Claire Chandler (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

Today we have heard confirmation from the government that the Prime Minister of this country has failed in his duty to raise in a meeting with the Chinese president a serious incident in which Australian personnel were injured. Senator Farrell was directly asked that question—'Did the Prime Minister raise it?'—by the opposition in question time today and Senator Farrell said that Australia's objections started with the Deputy Prime Minister. They started not with the Prime Minister, who had a face-to-face meeting where he could have raised it, but with the Deputy Prime Minister. And that was only once the Prime Minister had left and evaded questions.

Leadership at the top of this government is completely absent, and we have seen that time and time again in recent months. That is further demonstrated by the fact as I understand it that, in the other place during question time today, the Prime Minister was directly asked this question and he still wouldn't answer it and started talking about trade with China. That is so sadly typical of this government. The Prime Minister's response to a serious naval incident in which Australian personnel were injured by the Chinese navy is to try and boast about trade and other matters. His response was, quite frankly, disgraceful. This is a serious matter which deserves a straight answer in this parliament.

Let us not forget that, just two years ago, Australia was regarded as leading the world in standing up to China's coercion. Our allies were happy to say publicly and often that this was the case. At the time, the Labor Party was prepared to stand with the government and make clear that Australia was in the right in terms of the actions that we took and that it was the CCP's coercive actions that were unacceptable. Fast forward two years, and now all we hear from this Albanese government are the lines about how it was all the previous Australian government's fault. It was all the Morrison government's fault.

Let's be very clear: this was the line that the Chinese government has been pushing for years. This was the reason they implemented the unlawful trade sanctions—to try and get the Australian public to blame our country for standing up for our own interests. For a long time it didn't work, but then the Prime Minister began to see a political advantage in blaming Australia for what the Chinese government had done to cut off contact and implement trade embargoes. He began to do everything he could not to stand up for Australia and our interests but to be granted a visit to China, where he could boast, as he frequently does, about stabilised relations. For many months now, the Albanese government has joined the Chinese government in publicly blaming the former Australian government for China implementing trade sanctions and refusing to take phone calls or meetings. It's an absolute shame.

Question agreed to.