Last week Jen Hewitt, who occupies Page Two of the AFR, asked:
The speech by Mike Burgess, director-general of the Australian Signals Directorate, reflects a decision for the agency to emerge “from the shadows” and outline its role in crucial areas like cyber security. But it will also shine a harsh light on the delicate state of Chinese Australian relations.
The Burgess explanation of why “high-risk vendors” participating in 5G would threaten Australia’s national interest and critical infrastructure networks is the most directly expressed justification of the Turnbull government’s August decision to ban Chinese telco suppliers, Huawei and ZTE.
…In the end, ASD’s answer was no. What will China’s be?
Today I want to ask the same question of our other great and powerful friend. What does it think when we do this, at The Australian:
In a breakthrough in Australia-China relations, Foreign Minister Marise Payne is set to visit Beijing on Thursday for a strategic dialogue with China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
The visit, which was announced tonight by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and confirmed by Senator Payne’s office, marks an upturn in Australia-China relations after more than a year of tensions and rising concern that they could harm Australia’s $150 billion a year trade with the world’s second largest economy.
This is the first time Australia’s foreign minister has visited Beijing since February 2016 and could pave the way for a visit to China by Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
We never ask what the US thinks because we either assume it will always be there, are too scared to imagine it disappearing, or too greedy to consider it. We should at least pause to ask what, in today’s circumstances, will Donald think to see his best ally going behind his back, so to speak. Who knows? He might think we’re makin’ deals and kickin’ goals or he might feel the narcissist’s sting of rejection.
Scott shouldn’t go to Beijing but not for this reason. So far our PM’s only sojourn into foreign policy is his religious declaration that we’re all moving to Jerusalem. If that is an example of his adroitness in international relations then we should keep him as far from Beijing as possible. He’s a placeholder PM that could do something even more stupid just to graffiti history.
This throws up an interesting question. The Australian prime ministership is currently vacant at a rather important time. Our sovereignty would best be served today by the charm of Don Dunstan, the radical of Bob Hawke, the durability of John Howard and the cut-through of Paul Keating wrapped up into one. Instead we have a vacant chair that not even Troy Buswell would sniff.
Indeed, the Government is entirely distracted, at The Australian:
Scott Morrison could face his first test in minority government over Liberal MP Chris Crewther’s eligibility to sit in federal parliament, after all six lower house crossbench MPs left open the possibility of sending him to the High Court and Bob Katter warned the Coalition could not rely on his vote.
The Australian understands Mr Crewther is considering obtaining legal advice as pressure mounts over investments he made in a local pharmaceutical company.
This is despite Mr Crewther being confident of his position and the country’s top constitutional lawyers declaring it was a “long bow to draw” to suggest he had breached section 44 of the Constitution.
Manager of opposition business Tony Burke can move a referral motion without notice when parliament resumes at the end of November.
And is mulling crazy stuff, via Domainfax:
Australian voters would cast their ballots in two federal elections in a single year under a drastic option being canvassed within the Morrison government to gain more time to restore community support and defeat Labor.
While a May election remains the most likely scenario in the government discussions, some MPs are open to the idea of holding a Senate election early in the year while going to a separate election for the House of Representatives several months later.
The option would give the government more scope to deliver a federal budget early in the year to rebuild its stocks after a slump in the opinion polls during over the two months since the Liberal Party’s brutal coup to remove Malcolm Turnbull as prime minister.
How does doubling the imposition of polling day help its cause? Or focusing on the trivia of its own survival? Or extending the electoral economic shock?
At a time of tremendous national need verging on historic crisis, we are advertising for a new PM and can’t even get that right.
