AIYA Links: 6 September

In the news

• Let’s get the bad economic news out of the way first: the Wall Street Journal reports on how inflation is starting to bite for Indonesia’s middle class, Reuters surveys the Indonesian retail industry and finds that its growth is slowing, and the Financial Times looks at Indonesia’s ballooning trade deficit.
• The Indonesian government will finally scrap its quota policy for beef and other agricultural imports, and pursue other price-targeting measures. This analysis in The Land suggests Australian beef producers would still like more policy certainty.
• The FT’s correspondent Ben Bland (@benjaminbland) profiles one of Indonesia’s most exciting new politicians: the renowned architect, urbanist and recently-elected mayor of Bandung, Ridwan Kamil (@ridwankamil).
• Fairfax corro Michael Bachelard (@mbachelard) reports from Yogyakarta, where the dramatic trial of Kopassus soldiers remains in the media spotlight.
• ANU Indonesian studies alumna and gender activist Kate Walton (@waltonkate) writes in Inside Indonesia about the pressure brought to bear on Indonesian lesbians to marry men.
• The ANU’s Ross Tapsell (@rosstapsell) has a piece in The Conversation analysing the findings of the DFAT Newspoll on Australia-Indonesia relations.
• The Jakarta Globe chats to Australians voting in the federal election at the Australian Embassy in Jakarta. [The absence of a sausage sizzle, as implied by the headline, is a most grievous oversight on the part of our diplomats — ed]
• Neil Thomas from the Australia-China Youth Association has a good op-ed in The Australian arguing that young Australians are much more interested in studying in and about Asia than they’re often given credit for.

Events

• Vote! Australian citizens in Indonesia can cast their vote in the federal election at the Australian Embassy in Jakarta until 16:00 today and between 08:00 and 16:00 tomorrow, or at the Australian Consulate-General in Denpasar (Bali) until 16:00 today and between 08:00 and 18:00 tomorrow.
• ABC News 24 will lift its geoblock for election day, so if you are in Indonesia you will still be able to stream the ABC’s live coverage online at www.abc.net.au/news/abcnews24 or watch from 15:00WIB on the Australia Network. (Polls begin to close in Australia at 18:00AEDT/15:00WIB.)
• The ANU’s highly regarded annual Indonesia Update conference will be held on 20-21 September in Canberra. The theme for 2013 is ‘Regional Dynamics in a Decentralised Indonesia’. The program and registration is available online.