Clive Hamilton has written that the Silent Invasion of Australia is being enabled by the foolish, mendacious and greedy at all levels, but most especially in politics, academia and business. “Apologists for China in Australia know that the Chinese state is repressive…but they manage to set it all aside, often because they have a material interest”. Formerly Labor party candidate Evan Hughes more recently scathingly referred to “panda hugging businessmen”.
Right on cue comes Twiggy Forrest, wheeling out Beijing’s minions in order to white-ant the Australian government.
One of Australia’s richest men has blindsided the Morrison government by helping a Chinese diplomat gatecrash a ministerial press conference at the height of Australia’s most serious rift with Beijing in decades.
Andrew Forrest’s decision to invite China’s consul-general for Victoria, Long Zhou, to speak at the podium in Melbourne on Wednesday alongside Greg Hunt, catching the Health Minister off-guard and embarrassing him, drew accusations of disloyalty and selfishness from government MPs.
The mining magnate, who announced that he had procured 10 million COVID-19 test kits for Australia through Chinese business contacts, had earlier taken to the airwaves to take a swipe at both Scott Morrison and US President Donald Trump over the proposed timing of the inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus.
Days after China’s top diplomat in Australia warned that Chinese consumers could boycott Australian beef and wine, Mr Forrest said Australia should take a more conciliatory approach to China and suggested the government’s proposed inquiry would help Mr Trump’s campaign for re-election.
This is absolutely disgraceful, on all levels. Why is some rich bloke being allowed to openly interfere in Australia’s politics in order to help out a brutal communist dictatorship? Why is Forrest parroting Beijing’s propaganda talking-points?
It couldn’t have anything to do with China continuing to pump billions into Forrest’s pockets, surely?
Forrest’s Fortescue Metals Group has at least 10 Chinese steel mill contracts for the next decade. Fortescue has a fleet of ore carriers built in China, with more being built. Ports in Heibei, China’s biggest steelmaking province, were closed for weeks earlier this year due to the Chinese virus outbreak – but in recent weeks, exports to China from Port Hedland in West Australia have surged.
Liberal MP Andrew Hastie said his fellow West Australian, Mr Forrest, should focus on his business interests and let the government run its foreign policy. “Now is not the time for games. Australia must come first,” Mr Hastie said.
“This guy drops out of the sky in his private jet and enables the Chinese Communist Party to ambush a commonwealth press conference. Yeah, we’re not happy.”
Former resources minister Matt Canavan accused Mr Forrest of a PR stunt, saying the nation’s mining leaders were “disconcertingly vague” when it came to supporting Australia’s interests over China’s.
“No proud nation should put themselves in a position where another country can dictate its foreign policy,” he said.
Fellow Liberal Tim Wilson also weighed in, accusing Mr Forrest of disloyalty. “In a diplomatic disagreement, it’s a pretty basic expectation for Australians to be loyal and back their own, not invite a platform for a foreign spokesperson,” he said.
I’ve given Forrest credit where it was due for his philanthropic activities in Australia. But undermining and trying to embarrass your own government, and its allies, to protect your business interests with the Chinese communists is inexcusable. No matter how many billions his company stands to make from China, there’s no excuse for such soft treason.
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