Australian engagement with Asia is the key to the future. Understanding how the region has changed and our place in it goes beyond business to questions of identity. Kevin Rudd's vision of Australia as a lynchpin in the geo-politics of America and China will provide a new frame. Keynote essays by Michael Wesley, Nicholas Jose and Geramie Barame examine how the relationship has changed and how it might evolve in future. In the Neighbourhood features leading thinkers and writers with a deep knowledge of Australia and the region proposing a new way proposes a new way of engaging with Asia as it assumes increasing importance.