There’s a new book out from Black Inc entitled Tony Speaks!, a collection of quotable musings from the alternative prime minister. It’s a shame they didn’t hold the presses for Abbott’s foreign invasion to China.
It wasn’t just his attempt to scare off Chinese investors by declaring state-owned foreign enterprises buying into Australian companies would “rarely be in Australia’s interest”. Though, as Bob Carr noted, that seems “dangerously dumb” in itself.
It was how little nuance Abbott offered in his diplomatic mission statements. His speech to the AustCham body in Beijing on Tuesday is worth a read. Take this gem on the development of ties with the Middle Kingdom:
“The Chinese restaurant, long ubiquitous in Australia’s suburbs and towns, was an early sign of our readiness to absorb foreign ways and make them part of our own.”
It was all the sweet-and-sour, apparently.
And on his personal relationship with the region?
“As health minister in the Howard government, I visited Beijing (twice), Shanghai, Hong Kong and Chengdu in 2006 and 2007. I was keen to work with my then-Chinese counterpart, Minister Gao, to maximise precautions against a possible bird flu pandemic. At my colleague’s invitation, I visited Sichuan province and was, so I’m told, the first Australian MP since Bob Hawke allowed to cuddle a baby Panda bear.”
A coup, indeed.
Even the customary “by the way, can you please stop persecuting your people” component of the speech landed with a dull thud:
“In the long term, China should prosper even more if its people enjoyed freedom under the law and the right to choose a government, despite the difficulty of managing this transition in a country with a tumultuous history. Regardless of their political orientation, the more people work together the more they usually end up learning from each other.”
Well, indeed.
There were other mixed metaphors and barely there policy initiatives coded for local and Australian ears: the Coalition’s plan to have 40% of school leavers studying a foreign language, developing northern Australia as a “food bowl” for Asia and, of course, the vow to repeal the carbon and mining taxes.
But as diplomacy goes, Julia “I’d rather read to kids than go overseas” Gillard suddenly doesn’t look so bad.
does this imbicile realise that most mainland chinese companies are state owned because of the political system in china ?
it is a one party state government by the communist party
ask mr abbott to say this to the australian joint venture partners in the 100s of mining gas and oil companies operating in australia that are responsible for our mineral resources boom ?
i do have a solution, if he says they should be sold then they should be sold back to a STATE OWNED AUSTRALIAN MINING OIL AND GAS COMPANY and the profits could then go back to where they belong , the australian public
One of the more amusing ironies of privatisation ( I am easily amused) is that states sold off infrastructure like power generation to foreign state-owned companies. SP AusNet being the prime example in Victoria , showing that the Singaporean government recognises fire-sale prices, and a captive market when it sees them.
Let’s hear the Liberals make the argument about that deal.
The odds on an Abbott led recession just wnet to odds on, not only will try to implement “expansionary austerity”and have a massive black hole in his budget he plans to stop shinses investment in its tracks.
What could possibly go wrong.
All cowboy and no hat – just when you think he can’t get any more crass – crash!
Of course the really big question “How’s that panda?”