The Eucalyptus Network: How Talent-Building Can Power Australian Diplomacy

Zachary Hall | Australian Foreign Policy Fellow

Image sourced from Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade via Wikimedia Commons.

Australia’s education system is quietly seeding the Indo-Pacific with future leaders — and that might be our country’s sharpest weapon in an era of climate crisis and geopolitical rivalry. Many students from the Indo-Pacific study in Australian universities, returning home with not just degrees but also familiarity with governance models, institutions and political culture. Some of these alumni will rise to senior positions in government and business, shaping decisions that affect regional stability and prosperity. At a time when traditional diplomacy is struggling, education offers Australia a durable, people-focused channel of influence. To harness this potential, Australia should launch a program in partnership with Indo-Pacific governments to spot standout students and then support their studies, with a focus on climate and public‑service training. This initiative could plant the seeds of an enduring “Eucalyptus Network” of Indo-Pacific leaders trained in Australia.

Seeds in the Classroom

Sitting in a dimly lit classroom at the Australian National University, I see students from Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Vietnam and Indonesia consistently out‑argue their Australian peers on environmental governance, development economics and resilience. Talented students will soon occupy senior positions in government and business, carrying home both technical expertise and enduring networks.

The Indo-Pacific is becoming the centre of geopolitical competition, with China, the United States and regional players jockeying for influence. Traditional diplomacy and defence ties still matter, but so do the informal, personal bonds built in lecture halls and seminar rooms. A generation shaped by Australia’s academic institutions may prove a more enduring asset than any treaty. The regional impact of Australia’s education is already visible today. Six of Bhutan’s ten cabinet ministers in 2023 held Australian degrees, while four Indonesian cabinet ministers — including a former foreign minister — have worked or studied at just one institution: the Australian National University (ANU). This quiet force has strategic weight.

While there are many pressing challenges where Australia can deepen its engagement in the Indo-Pacific, climate change stands out for its urgency and its uneven impacts across the regions. Rising seas and intensifying weather threaten the survival of Pacific Island nations, while climate-related stresses are already disrupting food security and economic stability in Southeast Asia. This growing vulnerability has been with clear calls for support for adaptation — particularly for technical expertise in adaptation and mitigation. Australia’s existing development networks and scientific institutions place it in a unique position to meet this demand and demonstrate leadership in a domain central to regional resilience.

From Scholarship to Service                                                          

Australia could help fill this gap by rethinking its education diplomacy, namely the use of education to build soft power. However, scholarships alone are not enough. A new model would connect students not only to academic institutions but also to Australia’s public service and industries leading in climate innovation. It can model the program off America’s Young South East Asian Leaders Initiative’s Professional Fellows Program, which embeds the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) students in city climate offices and then sends them home to replicate the work. Domestically, this could translate to developing tropical low-cost adaptation strategies in Northern Australia or partnering with Indigenous-led conservation and resource management initiatives.

Importantly, Australia could work with foreign governments to identify and guide high-potential students into strategically vital fields, from climate adaptation to critical infrastructure and “futures thinking.” Practical examples already exist: the Australia Awards program, Mekong-Australia scholarships, and the Southeast Asia and Australia Government-to-Government Partnerships program focus on delivering capability for countries in our region. Aligning these programs to both Australia’s strategic goals and partner nations’ own development agendas creates shared value, while long-term professional networks extend Australia’s soft power.

The approach also aligns with regional aspirations. Many governments, from Vietnam to Fiji, actively encourage overseas study with the expectation that graduates return to strengthen domestic institutions.  Project 89, a Vietnamese government program that funds PhD candidates to strengthen the nation’s higher education and training sector, is a clear example of this strategy in action. Education serves both Australian and partner countries’ ambitions.

Why it Pays Off for Australia and Our Region

Moreover, these efforts align neatly with Australia’s domestic agenda. The Future Made in Australia policy aims to build a skilled workforce for clean energy and technology. Strengthening education partnerships across the region complements this by creating international pipelines of talent and research connections that also benefit Australia.

Beyond climate, training future policymakers in governance, regulatory design and sustainable development fosters regional stability and democratic resilience — vital to Australia’s long-term interests. Informal alumni networks can offer avenues for dialogue and partnership that formal diplomatic channels cannot easily match. Research suggests that alumni who build in-country connections during study are more likely to form lasting partnerships with Australian institutions upon return, building soft power.

And the costs are modest. Education initiatives carry lower political risk because they are non-threatening, flexible, and widely seen as mutually beneficial. Unlike military or infrastructure interventions, they are less likely to trigger backlash or entangle Australia in strategic tensions. Australian tertiary education already generates over AUD$30 billion annually in export revenue. Leveraging this to support a strategic education model is not only affordable, but essential.

Australia cannot afford to cede ground to competitors who see scholarships as influence-building. Nor can it assume old alliances will endure on goodwill alone. In the contest for hearts and minds in the Indo-Pacific, classrooms may yet prove to be Australia’s most effective embassies.

Zachary Hall is the Australian Foreign Policy Fellow for Young Australians in International Affairs. Zach is a policy officer with a passion for foreign policy’s power to improve lives and strengthen democratic resilience.

Zach has worked across economic, climate, and infrastructure policy in the Australian Public Service, and previously supported trade and diplomatic engagement at the Indonesian and Moroccan foreign missions. He holds a Bachelor of Economics and is currently undertaking a Master of International and Development Economics from the Australian National University.