Coronavirus: Marise Payne calls for international COVID-19 review

Foreign Minister says her concerns over China’s transparency are at a ‘high point’ amid calls for a probe into the pandemic’s origin.

Foreign Minister Marise Payne says her concerns over China’s coronavirus transparency are at a high point.

Foreign Minister Marise Payne says her concerns over China’s coronavirus transparency are at a high point, as Australia pushes for a independent global review into the origins of the coronavirus and how it was allowed to spread.

Senator Payne said she trusted China on the long-term strategic work Australia and the Asian superpower have been doing together, but noted her continued issues with transparency around the virus.

Asked repeatedly whether she trusted China, Ms Payne told the ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday: “I trust China in terms of the work that we need to do together.”

“The issues around the coronavirus are issues for independent review, and I think that it is important that we do that. In fact, Australia will absolutely insist on that.

“My trust in China is predicated in the long-term there. My concern is at a high point. My concern is around transparency and ensuring that we are able to engage openly.

“This is very much an unfolding situation,” she said.

.@David_Speers: Do you trust China?@MarisePayne: I trust China in terms of the work that we need to do together. The issues around the coronavirus are issues for independent review.#Auspol #Insiders pic.twitter.com/6qzyiqoUr5

— Insiders ABC (@InsidersABC) April 18, 2020

While the UK’s acting prime minister, Dominic Raab, said there could not be “business as usual” with China after the pandemic, Scott Morrison said on Friday that Australia already had an “eyes-wide-open relationship” with its largest trading partner.

He said foreign interference laws and banning China from participating in building the 5G network showed Australia had been vigilant.

Former Labor foreign minister Bob Carr said a strong trading relationship with China was essential to ensure Australia’s economy began recovering.

“There is precisely no scenario in which the Australian economy pulls out of a recession and our budget gets back to surplus without China,” he said.

.@MarisePayne says we will need to see transparency from China going forward.

"Transparency from all of the key countries across the world who will be part of any review that takes place."#Auspol #Insiders pic.twitter.com/WlzbJeKflr

— Insiders ABC (@InsidersABC) April 18, 2020

China has denied covering up the true extent of its coronavirus outbreak after it revised its death toll sharply upwards to 3,869 on Friday — an increase of 50 per cent. The number of infections was also raised by 325 to 50,333.

Overnight, US President Donald Trump said China may have knowingly misinformed the international community over the coronavirus, or might simply have made a mistake.

“The question was asked, ‘would you be angry at China?’ The answer might very well be a very resounding yes, but it depends — was it a mistake that got out of control or was it done deliberately?,” Mr Trump said on Saturday.

“That’s a big difference between those two,” Mr Trump said, adding that he believed China was “embarrassed” over the virus.

Mr Trump has ordered a halt in payments to the World Health Organisation, after partially blaming the organisation for the scale of coronavirus-related deaths and for what he says is an over-reliance on information from China.

With agencies