The Hon Tim Watts MP (2017 Alumnus) - Australia's Special Envoy for Indian Ocean Affairs

Tim Watts has spent more than a decade walking the corridors of power in Canberra. As the Member for Gellibrand, one of Australia’s most culturally diverse electorates that stretches from Melbourne’s inner west to its outer suburbs, Watts has served in the House of Representatives since 2013 and was the Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs in the Albanese government from 2022 to 2025.

Yet, when he talks about Australia’s relationship with Asia, Watts doesn’t just mean trade deals and embassies. He’s talking about something much closer to home. “My family lives in a community that’s home to some of the biggest Chinese-Australian, Indian-Australian and Vietnamese-Australian communities in the country,” he shares. “Our kids are growing up in a community and a household where Asia isn’t ‘over there’, it’s here and it’s every day.”

Watts credits early exposure to Asia as a defining force in his political and personal journey. “I started learning Mandarin in primary school, thanks to a program some visionary governments put in place. That little nudge, sitting in a Toowoomba, Queensland classroom learning tones and characters, changed the course of my life.”

Today, Asia capability is woven into every dimension of his life. “Cross-cultural understanding isn’t just something I work on. It’s something I live,” he explains. 

The deep connection that Watts felt with Asia motivated him to participate in the Asialink Leaders Program early in his career. Working as a lawyer before moving into a senior telecommunications role, Watts calls the program “a turning point.”

“This is a self-selecting group of Australians that understand the importance of investing in their Asia capability, who are working in roles that utilise that Asia capability, and who share a vision for Australia’s engagement with the region,” Watts explains.

The experience not only provided him with a deep understanding of Asia; it also inspired him to dig deeper into the role that immigration has played in shaping Australia’s social and economic fabric. This led to him writing a critically acclaimed book, The Golden Country: Australia’s Changing Identity, which reflects on Australia’s multicultural development and the ways that the nation can develop a more inclusive future.

“Half of all Australians were born overseas or have a parent who was. That gives us an incredible advantage, because we carry those connections in our families, our communities, our hearts,” he says. 

Watts believes Australia’s multiculturalism is a strategic asset that we’ve only just begun to understand. This view is evident in his present role as Australia’s Special Envoy for Indian Ocean Affairs under Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s second term government, where he continues to advocate for closer regional ties. 

Driven by a belief that Australia has only scratched the surface of what the nation’s inherent multicultural fabric can offer to its engagement with Asia, he says it is important that the nation’s diversity is better reflected in its government and business leaders. “There’s a quiet strength in Australia’s diversity. The more we recognise and support that, the better placed we’ll be for the decades ahead,” he says. 

He also believes that intent is far more important than proximity and that Australia needs to be partners with Asia “by choice.” “We have to choose to be good neighbours, good partners. We have to actively choose to pursue a future in Asia,” he explains. “That means showing up. It means investing in language, relationships and long-term understanding, even when it’s uncomfortable or slow.” 

Watts leans into the strong network of Asialink Leaders Program alumni to help grow this inclusion and regularly speaks at Asialink events to share his insights and guidance with those considering deepening their engagement with Asia.  

At events like these, when Watts is asked to reflect on his own path to Asia engagement, he says his key piece of advice is to be curious. “Ask questions. Listen more than you speak. And see interactions in Asia not as a transaction, but a relationship you grow over time,” he explains. 

Curiosity is a recurring theme for Watts, and one that he says separates business success from failure in Asia, where sensitivity to context becomes far more important than strategy decks or slogans. 

“Australians are often uncomfortable with silence,” he says with a wry smile. “But in many parts of Asia, silence is part of the conversation. It’s how you show respect. I’ve made it a habit to be the last to speak in the room. It changes everything, from how you’re perceived, to what you actually learn.” 

This silence, he says, will be even more vital as the region undergoes massive structural change—from the rise of AI and demographic transformation to escalating climate and geopolitical pressures. 

“Whatever the future holds, Australia is going to need more Australians engaging deeply across diplomacy, defence, trade, investment, education and culture,” he says. “It’s not a niche skillset—it’s a national capability.” 

The Hon Tim Watts MP is Australia’s Special Envoy for Indian Ocean Affairs and a senior leader in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Prior to entering Parliament, Watts worked as a Senior Manager at Telstra and a Solicitor at Mallesons Stephen Jaques (now King & Wood Mallesons). Watts completed the Asialink Leaders Program in 2017.