Both News Corp and the Morrison government have, arm in arm, circled back to where we were in the COVID-19 blame game just four months ago: China. Only now it’s been meshed with all the other priorities of the company and the government: attacking Dan Andrews, undermining universities and aligning with Trump’s rising trade war.
Giddy up! Mount up for Australia’s fifth ride around the China COVID carousel, powered by the government and News Corp: from foreign students and the “China virus” back in February, Chinese companies exporting medical supplies in March, the mysterious Wuhan lab in April-May and the consequent global inquiry, and finally the trade wars in June and again last week.
As always with News Corp’s reporting on government policy, it’s hard to tell: who’s the chicken and who’s the egg? Does the government decide on a policy and then rely on News Corp’s media to puff it? Or does one of those front-page exclusives prompt a quick policy throw together by a prime ministerial think tank?
And, with both News and the government, there’s a further question: just how far back up the chain do you go before finding, um, suggestions from New York or Washington? Remember, the brouhaha over Victoria’s remarkably anodyne memorandum of understanding over China’s belt-and-road infrastructure initiative was sparked back in May with matching criticisms by Morrison and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Australia’s Sky News.
It prompted Morrison’s last bite at a “tough new national security test” on foreign investment in early June, with last week’s nationalist rhetoric getting an early trot around the track, along with two of Morrison’s favourite rhetorical devices: emphasis through varied repetition (“investment in Australia must be on our terms, on our rules and in our interests”) and hyperbole (“the most significant reforms to foreign investment laws since 1975”).
That announcement was drowned out at the time by the Black Lives Matters protests here and in the US (and, according to Sydney’s The Daily Telegraph, by the threat to Gone with the Wind). But then, too, professional journalism worked with government to get the message across. While Morrison could publicly assert that he saw no reasons why China would be offended by the announcement, news.com.au confidently relied on background briefings to head their report to the contrary: “Australia’s new rules on foreign takeovers that inflame relations with China”.
News Corp is making sure its audience doesn’t miss China this time around, tying it tightly to its political and culture war enemies, now collectively dubbed in the Tele as “Panda huggers”. Sky after dark has been promoting Bronwyn Bishop’s comments to Morrison’s interviewer of choice Paul Murray: “Australia has been ‘kissing the hand that holds the whip’ in China”.
The Australian followed up its Friday front page (“Eyes Wide shut on spy threat: Premier Andrews declined advice from security agencies on China deal”) with a Saturday front page exclusive from its recent hire, Walkley Award-winning investigations writer Sharri Markson: “Chinese military links inside uni”.
But the rollout threatens being derailed (as was the June announcement) by the far more controversial sale of the Darwin Port to a Chinese company with alleged links to the People’s Liberation Army back when Morrison was treasurer with oversight of foreign investment. Oversight, sure, but with a carefully carved out denial of responsibility. In June, Morrison asserted: “The Darwin port was not sold with the approval authority of the Commonwealth government. It was not.”
The port is a greater concern for the US, under both the Obama and the Trump administrations, not least because the US Marine force in the territory rotates through the China-owned port.
As China’s deputy head of mission to Australia, Wang Xining, told the National Press Club last week) the government’s approach “hurts the feelings of the Chinese people”. Wang was talking particularly about the government’s call for an independent inquiry linked to the Tele’s “COVID files exclusive”, based in an apparent 15-page dossier tying the virus to a Wuhan lab.
More thoughtfully, he attempted to draw a distinction between influence (which all countries attempt) and interference (a global no-no). Too subtle for a politically focussed government. As long as the government and News Corp can get their mutual base along for the ride, expect the China COVID carousel to take a few more turns.
One thing is for sure all the ‘quiet’ read dumb Australians who voted for the “Morrison Flying Circus” are sure getting their money’s worth. Why it is the circus that just keeps on giving and its range of acts is breath takingly diverse. Certainly there are clowns aplenty in fact you do not realize just how many there are until someone actually opens their mouth and attempts to make some sense. At least they share the ‘clown of the week’ around. For example, a performer by the name of Colbeck was the standout winner last week of the ‘clown of the week’ award. He then somewhat foolishly attempted to regain some credibility by taking to the high wire trapeze. Well his fall to the ground just about brought the house down and left them (literally) dying in the aisles especially the older members of the audience. But then as some members of the audience seated in the economic bottom line section remarked ‘hey the oldies were going to die shortly anyway ‘.
