Huawei hit the road to win over Australians

Huawei will hit the road, hosting a series of public forums asking Australians to give the company a ‘fair go’.

Huawei will embark on a nationwide tour to win over Australians as it pushes for its 5G ban to be overturned. Picture: AAP

Huawei is going on a nationwide tour to win over Australians as the Chinese government pushes Scott Morrison to change tack on allowing the Chinese tech giant into the nation’s 5G network.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott has labelled Britain’s decision to approve Huawei a “serious error” and both Liberal and Labor MPs have warned China they will fight the tech giant’s moves to get into the 5G network.

Huawei will now take to the road with public forums in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra to “let ordinary Australians make up their own minds.”

The company will also release “Let’s Talk Huawei” podcasts and use their sponsorship of the Canberra Raiders to publicise the road tour. 

Huawei Australia director of public affairs Jeremy Mitchell said on Tuesday that his company wants “a fair go.”

“When most companies stage these kinds of events they are normally asking for something but we are most certainly not asking for anything from the Australian public other than a fair go – that’s all we have ever wanted,” he said. 

Huawei Australia Chairman John Lord and CEO Hudson Lui with Canberra Raiders players outside Parliament House. Picture: Gary Ramage

“Huawei Australia has a spotless record in Australia, we have employed thousands of people both directly and indirectly and pumped several billion dollars into the Australian economy – yet we are being portrayed as untrustworthy and that’s simply not fair.

“Through no fault of our own our company has been caught right in the middle of the US-China trade war and we have seen our name dragged through the mud here.

“We want to have a conversation about who we are, what we do and answer any questions people may have about our company. We are proud of our 30 year history and are happy to talk openly about the important issues like cyber security but we want that discussion to be based on facts.”

The United States and Australia both see Huawei as a security risk due to its links to China’s communist regime.

China’s Ambassador to Australia Cheng Jingye labelled the Australian Huawei ban “discrimination” and said it had become a sour point in China-Australia relations.