Senator Dean Smith (2004 Alumnus) - Shadow Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and Shadow Assistant Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction

When Dean Smith first travelled to Asia, it wasn’t as a politician or a tourist. He was a shy 11-year-old student from Perth’s northern suburbs, stepping onto a plane for the very first time. It was 1981. Smith’s school had nominated him for a two-week cultural exchange to Bali. It was a big adventure for a child from a rural, Western Australian working-class family. Smith recalls that it was “a big deal” for the family and a financial stretch for his parents.

“But they recognised that this would be a good thing. And they were right. It was the genesis, the launching pad of my curiosity about Asia,” he says.

Looking back now, he describes that first visit as the beginning of a personal and professional relationship with Asia that has quietly shaped his life, and greatly influenced his priorities in Parliament. Today, as Shadow Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Smith is working to ensure foreign policy both enhances strategic and trading partnerships, while also progressing “universal human values”—with a focus on pathways to democracy for countries in the region weighed down by regressive regimes. 

Over the decades, Smith has returned to Asia time and again, initially as a backpacker in his 20s and then frequently on official visits to India, Indonesia or Myanmar.

In his role as a Senator for Western Australia, he’s become deeply involved in regional humanitarian issues for the Burmese, Chinese and Tibetan communities in his state. From securing safe passage for refugees, to co-chairing the Australian Parliamentarians for Democracy in Myanmar and Australian Parliamentarians Against the Death Penalty groups. Through championing human rights protections across Asia, Smith says he has developed “a very, very strong interest in humanitarian issues.” 

Image: Courtesy of National Press Club of Australia

Prior to entering the Senate, Smith held senior roles at Insurance Australia Group and SingTel Optus. It was during this period that his inherent curiosity about Asia led him to the Asialink Leaders Program. “I am a curious person. I’m curious for the world, and that’s what drew me to Asialink,” he says.

As someone without an Asian background, he says that he had grown up thinking of Australia and Asia quite separately. But, as his work evolved, the national debate about whether Australia was Asian or not was growing. Smith says the Leaders Program provided “a whole new lens in which to think about Asia,” as well as his own career.

“The program exposed me to a different way of thinking about Asian engagement, and myself. It was a very transformative experience,” he says.

Describing Asia as a “part of my identity now,” Smith says the personal journey he underwent during the course equipped him with the capabilities he needed to pursue Asian engagement throughout the rest of his career.

“The Asialink Leaders Program is not just about Asia. It’s also about leadership,” he says. “We talk about Asia capability like it’s a checklist: language, experience, contacts. But the real foundation is curiosity about Asia, I think that is the real skill.” 

The leadership growth and Asian curiosity that his travels and the Asialink Leaders Program sparked now shapes Smith’s work in Parliament. He is particularly conscious of the enormous importance of Western Australia and Australia’s trading relationships with regional partners like India and China. But he is also heavily focused on how these are balanced against advocacy for human rights, regional democracy and a foreign policy that reflects Australian values as much as Australian interests.

He says that Australia today is very much a part of Asia and has benefited from a stronger national Asian consciousness. This, along with his deeply personal connection to the region, drives Smith’s commitment to anchoring his parliamentary work to both trade-related and human rights issues in Asia. “I am very consciously using the Australian parliament as a forum to advance issues of an Asian nature,” he explains. 

Noting that he is concerned at present about the global “regression” in human rights and democracy, Smith uses his parliamentary role to advocate for the global abolition of the death penalty and takes great pride in the stewardship shown by Australian NGOs like the Capital Punishment Justice Project (CPJP). He worked alongside the CPJP to secure the release of an Australian citizen from death row in Thailand. 

Smith also co-chairs the Parliamentarians for Democracy in Myanmar and works in Australia and on the ground in the region to support refugees via refugee and human rights groups. “Prior to the coup, I had visited Myanmar on five occasions including as an observer of the 2015 general elections. I now do a lot of humanitarian activity supporting the safe passage and safety of Burmese refugees in the region,” he says. 

Looking at Asia in the present day, Smith says he is particularly conscious of the “creeping authoritarianism” that is becoming more evident in parts of the region and observes “the seeding of regressive politics.” 

However, he emphasises, this makes good relationships with nations even more important, so that Australia can maintain a strong and respectful dialogue with its Asian neighbours on challenging issues where there may be different perspectives and experiences. 

“When I think about progress, when I think about mankind’s journey and evolution, I’m someone who is not naive to the pitfalls in our human story,” he says. “But I’m an optimistic person. I am someone that believes that we do progress forward, and there is a constant improvement in the human condition, and I think we see that most visibly in Asia.” 

Senator Dean Smith has been a Senator for Western Australia since 2012 and currently serves as the Shadow Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Shadow Assistant Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction. Before entering Parliament, Smith held senior roles at Insurance Australia Group and SingTel Optus. He completed the Asialink Leaders Program in 2004.