Trade minister Simon Birmingham has some advice for his coalition colleagues: think before you speak.
In an opinion piece last week Andrew Hastie, a liberal backbench mp, compared China’s rise to Germany’s. “I want to encourage my colleagues, in fact anyone who wants to comment on sensitive diplomatic issues, to think about a few things before they open their mouth.” “He said to Macao. Is public comment necessary? Does that help advance Australia’s national interest?”
On China, he said Australia interacts with China in a constructive way to ensure that the latter becomes a responsible citizen of the region and the world and respects the sovereignty of other countries. Richard Marles, Labour’s defence spokesman, admits that China is a complex issue, given its economic links with Australia and its positioning in the region. “It does challenge us.” Marles told sky news, describing Hastie’s comments as “arson.” “There was no cold war, and China was not the Soviet union.”
The deputy leader of the opposition party believes Australia needs to adopt a bipartisan approach in dealing with China. Marles said Australia must have the confidence to speak out and uphold national interests when it disagrees with China. He says the government and opposition need to have deeper discussions if a bipartisan approach is to be adopted. Senator Birmingham said the government had briefed opposition parties “when necessary”.