PM rejects Twiggy’s ‘fantasyland’ claim virus may be from outside China

Scott Morrison says claims by Andrew Forrest that the coronavirus may have originated outside China are ‘nonsense’.

Andrew Forrest has claimed Health Minister Greg Hunt ‘knew that I wanted a representative of China to be at the event’ on Wednesday to announce the billionaire had helped secure 10 million coronavirus tests from a Chinese business contact. Picture: Colin Murty

Scott Morrison says claims by Andrew Forrest that the coronavirus may have originated outside China are “nonsense”, and admonished­ the mining magnate for helping a Chinese government official gatecrash a ministerial press conference.

Mr Forrest told The West Australian newspaper earlier this month that he wasn’t sure if the pandemic started in China, arguing that it might have originated in Australia or Britain.

But the Prime Minister, who has been infuriated by Mr Forrest­’s conduct in recent days, said that was “obviously not true”.

“I don’t think anybody is in any fantasyland about where it started; it started in China,” Mr Morrison told Sydney radio station­ 2GB. “And what the world over needs to know — and there’s a lot of support for this — is how did it start and what are the lessons­ that can be learned? That needs to be done independently.”

Mr Morrison said it was clear the virus started in Wuhan, but declined to endorse new claims by US President Donald Trump that it was likely to have originated in a laboratory in the city. “What we have before us doesn’t suggest that that is the likely source,” the Prime Minister said.

His comments came as Mr Forrest claimed Health Minister Greg Hunt “knew that I wanted a representative of China to be at the event” on Wednesday to announce the billionaire had helped secure 10 million coronavirus tests from a Chinese business contact.

“When given the choice on the day, the minister agreed the consul­-general could speak. Minister Hunt is a decisive leader, and this was not a pressured environment,” Mr Forrest said in a statement. But The Weekend Aust­ralian has been told by senior sources that Mr Hunt was not aware Mr Forrest intended to bring a Chinese official to their joint press conference.

The minister was given no choice in the matter, they say, and was introduced to China’s Victorian­ consul-general, Long Zhou — a former Chinese cyber operative — just moments before he entered the room.

Mr Morrison said: “The consul was not invited by the commonwealth to that press conference. Let's be clear about that.”

Trade Minister Simon Birmingham also rebuked Mr Forrest, saying it was inappropriate to bring along an uninvited guest to speak at an official government event. “I like to know who I’m standing in front of a camera with before I get in front of the camera,” Senator Birmingham said.

Mr Forrest, whose access to senior ministers is set to be curtailed, said he feared Australia would be “split down the middle” by differences over China, and warned against “racism or isolation­ism”. “Let’s keep our hearts and minds open to all countries, including America and China,” he said.

Former prime minister Malcolm­ Turnbull backed his successor in his battle with the nation’s billionaire China boosters. “The point I made in my book … (is) if there is ever a dispute between­ Australia and the Chin­ese government, you can never expect any support and solidarity from the Australian business community,” Mr Turnbull told Seven’s Sunrise program.