PM Scott Morrison grilled on ‘failure’ to stop China security deal

Scott Morrison has been grilled about what Australia did to try to stop a concerning deal between China and one of our neighbours.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been grilled on the Solomon Islands’ decision to sign a security pact with China, which has been slammed by Labor as “the worst failure of Australian foreign policy in the Pacific” in decades.

Last week Australia sent Zed Seselja, Minister for International Development and the Pacific, to the Solomons in a fruitless attempt to convince the government to ditch the deal.

At a press conference in Adelaide on Wednesday morning, Mr Morrison was asked why he hadn’t sent Foreign Minister Marise Payne instead.

“On the very day that Zed Seselja was travelling to the Solomon Islands, Marise Payne was hosting a private fundraiser at PwC Barangaroo. Is that really the best use of the Foreign Minister at that time?” asked Sky News political editor Andrew Clennell.

This visit by Zed Seselja to the Solomon Islands to meet Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare wasn’t enough to stop the nation signing a security deal with China.

“It was very important that we communicate very clearly to the Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands what the Australian government’s position was,” Mr Morrison said.

“And to do that at that [Minister for the Pacific] level made it very clear that Australia was not looking to go and stamp around, that we were going to do it constructively and respectively.”

“So Marise Payne stamps around, but Zed Seselja doesn’t? I mean how does that even work?” Clennell pressed.

“One is in cabinet, one is not. You calibrate your diplomacy to deal with sensitive issues,” Mr Morrison said.

“Why was this not important enough for a cabinet minister to go?” another reporter asked.

Australian PM Scott Morrison defended the decision not to ‘stamp around’ by sending a cabinet minister to the Solomons. Picture: Mick Tsikas/AAP

“In the Pacific, one of the things you’ve got to be cognisant of is that there’s a long history of, frankly, countries like Australia, and even New Zealand and others, coming around and treating Pacific Islands like they should be doing what the big countries tell them to do,” he said.

“One of the things you don’t do in the Pacific is you don’t throw your weight around.

“There is a lot of pressure on other countries in the Pacific, and what they need to understand is that I’m going to work with them. I’m not going to act like former administrations that treated the Pacific like an extension of Australia.”

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has said his country is entering into the pact with China with its “eyes wide open”.

China says the deal will involve aiding the Solomon Islands government with national security, aid for natural disasters and social order.

The pact is a blow for the Australian government’s “Pacific Step-up” strategy, aimed at making the Pacific region more stable and secure.

“We now have this security agreement that could pave the way for a Chinese defence base in the Solomon Islands. What’s the evidence that the Step-up has worked in any way? Where is the soft power? Hasn’t it been nothing but a failure?” another reporter asked Mr Morrison.

Manasseh Sogavare has said they would not allow a Chinese military base to be built in the Solomons. Picture: Sheng Jiapeng/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images

“The Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands has made it clear they are not accepting of any base in the Solomons. They are not,” he said.

“We keep reinforcing to all of our Pacific family that Australia will always be there for you and your interests. And that is what we believe will ultimately prevail.”

Speaking earlier on Wednesday, Labor’s foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong called the China-Solomon Islands pact “the worst failure of Australian foreign policy in the Pacific since the end of World War II”.

“We have China now with a security agreement with a nation of the Pacific, a nation that’s just over 1600km from Cairns,” Ms Wong said.

“What this means is, on Scott Morrison’s watch, our region has become less secure, and the risks Australia faces have become much greater.”

Labor’s Penny Wong slammed the China-Solomon Islands deal as a failure of the Australian government. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Dean Martin

At his first event of the day, Mr Morrison attended a low-key coffee Roundtable with six participants in the Youth Opportunities program, which was recently granted about $500,000.

He chatted to the program’s participants about their backgrounds and aspirations.

At one point, the Prime Minister marvelled at how much “tougher” life is for young people now, compared to previous generations.

“It’s a lot tougher these days for young people. There are so many questions you have to deal with that my generation didn’t,” Mr Morrison said.

“There was no social media, no internet, none of that.

“I think a lot of the social pressures, the educational pressures, and a lot of the economic pressures are a lot tougher.

“You’ve got to be a lot more resilient today. Resilience is a core skill young people need, because you’re dealing with a lot.”

The event was also an example of how, as these election campaigns wear on, the leaders’ best anecdotes get repeated over and over again.

Last week, during a visit to an RSL Memorial Club in Tasmania, Mr Morrison told the story of a local boy who saved his Covid support payments and used them to set up a mowing business, hailing him as a “great Australian hero”.

If you saw that speech, one of the Prime Minister’s conversation topics this morning would have given you deja vu, because it was exactly the same.

We’ve also heard about a first homebuyer called Nicole multiple times in recent days. Maybe one of the PM’s other favourite anecdotes will make an appearance during tonight’s debate.