Albanese dismisses calls from AWU boss Daniel Walton to stand up to China

Anthony Albanese has come under internal pressure after dismissing calls from a powerful union boss who urged the government to “hold its nerve” on China.

Labor leader Anthony Albanese has histor­ically been at odds with sections of the trade union movement. Picture: AAP

Anthony Albanese has come under internal pressure after dismissing calls from one of the nation­’s most powerful union bosses urging the government to “hold its nerve” in the face of Chin­ese trade threats.

With senior Labor MPs, including Bill Shorten and Penny Wong, strongly backing the five-page letter­ sent by Australian Workers Union national secretary Daniel Walton to Scott Morrison, the Opposition­ Leader said it “could have been written by any AWU secretary since 1891”. “I haven’t read all the comments, to be frank,” Mr Albanese said.

“There is nothing new about AWU secretaries standing up for jobs in Australia.”

Mr Albanese, facing a by-election battle to retain the marginal seat of Eden-Monaro, has histor­ically been at odds with sections of the trade union movement, many of which back Mr Walton’s position on China.

Mr Shorten, a long-time leadership rival of Mr Albanese and former AWU chief, declared “all countries should play by the rules”.

“Boss of my old union @danwaltonAWU is right to stand up for Aussie jobs and sovereignty. All countries should play by the rules. No exceptions just because they’re big,” Mr Shorten tweeted.

Senator Wong, the opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman and Left-faction powerbroker, said Mr Walton’s comments were “absolutely right”.

“We should be looking to our national interests. We should be making sure we continue to assert our national interests when it comes to Australian jobs and, of course, Australian sovereignty,” Senator Wong told ABC radio.

AWU national secretary Daniel Walton’s May 13 letter

In his letter, sent on Wednesday following China’s suspension of meat exporters and threats to slap tariffs on barley producers, Mr Walton said: “Australia should resist­ any attempts to be bullied.”

He argued it was time to stand up against Chinese aggression and “billionaires who have cosy relations­hips” with Beijing and suggested Australia join with international partners as part of a multilateral ­effort to resist “China’s preferred approach of ­bilateral bullying”.

Mr Morrison thanked the AWU for supporting the government’s engagement with global partners “on our terms, in our interests, with our values”.

The letter was sent after Mr Alban­ese and Senator Wong accused the government of allowing its backbenchers too much free rein to speak out against China, as the Prime Minister pursues an inter­national inquiry — supported by Labor — into the origins of the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan.

china - Labor responses on Thursday

The mixed messages from Labor frontbenchers come ahead of the crucial Eden-Monaro by-election triggered by the departure of well-liked Labor MP Mike Kelly, with Mr Albanese under pressure to hold the seat in the first key test of his leadership.

Maritime Union of Australia national secretary Paddy Crumlin strongly backed Mr Walton’s stance: “The Chinese aren’t doing themselves any favours by threatening Australian workers,'’ he said.

“We are exporting our sovereign wealth in the form of iron ore. The citizens of Australia own that wealth and we export it to China … the Chinese should respect that.’’

Mr Crumlin also said China was “squeezing our economic throat over political reasons” and the free-trade system was “now gone”, as he pushed for the development of a more reliable and secur­e­ domestic supply chain.

“The whole free-trade agenda is gone. It was predicated on laissez faire capitalism that will not come back in the form we know. Bilateral trade agreements between economic powerhouses like Australia and China need to be based on straight talking and respect.”

CFMEU construction and general national secretary Dave Noonan said Beijing’s trade measures against Australia showed that the free-trade deal with China wasn’t advancing the national interest or helping working people.

“It’s clear that China’s into a bit of trade retaliation and the free-trade agreement means nothing,” Mr Noonan told the ABC.

The Senate economics references committee will hold a public hearing on Friday, with Alinta ­Energy chief executive Jeff Dimery and Australian Information and Privacy Commissioner Angelene Falk listed to attend.