Mathew Knott: “I think there's a lot of scope for Spain and Australia to do more together”
We interview Mathhew Knott, Foreign Affairs and National Security Correspondent, The Sydney Morning Herald's | View the Program Summary in PDF
Matthew Knott is the Foreign Affairs and National Security Correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, two of Australia’s most respected news outlets. Based in Canberra, Matthew is widely recognized for his authoritative reporting on Australian foreign policy, defense strategy, intelligence matters, and the country’s role in a shifting global order.
Throughout this visit, have you found many similarities or differences between Spain and Australia in terms of society and values, etc.?
Wow, that's a good question. It's a good question. I think we've seen both similarities and differences in terms of how Spain and Australia are dealing with the big issues of our time.
We've seen how Spain is really embracing renewable energy in a way that Australia is, but is further behind. Spain is clearly further down the path of renewable energy and tackling climate change. Australia has a different economic model and we're still catching up in that way.
It's been interesting to learn about the way Spain is responding to migration compared to Australia and other countries. I think the two countries have a lot in common, but I think there's still a lot we don't know. I think Australians have a quite one-dimensional understanding of Spain.
There's a lot of complexity. We don't know a lot about that.
If possible, in what ways could two countries with a good relationship, but so geographically distant, come closer together?
Yeah, you're right. I think there is a lot of distance. There's not a lot of shared cultural history that we draw on with perhaps anglophone countries that we rely on.
I think there's a lot of scope for Spain and Australia to do more together. I think climate change would be a big one that we both see in a similar way. We'd have things to teach each other.
Issues that we keep hearing about here in terms of housing and urban development are big issues in Australia. I think we could learn a lot more from each other and Madrid's been a very impressive place to be. I think there's things that our city leaders as well could learn from Madrid.
From the Australian point of view, especially from an Australian journalist, what image does Spain project in the world internationally?
What we've heard a few times here, which has been interesting to me, is the idea of Spain as being an outlier in some ways in Europe on certain issues. In terms of the way that it's responding to the Trump administration, I found that really interesting to hear about how the Sanchez government is responding to the re-emergence of Donald Trump. How it's responding to rising migration in Europe and the far right.
That Spain's taking a very different approach to that on the idea of Spain as doubling down on the European Union and being the strongest supporter of the EU. It's really interesting to us how Spain has played a leadership role on the recognition of Palestine, which Australia followed a year later. It's been very interesting to learn about that.
We don't hear a lot about Spain in that way in Australia. I've learned a lot about the way Spain relates to Europe and to the wider world.
During this program, we are having meetings with public institutions, think tanks, private companies. How would you rate the level of openness and transparency?
I've been very impressed by the level of openness and transparency from the people we've spoken to. I've had a lot of frank conversations. I would say a lot of real talk, whereas in Australia, public officials can be very cautious about talking about controversial issues.
It's been valuable here, even in off-the-record settings, to hear forthright views about Spain and Europe and the rest of the world. That's been very valuable.
Finally, do you think the program has offered a representative view of Spain, both institutionally and in terms of business?
Yes, I think there's been a lot of variety in the program from politics to culture to economics, the defense relationship. I think it's been a very well-rounded view of Spain. I know all of us have learned things we didn't know before.
I think it's quite a rich and impressive view of Spain. As it keeps coming up, Spain is a relatively recent democracy, but to see how democracy here has flourished, while there are challenges, there are many economic achievements. I think we've seen a pretty well-rounded view of modern Spain, particularly in modern Madrid. To be immersed in Madrid has been a very good experience.
