We will be measured and calm on China: PM

The PM says he won’t make China relations “any more complex” as he is quizzed on Hastie’s comments.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says when it comes to China, Australia will be “measured, careful and put the national interest first”. Picture: Marc McCormack/AAP

Scott Morrison says his government will not make Australia’s relations with China “any more complex than they need to be” as members of a powerful parliamentary committee on security and intelligence defend their right to speak out on China.

Liberal MP Andrew Hastie, the head of Parliament’s intelligence committee last week warned Australia was facing an unprecedented economic and national security test, likening the world’s approach to containing China to the “catastrophic failure” to prevent the rise of Nazi Germany.

The Prime Minister today said his government would be “measured” and “calm” in dealing with China, after facing questions over Mr Hastie’s controversial comments.

“The government is fully aware of the complexity involved in our region and the challenges that we face in the future,” he said in Sydney.

“And we are careful as a government to ensure we do not make them any more complex than they need to be and that is what Australians can count on. We will be measured, careful and put Australian national interest first.”

Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said on the weekend that MPs should only speak about China if they have considered the “national interest”, earning the ire of other backbenchers on Mr Hastie’s committee.

Labor MP Anthony Byrne — the deputy chair of the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security (PJIS) — said today that Senator Birmingham would need to silence Australia’s security agency chiefs if that was his approach to talking about China.

“You’ve got ministers falling over themselves. Some to back the Chair in, some to distance themselves. What that does, because the government is the government, it creates confusion in the public’s mind,” he told ABC radio.

“If he’s going to use that perspective, the Trade Minister should perhaps censure the head of ASIO and other agencies when they talk about the strategic threat.

“I think having a standard set by a trade minister, an economic minister, defining what’s in the national interest is not the way to go.”

Other backbench MPs on the intelligence and security committee rallied to Mr Hastie’s defence to speak out today.

Liberal MP Tim Wilson sits on the security committee and said he and other MPs would continue to speak out on Australia’s approach towards China.

“Every Australian should expect Members of Parliament to offer full and frank assessments on important issues confronting our great nation,” Mr Wilson told The Australian.

“You’d be hard pressed to find an Australian that thinks we should not be considering the issues raised as part of a legitimate discussion about balancing our economic and national security future.”

Coalition senator Amanda Stoker said Mr Hastie’s comments were “important” and that Australia need to understand that China’s values were different to our own.

“We can’t assume that the values that are really important are the same ones that are motivating Chinese action,” she told Sky News.

“I can understand why Senator Birmingham’s got a real interest around the trade perspective … but Mr Hastie’s looking at it from a different perspective and they are both important.”

Liberal MP Julian Lesser also gave his support to Mr Hastie’s moves.

“I’m in broad agreement with Andrew Hastie on this issue,” he told The Australian.