Anthony Albanese: ‘Morrison government had no grounds to attack Victoria’s deal’ with China
Opposition leader Anthony Albanese has spoken out about Victoria’s Belt and Road deal with China, promising any future Labor federal government he leads will shun the initiative.
Coronavirus
Don't miss out on the headlines from Coronavirus. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Aussie ‘cult’ leader’s bizarre instructions revealed
- Tough new COVID-19 rules for Aussies travelling to Bali
Anthony Albanese has signalled against China sympathisers in his own ranks, promising any future Labor federal government he leads will shun the Belt and Road initiative.
But the Opposition leader refused to criticise Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews for signing up to the controversial scheme.
Mr Albanese said the Morrison government had no grounds to attack Victoria’s deal, given it has consistently sung the praises of the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement signed in 2015.
He suggested Mr Andrews ignored federal security advice because of the Coalition’s past in setting up CHAFTA and selling the Port of Darwin.
“A government I led would not be signing up to the Belt and Road Initiative,” he told Triple M Tasmania.
“This is a government that trumpeted, trumpeted, a free trade with China … which goes beyond.
“Maybe he (Daniel Andrews) thought that these blokes sold off the Port of Darwin and now the person who was trade minister at that period (Andrew Robb) is an adviser to the company that oversees it.”
Mr Albanese’s tough stance on China is at odds with Labor’s agriculture spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon, who has defended comments he made accusing the federal government of “demonising China”.
MORE NEWS
Aussies could holiday in New Zealand before Queensland
Mental health gets $20m boost as China makes shock virus admission
Childcare workers exempt from ‘no jab no play’
Mr Fitzgibbon said the government has unnecessarily damaged Australian-Chinese relations.
“All I’ve been doing is standing up for the national interest and Australian jobs,” Mr Fitzgibbon told Sky News.
“It was just unnecessary for our Prime Minister to run out ahead of everyone else and use such intemperate language.
“If you’re going to have an inquiry anyway, and we were always going to do just that, why use such intemperate language against your largest trading partner?”
Agriculture Minister David Littleproud has called on Mr Albanese to sack Mr Fitzgibbon from the Labor frontbench for criticising the government’s push for an independent COVID-19 inquiry.
Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie said Mr Fitzgibbon needed to clearly state whether he is on “team Australia”.
“Joel needs to decide whose team he’s actually on,” she said.
“I categorically reject any suggestion that we were not within our right, and indeed, the global coalition we’ve been able to build on the back of our cause for an inquiry into a pandemic that has cost hundreds of thousands of peoples’ lives.
“Joel needs to get on board team Australia or is he backing other Labor entities such as Daniel Andrews by putting the Chinese interest above Australia’s.”
‘ON THE BRINK OF A NEW COLD WAR’: US-CHINA RELATIONS PLUNGE
China’s relations with the United States are “on the brink of a new Cold War”, fuelled partly by tensions over the coronavirus pandemic that has killed nearly 350,000 people worldwide and pitched the global economy into a massive downturn.
Fresh tensions between Beijing and Washington emerged as Muslims around the world celebrated an end to the holy month of Ramadan muted by virus lockdowns and more European nations prepared to further ease their own restrictions.
Globally more than 5.3 million people have been infected by the virus, which most scientists believe jumped from animals to humans – possibly at a market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the pandemic emerged in December.
The origins of the virus and China’s response have become highly politicised, with US President Donald Trump accusing Beijing of a lack of transparency, and pushing the theory that the virus leaked from a Chinese maximum-security laboratory.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Sunday that Washington had been infected by a “political virus” to continually attack China, but added the country would be open to an international effort to find the coronavirus source.
“It has come to our attention that some political forces in the US are taking China-US relations hostage and pushing our two countries to the brink of a new Cold War,” Wang told a press conference at China’s week-long annual parliament session.
Wang blasted what he called efforts by US politicians to “fabricate rumours” about the virus origin and “stigmatise China”.
“China is open to working with the international scientific community to look into the source of the virus,” he said. “At the same time, we believe that this should be professional, fair and constructive.”
PM ‘DIDN’T SUPPORT’ VICTORIA-CHINA DEAL AFTER US ISSUES WARNING
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said his government never supported Victoria’s Belt and Road deal with China, saying states should follow the federal government’s lead on foreign policy.
“We didn’t support that decision at the time they made it,” Mr Morrison said on Sunday.
“National interest issues on foreign affairs are determined by the federal government.
“I respect their jurisdiction when it comes to the issues they are responsible for and it’s always been the usual practice for states to respect and recognise the role of the federal government in setting foreign policy.
“I think that’s always been a good practice.”
Mr Morrison’s comments come after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo threatened the United States would “simply disconnect” from Australia if Victoria’s Belt and Road agreement with China affects US telecommunications.
Mr Pompeo told Sky News Australia the Belt and Road agreement increased the Chinese communist regime’s ability to do “harm”.
The US Secretary of State said he did not know of Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews’ deal but warned it could impact America’s Five Eyes partnership with Australia.
“We will not take any risks to our telecommunications infrastructure, any risk to the national security elements of what we need to do with our Five Eyes partners,” he said.
“I don’t know the nature of those projects precisely. To the extent they have an adverse impact on our ability to protect telecommunications from our private citizens, or security networks for our defence and intelligence communities – we simply disconnect, we will simply separate.
“We are going to preserve trust in networks … we hope our friends and allies, especially our Five Eyes partners like Australia, do the same.”
Premier Daniel Andrews refused to respond to Mr Pompeo’s comments, saying he had not seen them.
“With the greatest of respect, I’m not in the habit of commenting on what people tell me other people have said,” he said.
“I would want to see Secretary Pompeo’s comments out of respect for him and his office before I make any comment on that.
But, more broadly, Mr Andrews again defended the controversial deal and said it was “all about Victorian jobs”.
“On the broader issue, my position on these matters is very well known, very well understood: it is all about Victorian jobs,” he said.
“We will continue to work at a strong partnership. It doesn’t mean we agree on everything, there are many things we don’t agree on.
“But what I think all of us here and indeed both parts of our relationship – Victoria, Australia and China – surely we all have to concede and we all have to recognise that a strong partnership is in everybody’s interests.”