SHADOW Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong has again questioned Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s leadership as a major factor in Australia’s deteriorating China relationship.
In an ABC TV interview this week the Labor senator said Australia needed “better leadership, true leadership” in order to restore a productive relationship with China.
Ms Wong appears to have re-ignited her pro-China posturing after she was earlier this year criticised for attacking Australia’s call for a full and open enquiry into the origins of the Wuhan virus.
ASSERTIVE
Speaking to presenter Leigh Sales on ABC’s 7.30 program on Wednesday Ms Wong said it was “obvious that China had become more assertive about its interests”.
“But ultimately, we need to find a way to have a productive relationship with China,” she said.
“And to do that I think we need better leadership, true leadership from the Government. I think we need to be more strategic and less political about the relationship and I would encourage the government to do that …”
When asked for examples to support her claim, Ms Wong said rhetoric from backbenchers had not been “helpful”.
“Disengagement or decoupling from China isn’t an option for any country, given China’s place in the world. So we have to find a way to work through those differences and to have a productive relationship with China in which we never walk away from who we are, our identity, our values and our interests,” she said.
Ms Wong blamed rising nationalism – and Donald Trump – for the depth of the Wuhan virus crisis.
“The failure to muster requisite cooperation is a great tragedy. We haven’t been able to come up with anything like the cooperation that’s required,” she said.
“The drivers of that are many – they are rising nationalism which obviously includes the America First rhetoric that we see from President Trump, but they are more than that.
“They obviously include China’s increased assertiveness and a failure of any of the great powers to lead a multilateral response.”
APPEASE
The Labor senator found herself in hot water earlier this year after she and Labor leader Anthony Albanese appeared to appease China ahead of Australia’s interests.
This followed China’s angry response to Australia’s call for a full investigation into the origins of Coronavirus..
Wong said back in May 2020 that the Prime Minister had “mishandled” the China relationship and was playing to a domestic audience.
“We need to think about the China relationship in 30-year terms, not in three-year terms. Unfortunately, there’s been a little too much, from the Morrison government, of reflex to short-term domestic politics on this relationship,” she said
Albanese had earlier said Australia needed to be “mature” while dealing with China – code for Australian subservience.
The Australian Labor Party has a long history of snuggling up with China’s communist regime, accepting personal payments to its politicians as well as secretive campaign donations.PC
She would say that wouldn’t she?
Imagine the tragedy if Labour actually won the last election. The more they show their true communist colours the better.
The Penny mask has finally slipped, and the real Penny is the one everyone in politics recognises all too well.
We need more Penny and KK, bring them out and let them speak freely. It’ll happen, the left cant help themselves