Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Education) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the MPI on the government being accused of failing to act in the interests of Australians. It is a serious topic. To accuse a government of having their own self-interest rather than the national interest is a major accusation. We know that they have had major problems when it comes to acting on climate change, which the rest of the world know is in our interest. We are the driest continent. We know that we've got to look after farmers, a big source of our trade, so we do have to get that right. But what do we see? We have seen some activities from the government in the last few days that are particularly disturbing in terms of acting in the best interests of the Australian people. We know that we live in a time of great uncertainty. Not since the end of the Second World War, I would suggest, when Labor led the nation through a very difficult time, has there been such a convergence of circumstances. Our foreign affairs spokesperson, Senator Penny Wong, gave an address at the ANU the other day. In a brilliant speech, she talked about rising nationalism; fraying multilateralism; great power competition, where smaller nations can be crushed; emerging COVID strains; an ever-warming planet; and coping with a more assertive China. That's what I want to touch on today.

We know China is significant. So much of our minerals and our farm produce is exported to China. In light of these changes with a more assertive China—our most significant trading partner—we need to get the balance right. Australia, right in the middle of the Indo-Pacific, has significant connections with the rest of the world. We are in a growth part of the world and have lots of opportunities to use multicultural Australia as our link to trade opportunities, but we need to get the balance right.

We know from reading the newspapers that some of those opposite want to beat the war drums in the lead up to an election. That is a very, very dangerous thing to do at any time, but in a world where we have some serious challenges it's particularly dangerous. We saw during the pandemic that something as simple as getting PPE organised can be complicated. Who knew that most of that came from a city in China called Wuhan? We know we've got to get the balance right when it comes to dealing with our trading partner. We know how important it is and that what goes on in this parliament is seen around the world. I was elected 14 years ago yesterday, and my first day was the apology, delivered by Kevin Rudd right there. That resonated around the world and let us have connections with countries in the Caribbean in ways that had not existed before, when they just saw us as a colony of the United Kingdom. Instead, we were able to reach out to countries in a way that we hadn't done previously. That all changed when Tony Abbott came in and had all of those opposite vote for knights and dames and all those other things that said: ignore Asia and the fastest-growing part of the world.

Sadly, the other day we also saw the defence minister make a statement that was quite challenging. Normally, when it comes to talking about China and Taiwan, we talk about maintaining the status quo. That has been the Labor position ever since Gough Whitlam went off to Beijing, an event of which the 50th anniversary was in July this year. And that has been a bipartisan position. Both sides of the House have had that same position. But the defence minister came out and made some incredible statements, asserting that it would be 'inconceivable'—that's the word he used—that Australia would not join a war over Taiwan. That's completely out of step with our allies, the United States, and how they approach diplomacy. You've got to ask why he would say that. Why wouldn't he be sticking to preserving the status quo, as advocated by the Taiwanese leader, Tsai Ing-wen? That's what the Taiwanese leader advocates. So he's amping up the prospect of war against a superpower to do what? To win some jostling match for positions on the front bench? That is bizarre, crazy and dangerous. It's a tactic employed by irresponsible politicians who are desperate to hang on to power at any cost. That is not putting the nation's best interest first. That's putting your own self-interest first, and that is dangerous.

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