( CNN ) -- Every Australian child should learn Mandarin , Hindi or other regional language as the nation 's future is tied to the rise of the `` Asian Century , '' Prime Minister Julia Gillard said in a policy speech on Sunday . `` Whatever else this century brings , it will bring Asia 's return to global leadership , Asia 's rise . This is not only unstoppable , it is gathering pace , '' Gillard said in a long-awaited policy white paper entitled , `` Australia in The Asian Century . '' The policy outlines 25 objectives Australia must achieve by 2025 to take advantage of Asia 's rise to boost the wealth of Australians . Chief among the goals are that every child learn an Asian language , in particular Mandarin , Japanese , Indonesian or Hindi , and that they leave school having studied Asian culture . Opinion : The speech every woman should hear . ''Children in kindergarten now will graduate from high school with a sound working knowledge of Asia , '' Gillard said at the Lowy Institute in Sydney where she unveiled the white paper . The Prime Minister said `` a hundred years ago we spoke of the working man 's paradise . Today we speak of the high school , high-wage road . We have always wanted to do it our way . `` We long saw Asia as a threat to all this - racially , militarily , and economically . Indeed this was precisely the moral paradox of the working man 's paradise . A hundred years ago , high wages meant white man 's wages . No more , '' she said . While the Australian economy has ridden high on the back of the mining boom and commodity sales to Asia , Gillard said the next economic wave will be pushed by the burgeoning Asian middle classes . Broadening technology in agriculture and raising the global rankings of Australia 's schools and universities will help meet increased regional demand from newly wealthy Asian neighbors , Gillard said . `` More middle class people than there are anywhere else on earth will want access to clean food , high quality food , high quality wine the same way we do . This is a huge opportunity for regional Australia . And we want people out there ready , '' she told a media conference after her speech . The Gillard government will create a new ministry of Asian Century Policy to drive the reforms across education , infrastructure , tax and regulatory reform . Australia 's prime minister comes out swinging in sexism row . If the objectives are met , Gillard predicts about one-third of the Australian economy will be tied to Asia , up from 25 % in 2011 , and the average national income will increase to A $ 73,000 ( US $ 75,700 ) per person , up from the current A $ 62,000 . The white paper notes that Australia will seek to stay competitive by abandoning its historic fear of low Asian wages and by becoming a `` higher skill , higher wage economy with a fair , multicultural and cohesive society and a growing population . '' Kathe Kirby , the executive director of Asia Education Foundation at the University of Melbourne , says the paper sets out a deep vision for Australia 's future `` which starts with our young people at school . '' `` It encompasses reform in the education sector , schools , universities , vocational education . It 's a much broader and deeper plan than we 've seen to date . This is not a government report . It 's government policy , '' she told Sky News . Gillard also noted the broader geopolitical ambitions for Australia between military ally Washington and economic ally Beijing . In tacit acknowledgment of the criticism of her government 's deference to the United States in Asia , she said `` We have an ally in Washington -- respect in Beijing -- and more , an open door in Jakarta and Delhi , Tokyo and Seoul . '' `` We in this paper are focusing on the huge economic transformations happening in our region . We are not focusing on the mature economy of the United States , '' she later told a media conference . The United States is Australia 's third biggest trading partner and a recent survey by the Lowy Institute shows a majority of those polled believe the U.S. to be Australia 's most important security partner . Opposition party members are broadly supportive of the government 's ambitions for deeper economic and social engagement with Asia , but skeptical it can be delivered . `` It is full of laudable goals but not very many specific initiatives and certainly no commitment of money to any of them , '' said opposition leader Tony Abbott . `` To some extent this government is scrambling to overcome some serious failures in its relationship with Asia , '' he said , `` most notably the early ban on uranium sales to India , only just reversed , and the catastrophic ban on live cattle sales to Indonesia , which still has ramifications . '' Polls show the Prime Minister 's goals for greater Asian engagement are broadly accepted by Australians . But there are caveats . According to a Lowy Institute poll , a majority felt Australia did not fall into recession in the global financial crisis because of Asian demand for Australian resources . However some 56 % thought there was too much investment from China and 63 % were strongly opposed to allowing foreign companies to buy Australian farmland to grow crops or farm livestock .
Australia launches a new policy aimed at tying its economic future to a rising Asia . Would require every student to study an Asian language and culture by 2025 . Comment: Seeks to increase agricultural and university investment to cater to newly rich Asian neighbors .