Entire nation in China’s sights but farmers bearing the brunt

As China’s appalling behaviour towards Australia intensifies, our farmers are increasingly worried. Not just by what has already happened — but about who will feel its wrath next, writes Ed Gannon.

ABOUT the only food you can associate with China at the moment is pears.

Because there is no doubt our relationship with our major trading partner has gone pear-shaped.

And farmers are getting very concerned not just by what has happened, but about who is next.

The actions of the Chinese in the past week has been nothing short of shocking.

In the words of Prime Minister Scott Morrison, it “diminishes them in the world’s eyes”.

Mr Morrison’s comments were in relation to a doctored picture of an Australian soldier holding a knife to an Afghan girl’s throat.

But his assessment is just as pertinent to China’s seeming determination to severely disrupt, if not destroy, its trading relationship with Australian farmers.

Australia’s relationship with China has, put simply, gone pear shaped. Picture: Zoe Phillips

Wine is the latest to be hit by crushing tariffs that would push the price of Australian wine in China to an unaffordable level. That follows similar tariffs on Australian barley, rejecting Australian rock lobster - fancy allowing rock lobsters to die in the heat of an airport tarmac - and a ban on Australian timber on trumped-up accusation it contained bark beetle.

Frankly, China’s behaviour is appalling and it ought to be ashamed of itself.

Forget this masquerade of Australian farmers dumping wine or barley in China for below the cost of production, as China accuses.

This is simply a power play to rub Australia’s nose in it for calling for an independent inquiry into the origins of COVID, banning Huawei from our 5G rollout and demanding China stop breaking international law in the South China Sea.

This is an even bigger tantrum than the one being thrown by US President Donald Trump.

And just as silly.

China has accused Australian farmers of being propped up by subsidies that allow us to flood the world market with cheap produce.

That’s ridiculous. True, Australian farmers receive help when natural disasters hit. But they get that support because they are unable to produce a crop. Witness the trickle of grain coming out of places like the Wimmera or Mallee in a drought - there is not enough to flood a market, let alone form a puddle.

And they do receive special tax treatment on income put away in good years so they can take it out in bad years - and cut down on the need for taxpayer help in those years.

All Australian farmers are now nervously waiting for the cold hand of brute communist force.

Dairy, wool and citrus have huge Chinese markets. Who knows who will be next.

To anticipate the next move of another requires some semblance of predictability.

That is not something coming out of China at the moment.

• Ed Gannon is Editor of The Weekly Times

@EdgannonWtn

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