Australia's Asian century report calls for greater engagement with Asia

The wealth of individual Australians and the country as a whole would get a huge boost over the next decade through increased engagement with a rapidly rising Asia, a new white paper released earlier this week says.

The white paper on Australia in the Asian Century, commissioned by the prime minster, Julia Gillard, draws up 25 objectives for achievement by 2025, which would include every child learning an Asian language and studying Asian culture. The paper aims to leverage the opportunities that a region where the pace and scale of change ''have been staggering'' afforded.

''Our goal is to ensure that Australians have higher incomes in a more diverse economy that is resilient in the face of ongoing change,'' the 312-page report says.

It warned though that ''all of us will have to work smarter to maximise prosperity and manage challenges''.

According to the paper by 2025, the country's average national income would be $73,000 per person, as against $62,000 now and around the same time, Australia's school system should rate in the world's top five, and 10 Australian universities should have pride of place in the top 100.

The paper was put together by a team led by the former treasury secretary, Dr Ken Henry and sought to look beyond Australia's current reliance on Asia for mineral exports. The paper however, said the mining boom had a way to go and would be part of the bigger picture.