Indonesia’s next chapter: Governance, leadership and reform
Insights from the ANU Indonesia Update
LOWY INSTITUTE - 31 BLIGH ST, SYDNEY
MONDAY 15 SEPTEMBER - 12:15 - 1:30PM AEST
Indonesia’s next chapter: Governance, leadership and reform
Under new leadership, Indonesia continues to face a persistent and complex challenge: governance. As the country strives to maintain political stability and meet ambitious economic targets, governance reform has become central to meeting both domestic development goals and international commitments. Will political and economic developments in Indonesia enable it to escape the middle-income trap? How can Indonesia balance its climate change pledges with its industrial agenda, and what role does the carbon market play? Can the pursuit of OECD and CPTPP membership act as leverage to drive necessary governance reforms?
Please join us for this timely discussion about how strengthening governance can unlock Indonesia’s potential for sustainable development, resilient democracy, and credible climate leadership. Our panel features Professor Shiro Armstrong (Australian National University), Dr Ida Aju Pradnja Resosudarmo (Australian National University), Dr Liam Gammon (Australian National University) and Dr Axel Michaelowa (University of Zurich). The discussion will be moderated by Lowy Institute Research Fellow Dr Hilman Palaon.
Refreshments will be served.
Event Information
Monday 15 September 2025
12:15pm for 12:30pm – 1:30pm
Lowy Institute
31 Bligh Street, Sydney
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:
Professor of Economics and Director of International Partnerships at the Crawford School of Public Policy at The Australian National University. He is Director of the Australia-Japan Research Centre, Editor of the East Asia Forum, and Director of the East Asian Bureau of Economic Research. He is also a Visiting Professor at Keio University, Research Associate at the Center on Japanese Economy and Business at the Columbia Business School, Non-resident Fellow at the Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan and Research Associate at the New Zealand APEC Study Centre. He is the recipient of the 2024 Nakasone Yasuhiro Award. Shiro is a member of the Board of the Australia Japan Foundation and is on the Academic Advisory Council of the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA).
Dr Ida Aju Pradnja Resosudarmo
Research Fellow at the ANU Fenner School of Environment & Society. Her work focuses on natural resource and environmental governance, and the political, social, and environmental dimensions of climate change. She has expertise in forest and land governance, development studies, and gender research. Daju’s research spans land use and forestry, artisanal mining, peatland management, land reform and tenure, and rural livelihoods. She also examines local-central government relations, and environmental law enforcement.
Research Fellow at the East Asian Bureau of Economic Research (EABER) at the Crawford School of Public Policy. A specialist in contemporary Indonesian politics, he also convenes an introductory ANU undergraduate course in Asian politics. As an awardee of the 2024 Japan Foundation Indo-Pacific Partnerships Program (JFIPP) Research Fellowship, he is engaged in ongoing survey-based research into the political values of Gen-Z voters in Indonesia. Liam is the editor of New Mandala, the ANU-based Southeast Asian studies website, and is a member of the editorial board of East Asia Forum. He received his PhD from the ANU Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs for a thesis examining the role Indonesia’s electoral institutions played in moderating the impacts of populism on the post-reformasi political system.
Head of the group on international climate policy at the chair Political Economy and Development, University of Zurich and Center for Comparative and International Studies. For over two decades, Axel has been working on climate policy issues and published over 100 articles, studies and book contributions, mainly on the market mechanisms of the Paris Agreement and the Kyoto Protocol. With regard to the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). Axel was a lead author of the chapter on international agreements in the 5th Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change published in 2014 and wrote on mitigation policies in the 4th Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change published in 2007. He co-founded the Zurich Carbon Market Association in 2010 and has been its president since then.
Research Fellow at the Lowy Institute in the Indo-Pacific Development Centre. His work focuses on digital economy issues in the Indo-Pacific region. Hilman has extensive experience in government, development, engineering, fintech, digital platforms, audit and consulting, and academia. He has previously worked for Ernst & Young, USAID, TNP2K (the Indonesian government's National Team for the Acceleration of Poverty Reduction), Gojek/GOTO, and the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance at the University of Cambridge. He has also worked as a consultant/adviser for the Asian Development Bank, MoneyGram, Eachmile Technologies, Novus Technologies, and Protiviti.
Director of the Indo-Pacific Development Centre, a dedicated policy research centre within the Lowy Institute. The Centre is committed to producing fresh policy insights and ideas on the most pressing economic development challenges facing the Indo-Pacific region — principally focusing on the emerging and developing economies of Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands and South Asia. He also serves as the Lowy Institute’s Lead Economist, a position he has held since joining the Institute in 2017.
