Andrews dismisses links to China’s United Front Work Department

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has played down concerns over his government’s links to the Chinese Communist Party’s United Front Work Department

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews at Mentone in Melbourne on Tuesday. Picture: Stuart McEvoy

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has dismissed concerns over his government’s links to the Chinese Communist Party’s United Front Work Department following the publication of a paper calling for intelligence agencies to better track and counter the group’s political interference and espionage activities.

As The Australian revealed on Tuesday, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute report exposes the CCP’s use of the group to influence foreign governments, steal technology and co-opt business interests.

Both Mr Andrews’ senior adviser on China, Marty Mei, and his electorate officer Nancy Yang, are members of the Chinese Community Council of Australia (Victoria), described by Chinese foreign interference experts as “the foremost United Front organisation in Victoria”.

Asked on Tuesday whether he was concerned about United Front’s influence on multiple levels of Australian government, Mr Andrews said: “No. No more than I have been.”

“I think people are interested in writing stories, people are interested in writing comment pieces. I'll leave that to you guys,” Mr Andrews said.

“My job is to get on and make sure that more Victorian-made product gets exported, not just in China but indeed right across the world.”

Mr Andrews’ comments come as he faces criticism over his decision to sign up to China’s Belt and Road Initiative despite opposition from the federal government and the Department of Foreign ­Affairs and Trade.

On Tuesday, he said Victoria’s deal with China was “not a partnership that is anything other than mutually beneficial”.

“We are absolutely committed to making sure that we have as many agreements as we can possibly have to get more Victorian made product into China,” he said.

“It's only the world's biggest market, so, you know, I’m not someone who is going to stand before the Victorian community and say, ‘You know what? I reckon we should have less customers. I reckon businesses should be less profitable. I think we should employ less people’.

“That is not my message. That's not my practice. That's not my record.

“These relationships are 40 years old, and I dare say (former Liberal premier) Rupert Hamer probably got a bit of stick when he signed on to Jiangsu Province 40 years ago. I thought we’d moved beyond some of those debates. Apparently we haven't.

“That's fine. We will stay the course on this and we will stick to our aim, which is to get more Victorian-made product than ever before, and then more again, into the biggest market in the world.”

In its 2020 world report, Human Rights Watch found on China’s treatment of Uighur Muslims: “No other government is simultaneously detaining a million members of an ethnic minority for forced indoctrination and attacking anyone who dares to challenge its repression, and while other governments commit serious human rights violations, no other government flexes its political muscles with such vigour and determination to undermine the international human rights standards and institutions that could hold it to account.”

Asked about China’s human rights record, Mr Andrews said: “I've already answered these issues.

“There are forums to advance those very legitimate concerns, and as I've said to you many times, we don't agree on everything. You’ve seen my comments in recent times in relation to Hong Kong.

“But, you know, I can lead a human rights mission and I don't know that we'll be getting too much trade out of that. They are separate, in my judgment.

“Not everybody will agree with that. I'm not criticising them for having a different point of view.

“But ultimately, we're about jobs here and getting things done here. There are lots of other forums to advance those legitimate issues, and I wish all of those who do that work well, and they can count on our very important support for that.”