This is so crazy that I’m lost for words:
Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan has called for Australia’s National Cabinet to be held in China in an attempt to build relations between the two nations.
The WA premier’s comments come as he spends the week in China, working on a number of trade agreements between the Asian superpower and his own state, including securing the resumption of more direct flights to and from Perth.
Mr McGowan also encouraged Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to not only visit, but to take other state Premiers and Chief Ministers along for trade talks.
It’s nauseating:
Between glasses of Australian wine under golden chandeliers at the China World Summit Wing in downtown Beijing, captains of industry, embassy officials and mining moguls gathered to hear West Australian Premier Mark McGowan speak.
“The King of WA,” his Chinese hosts reportedly called him this week. McGowan had returned to Beijing after four years of COVID-induced absence, $20 billion in trade strikes and years of division between Perth and the former Coalition government in Canberra on China policy.
Never fear, it’s all been cleared up:
WA Premier Mark McGowan says he never called for a national cabinet meeting to be held in China, instead clarifying that he wanted a repeat of Tony Abbott’s 2014 delegation to the nation.
It is the fifty-year celebration of the Whitlam trip to China later this year. Albo is going to go and bend the knee to Beijing in the wake of the groveling premier cavalcade of Andrews, Palaszczuk, and McGowan.
But, let’s be clear about what’s coming. China is going to invade Taiwan. You don’t wargame this for fun, which it is now doing every single day.
Of course, it is going to invade. Why would it let a stationary US-sponsored aircraft carrier grow off its coast? No Great Power would allow it.
When China invades, several things are going to happen:
- Australia is going to support whatever the US response is. Whether it is war or sanctions or an invasion of Mars, we will be there.
- All WA exports to China will cease overnight. Most especially iron ore but everything else as well.
If WA tries to export unilaterally, the unions will likely close the ports to Pig Iron Mark. Even if not, and WA tries to secede from foreign policy, Canberra will blockade the ports using lawfare. If that fails, the US will park an aircraft carrier off the Pilbara and all trade will stop anyway.
Whatever happens, there is no way known that WA iron ore will be sailing to China to make weapons once hostilities over Taiwan start.
In short, instead of diversifying trade as swiftly as possible, King McGowan is driving WA straight to its economic doom.
Meanwhile, from Australia’s erstwhile China hawk, Peter Dutton, there is nothing but….crickets….
