Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network) Share this | Hansard source

Since this government was elected it has worked hard to fix up our trade relationship with China. That's good because it helps our farmers and fishers. Minister Wong met with the Chinese foreign minister today, and I hope they permanently lift the ban on Australian wine. I note that they've kept their ban on our Tassie crayfish. It hasn't moved an inch. So, yes, it's good for wine, but—and this is a big but—we can't take our eye off the ball when it comes to the Chinese Communist Party.

Ten years ago the Chinese president came to Tasmania. He had such a big entourage that two planes were needed just to get the Chinese delegation into Hobart. At the time, a talkback caller warned: 'We have got what they want and we shouldn't be rushing into anything too fast'—very wise words, which, of course, weren't heeded by the Tasmanian Liberal government. The Chinese Communist Party didn't just come to Tasmania to see the sights. They came because Tasmania is a gateway to Antarctica.

I have been told that the Chinese Communist Party delegation asked the then Premier if they could buy TasPorts. Thank God he woke up to that and said no. But, in exchange, the president was pointed to a nice bit of waterfront land in Hobart—Crown land owned by the Tasmanian people. Just four years later, in 2018, a Chinese Australian developer announced they were building a huge resort on Tasmania's east coast. The local community was told that the resort would have a golf course, a health centre and a pharmacy but that Tasmanians wouldn't be allowed into the resort. It was even advertised in China as a Chinese living experience in Tasmania. Thanks largely to community groups on Tassie's east coast, this development is certainly now well and truly toast.

But it shouldn't be communities that have to put up these fights. It should be our representatives in both our state and federal parliaments. I don't need to warn Chinese Australians about the Chinese Communist Party. They know it all too well. Last year, Vicky Xu, a journalist and fellow at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, told a Senate inquiry what she had suffered at the hands of Chinese communist agents working in Australia. Ms Xu has done extensive research on the Chinese government's re-education of its Uighur minority. She withdrew from appearing in the media due to what she called harassing, targeting and intimidating by the Chinese government and its fanatic supporters.

This is what's happening in Australia. It's happening here, where Chinese Australians should feel safe to criticise whoever they like. We need good trade relations with China. We need good trade relations with lots of other countries as well. But we can't let the Chinese communist government bully us. The only way to deal with a bully is to stand up to that bully. So, yes, our government have to walk a fine line, but they also have a responsibility to crack down hard on political and social interference coming from the Chinese Communist Party.

The Chinese government already has a foothold in some of our most prestigious universities. Fourteen of our universities have Confucius institutes. The institutes are funded by the Chinese Communist Party. The Morrison government held an inquiry in 2020, amid broader concerns about foreign interference in universities in Australia. ASIO told the inquiry that the university and higher education sector was a target and said:

Hostile intelligence activity continues to pose a real threat to Australia, our sovereignty and our security.

So what did the government do when they got this report? They decided to leave the decision about the openness of Confucius institutes in the hands of the universities and the University Foreign Interference Taskforce. I kid you not, Australians.

It's not only our universities I am worried about. Undersea fibre-optic cables transfer more than 95 per cent of international communications and data globally. Last May, a draft maritime cooperation agreement between China and the Solomon Islands was leaked. China's goal, it's stated, is to develop a maritime community with a shared future. In the same month it was reported that China had started talks with 10 nations in the South Pacific, with an offer to help them improve their network infrastructure and cybersecurity—what a load of rubbish!—all with the help of Chinese companies. Go figure it out, Australians. What do you think they want? The US government is also worried about China's ability to spy on it via subsea cables, and it has denied permission for four planned cables owned by Google, Meta and Amazon that would've connected the US and Hong Kong.

All governments now treat undersea cables as critical infrastructure. But what is the Australian government doing to protect undersea cables that support our communications and businesses? They are doing exactly the same thing that they did when they were warned about the Chinese Communist Party setting up shop in our universities. They're sitting at a desk with a blindfold on, waiting for it to go away. In other words, Australians, once again it doesn't matter what side of politics it is, when it comes to the Chinese Communist Party, no major party will do anything about it.

Senate adjourned at 19:40