APEC into the future. Papers were presented by Alan Oxley and John McKay from the Australian APEC Study Centre. All Conference Papers from the ASCC can be downloaded here...

The Training Program was led by Program Leader, David Jones, and was supported by presenters and members of the Centre’s Financial Services Advisory Board from industry, Government and academia, including:

* The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ):
* Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA);
* Ask!T Consulting;
* AXA Asia Pacific Holdings;
* The Commonwealth Bank of Australia Group (CBA);
* The Commonwealth Treasury;
* Ernst & Young;
* Macquarie Bank;
* The National Australia Bank (NAB);
* Standard and Poor’s; and
* The University of Melbourne.

20 representatives from commercial banks and regulatory agencies in Asian Bankers’ Association member economies participated, including representatives from Brunei, the People’s Republic of China, Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan, ROC.

The one day Conference was the first Conference held on the scientific evidence supporting the Kyoto Protocol following its ratification and included representatives from industry and academia, including:

* Harlan Watson, Senior Climate Change Negotiator and Special Representative, US Department of State;
* Qingqing Zhao, First Assistant Secretary (Science and Technology), Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Australia;
* Alan Oxley, Chairman of the Australian APEC Study Centre, Monash University;
* Dr Graeme Pearman, Director, GP Consultants Pty Ltd and former Chief of the CSIRO Division of Atmospheric Research;
* Professor Bob Carter, Research Professor of Geology, James Cook University, Queensland;
* William Kininmonth, Author of "Climate Change: A Natural Hazard" and formerly of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology;
* Dr John Zillman, President, Australia Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering and former Principal Delegate of Australia (1994-2004) to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change;
* Emeritus Professor Garth Paltridge, retired Director of the Institute of Antarctic and Southern Ocean Studies, University of Tasmania and former Chief Research Scientist of the CSIRO Division of Atmospheric Research;
* Roger Beale, Senior Associate, The Allen Consulting Group;
* Dr Brian Fisher, Director, Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics;
* Meg McDonald, General Manager Corporate Affairs, Alcoa World Alumina Australia;
* Professor Aynsley Kellow, University of Tasmania;
* Dr Alan Moran, Director, Deregulation Unit, Institute of Public Affairs; and
* Jon Stanford, The Allen Consulting Group.

two video conference sessions with industry and academic presenters from the United States of America and Canada, including Dr Brian Flannery, Manager, Science, Strategy and Programs, Health and Environment Department, Exxon Mobil Corporation and Ross McKitrick, Associate Professor of Economics, University of Guelph, Ontario and Senior Fellow of the Fraser Institute and joint author of "Taken by Storm".

Papers from the Conference are now available online and can be downloaded here...

In November 2004 the Centre also released its report "The Kyoto Protocol and the APEC Economies". The report can be downloaded here...

The Conference specifically focused on the challenges and benefits presented to both economies from the successful negotiation of a Free Trade Agreement and opportunities that exist and precedents already established for harmonisation between the two economies. Speakers at the Conference included representatives from industry, Government and academia, including:

* Hon Alexander Downer MP, Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs;
* The Hon John Brumby MP, Victorian Minister for State and Regional Development and Minister for Innovation;
* Michael L'Estrange, Secretary, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade;
* Dr Mohamed Ariff bin Abdul Kareem, Executive Director, Malaysian Institute of Economic Research;
* Tim Harcourt, Chief Economist, Austrade;
* Nicholas Coppel, Executive Director, Economic Analytical Unit, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade;
* M R Chandran, Chief Executive, Malaysian Palm Oil Association;
* Jammie Penm, Senior Economist, Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics;
* Dato' Mustafa Mansur, President, Federation of Malaysia Manufacturers;
* Leigh Purnell, Executive Director (International), Australian Industry Group;
* Professor Henry Ergas, Head of Competition and Regulatory Economics, Charles River Associates;
* Looi Kien Leong, Chairman, International Relations Association of the Computer & Multimedia Industry of Malaysia;
* Datuk Ali Tan Sri Abdul Kadir, Senior Adviser, Ernst & Young Malaysia and former Chairman of the Malaysian Securities Commission;
* Mark Johnson, Deputy Chair, Macquarie Bank;
* Katie Dean, Economist, the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group;
* Lisa Gropp, Assistant Commissioner, Productivity Commission;
* Professor Peter Lloyd, University of Melbourne; and
* Professor John McKay, Director, Australian APEC Study Centre, Monash University.

Papers from the Conference are now available online and can be downloaded here...

The Training Program was led by Managing Regulatory Change: Life Insurance and Pensions Program Leader, Dr Jules Gribble, and was supported by presenters and members of the Centre’s Financial Services Advisory Board from industry, Government and academia, including:

* The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ):
* Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA);
* Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC):
* Ask!T Consulting;
* Australian Stock Exchange (ASX);
* AXA Asia Pacific Holdings;
* The Commonwealth Bank of Australia Group (CBA);
* The Commonwealth Treasury;
* Ernst & Young;
* Macquarie Bank;
* The National Australia Bank (NAB);
* Standard and Poor’s; and
* The University of Melbourne.

19 industry regulators were trained from across member economies of the Asian Development Bank including Fiji, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, the Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, ROC, Thailand and Vanuatu.