Last week, I read and watched with interest the commentary on the latest diplomatic spat between Australia and China by former foreign ministers and current commentators. Gareth Evans ran some partisan nonsense about Australia and deputy sheriffs. Others said the Australian government shouldn’t have taken the lead in calling for an inquiry but should have left it to someone else.

Well, I’ve always been a bit heterodoxical. I thought Scott Morrison and Marise Payne did Australia proud by leading the world – including the Americans, by the way – in calling for the independent inquiry into the COVID-19 outbreak. It is obvious there should be an inquiry, and there will be. Even the Chinese themselves have conceded there will have to be one. But the important point is, the Australian government led the way. It was a most impressive performance.