Labor’s China speech request denied by government during fiery Question Time
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has accused a member of the Opposition of being a “Manchurian candidate” for the Chinese Communist Party.
NSW
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Labor’s relationship with China was the subject of a fiery Question Time debate which saw Scott Morrison accuse a member of the Opposition’s front bench of being a “Manchurian candidate”.
Amidst a shouty exchange over China, the prime minister pointed at the Opposition front bench, saying “we’ve got another Manchurian candidate”, adding that China “has picked their horse and he’s sitting right there.”
The phrase “Manchurian candidate” refers to a 1962 movie about a brainwashed Korean War POW who returns to America and becomes a sleeper agent for the KGB.
Labor also proposed suspending standing orders to allow both leaders to offer 10 minute speeches on China and national security, but the motion was rejected.
A key Liberal senator has claimed former shadow defence Minister Richard Marles deleted a 2019 speech he delivered in China from his website and promised the Chinese Communist Party closer ties with the ALP should they win government.
In September 2019, Mr Marles visited China as part of a “study tour” during which it was reported that he urged closer defence ties between Canberra and Beijing.
Speaking at Beijing Foreign Studies University, Mr Marles told an audience that Australia and China should “(explore) political co-operation and even defence co-operation”.
“I deeply believe that we must build our relationship with China to the greatest possible extent and beyond our economic interaction,” Mr Marles said.
Leading Senator James Paterson, chair of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Intelligence and Security, called it a “fawning” speech.
Senator Paterson also pointed to a statement issued around the time of the speech by the CCP’s International Department Central Committee which claimed that “the Labor Party is willing to deepen exchanges … so as to promote the development of Australia-China relations.”
“It’s very easy for Labor to pretend on the eve of an election that there is a bipartisan position on China, but you’d have to have the memory of a goldfish to think that’s always been the case,” Mr Paterson said.
“The question for Labor is are they still proposing closer military relations with the Peoples’ Liberation Army and if not, when did they dump this crazy policy?”
However a spokesman for Mr Marles said that questions about the speech were a “distraction” designed to take attention way from the government’s troubles.
“This is a desperate and pathetic attempt to distract from the train wreck that is the Morrison Government,” they said.
“Instead of trying to fix the horrible mess they’ve created in aged care or help the small businesses they’ve abandoned during the pandemic Mr Morrison’s backbenchers are making up lies.”
ALBO GETS CHINA ELECTION NOD OVER ‘CLOWN’ ScoMo
The federal election has not even been called but Chinese propaganda mouthpiece The Global Times knows who it is endorsing: Labor leader Anthony Albanese.
In a bizarrely backhanded op-ed penned by retired diplomat Bruce Haigh, Mr Albanese is said to “positively (shine)” in comparison to Prime Minister Scott Morrison — while at the same time being described by the Communist Party organ as something of a dullard.
“Albanese could never be compared to Whitlam. He is not a lateral thinker, he is not creative, he will not be a charismatic leader. He will be a safe leader, if not an ordinary leader,” Mr Haigh wrote.
“If he were an officer in the army, he might lead a brigade but he would not be placed in a position to plan; stubborn defense might be seen as his forte.”
The article, published on Tuesday, also praised Mr Albanese for having “pushed back” against suggestions by ASIO chief Mike Burgess that Labor was the target of an infiltration campaign by the Chinese Communist Party.
While free elections are a non-starter in China — which is an authoritarian one-party state — the article’s author predicted: “Albanese looks increasingly likely to win the election, not because of anything he has done but because Morrison’s LNP is imploding, through corruption, failure to manage Covid-19 and a range of other anti-social programs and prejudices.”
Yet despite calling Mr Morrison a “clown”, the article suggested that there might be something to the government’s claim that Mr Albanese is being a small target to avoid criticism and scrutiny in the run-up to the election.
“Albanese very cautious in the run-up to the election,” Mr Haigh wrote.
“He will be under sustained pressure from the US to implement the dangerous AUKUS understanding, which the US hopes will translate into an agreement.”
While newspapers in the West routinely publish a range of opinions, The Global Times is renowned for being a strident Chinese Communist Party outlet that never goes against the wishes of Beijing.
In April, 2020, the paper’s editor Hu Xijin publicly called Australia the “gum stuck to the bottom of China’s shoe” after the Morrison government called for a transparent international inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus.
Senator James Paterson, chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, said: “The Global Times is a tool of propaganda of the Chinese Communist Party, they don’t typically publish opinion they disagree with.”
“It’s increasingly clear those who seek to coerce Australia don’t want to see the Morrison government re-elected this year.”
More Coverage
Originally published as Labor’s China speech request denied by government during fiery Question Time
Read related topics:Scott Morrison
Join the conversation
10 shots fired in Western Sydney street
A person has narrowly avoided being shot after a barrage of bullets were fired on a busy road at Auburn.
Read more
‘Hard to fathom’: Public speak up in hunt for Bowraville child killer
Homicide detectives are busy taking statements as they probe the suspected murder of three children from Bowraville in the 1990s, with a focus on finding the remains of 16-year-old Colleen Walker-Craig. Here’s the latest.
Read more