Energy protectionism complicates our ties with Indonesia

Mr Prabowo has promised to maintain President Joko Widodo's downstreaming policies that have turbocharged Chinese investment in Indonesian nickel mining and smelting production, which has flooded the global nickel market, tanked global nickel prices, and in turn, led to nickel mine closures and job losses in Australia. There are obvious opportunities to deepen economic ties between Australia and Indonesia, especially in areas such as health and higher education. But Indonesia's energy transition protectionism has already complicated the question of economic engagement. The memorandum of understanding between Canberra and Jakarta to supply Australian-mined lithium to Indonesia - to hedge against China's…