Lordy, I’m getting whiplash. Recall Shadow Trade Minister Madeleine King, previously a China apologist:
Opposition trade spokeswoman Madeleine King has targeted high-profile Liberal MP Andrew Hastie, labelling him a political ideologue who is hijacking the debate about Australia’s relationship with China.
But Mr Hastie responded saying she was muddled and asleep at the wheel when it came to Beijing.
…“If, as Andrew Hastie suggests, Australia should reduce its economic ties with China, I look forward to Andrew explaining his strategy for the future of the Australian economy to the tens of thousands more Australians that will be out of a job should our exports of iron ore, coal, and gas to China be significantly diminished,” Ms King said.
And this, King wrote in the AFR:
Now the Prime Minister speaks of strengthening our “economic sovereignty” as he pushes for a boost in domestic production of some manufactured goods including medical equipment and pharmaceuticals.
…A shortage of respirators, ventilators and other equipment in Australia or elsewhere does not signal a failure of globalisation. It’s a failure by governments to plan adequately for a pandemic emergency.
…Open trade will be an integral component of our economic recovery.
…Our greatest strength remains the extraordinary resources sector, which continues to meet production targets in the face of the COVID-19 disruption and is on track to export commodities this year worth an astonishing $300 billion.
So it is important to remember that the resources sector and a boosted advanced manufacturing sector will depend on an open global trading system.
Then, sudddenly, Ms King backflipped completely at The Australian recently:
…Chinese demand for our commodities is forecast to plateau in coming decades and for some China-exposed sectors, including our meat exporters, winemakers and barley growers, it has become painfully apparent China is willing to limit imports from us for reasons that can be unclear.
We are overly reliant on four exports: resources, agriculture, tourism and education.
A recent Harvard Growth Lab Atlas of Economic Complexity ranked Australia 93rd in the world for the “complexity” of its exports, lagging Kazakhstan, Uganda and Senegal. It should not be like this — Australia should be in the midst of a job-making national effort to increase export complexity.
…It’s also time we finally got serious about building stronger economic relationships with India and the nations of Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia and Vietnam.
I noted at the time she may not be allowed back into WA after such apostasy. And today she pays her dues to regain admittance, this time at the AFR:
“It appears China is systematically moving to replace Australian exports, leaving many of our key industries to wonder who will be next,” she said.
“These exporters desperately need the government to resolve this crisis. Yet the Trade Minister can’t even pick up the phone and speak to his counterpart in Beijing.
“This is irrefutable evidence of the Morrison government’s failure of trade diplomacy.”
Ms King acknowledged that China had engaged in bullying behaviour and Australia should not adopt a conciliatory stance on issues such as human rights, foreign interference, the rule of law in the South China Sea or pressure on the Chinese diaspora.
But she said the government had to find a way to “move the dial” and preserve the economic relationship.
…”I’ve got no confidence the government is talking to people with excellent relationships with China, like Fortescue Metals, BHP or [grains handler] CBH,” she said.
And thank god for it. Because, if they could, these firms would sell Australian sovereignty straight down the river without a second thought.
As for Labor and Madeleine King, who appears to be happy to say anything to anybody any time to get elected, I suggest that kowtowing to China has a few drawbacks for Labor’s trade, economic and political strategies while the CCP:
- destroys Hong Kong freedom;
- takes 300k Canadians there hostage;
- puts the cross-hairs on Taiwan;
- undertakes cultural if not literal genocide in Xinjiang;
- launches a global hate campaign via wolf warriors that daily insult Australians and undermines liberal society;
- spreads a modern plague while demanding open borders to siphon off our PPE;
- illegally occupies vast swathes of the ocean in direct violation of international law, Asian democracies and allies;
- corrupts Australian universities, bribes Australian elite, including reams of ALP apparatchiks to occupy our democracy, as well as destroy its allegiance to its hegemonic guarantor in ANZUS, and
- conducts ceaseless campaigns of lawfare, cyber attack, economic coercion and other underhanded tactics to turn our system on itself.
Which of these is Labor happy to accept in return for more commodity exports, aside from the obvious Aldi bag full of cash, or is that enough?
I suggest, as well, that Ms King look up the definition of “commodity”. It is a highly fungible, highly contestable, economic widget that has no competitive advantage. That is, if China turns off our commodities then someone else will buy them. It takes a bit of time for markets to adjust is all.
Finally, and most importantly for the nihilistic Ms King, whose only apparent goal is to placate enough interests to get elected, the recent results of the Lowy Institute Poll is a must-read:
In summary, Labor and Madeleine King want to trade commodities that will be sold anyway, for greater Chinese economic coercion, greater domestic interference, greater abuse of liberalism, destruction of democracy and allies, as well as the molding of Australian intellectual infrastructure into ‘Xi Jinping thought’.
And it wants to launch this glowing policy platform with the support of 6% of the electorate.
I mean, if you say so, Madeleine…