But luckily for worker Colbeck he did not meet the same fate as some of the unlucky audience due to the quick work of his fellow workers who rapidly deployed the Morrison safely blimp devised for situations just like this one. The newly developed Morrison blimp came in the extra large size and with extra thick hide. It sure worked a treat. While Colbeck bounced around like a fool at least he was alive.
The Morrison blimp a new and improved version of the American Trump blimp but still retaining many of the best features of the Trump model added onto the already reliable but older Howard blimp. The Howard blimp was better deployed in the waters off the Australian coast where its rapid inflation acted as a deterrent to any unwanted vessel approaching Australian waters. It was fitted with an amplified sound system warning that we will determine who comes to Australia.
The Morrison blimp was devised by circus owner Scott Morrison who while occasionally on show as one of the many clowns in the circus saved his best performances as the circus ‘strong’ man aka ‘the mighty Somo’. His favourite act was when he waged a one man war against the bad guy known only as “Chinese virus”. Rumour has it that Morrison’s sidekick ‘numb-skull’ Trump suggested this name.
Every time it looked like the circus was in trouble Morrison would wheel out his evil nemesis ‘Chinese virus’ as a way to distract the audience from how truly putrid his circus was and to remind people that strongman Morrison well, called the shots. He cleverly modified the message of the Howard blimp to ‘no evil and nasty Chinese virus or any of its equally dastardly friends such as ‘Chinese investment’ will be allowed in Australia. We will determine who/what comes to Australia. Well this brought the house down except for people from Darwin who simply walked away wondering who really was the bigger clown Colbeck or the ‘mighty’ Morrison. In the end they decided the joke was really on those who returned this pile of rubbish to government
Fair comment – albeit unnecessarily restrained in parts.
I know space didn’t allow for a full account of all the circus acts, but we need to remember the head clown’s most daring act, Robodebt – balancing the budget by extorting billions from the most vulnerable Australians by raising fake debts, reversing the onus of proof, and then making it almost impossible for the victims to prove their innocence – hatched in 2015 when Morrison was Social Services Minister and introduced in 2016 when Morrison was Treasurer.
Fraudulently claim $75,000 from Centrelink and you’ll serve a few years in prison. Fraudulently claiming $750 million from Centrelink recipients warrants a pro-rata prison sentence of 20,000 years, suitably shared amongst all those responsible.
Well picked up Peter and spot on. Robodebt an absolute disgrace and not to mention Sport rort. But one of the most amusing acts of the Flying Circus was Michaelia Cash and the now you see me now you don’t whiteboard skit. That really brought the house down and it achieved national exposure ensuring Cash won the imbecile not of the week but of the MONTH award.Even though this occurred under the Flying Circus’s previous owner M. Turnbull I just know it is something that would have warmed the heart (if he was by chance to have one) of the ‘mighty Scomo’.
As I said its the circus that just keeps on giving. .
Isn’t there a connection between the increased US military presence in Darwin and Andrew Robb’s folly in waving through the lease of the port to Chinese interests?
The clowns in Canberra are dragging us into a conflict that is seriously not in Australia’s national interest.
After an email from Friends of the ABC I was mulling over the cuts and the Government’s attempts to intimidate the ABC into being compliant, thinking I don’t want the ABC to become Australia’s Pravda or Xin Hua. Then I realised that role is already taken – by The Australian.
Have you watched The Drum, Q&A …. Insiders?
…. Even 7:30 had “reporter” Park going out with Jason Wood chasing down “Melbourne Black African Gang Home Invaders”?
No I haven’t recently. Already absorbing too much depressing politics including the constant bullying of the ABC into submission. But The Australian is pretty much an extension of the Government as its mouthpiece.
Morrison has also obviously studied how to get around the checks and balances that are supposed to act as a check on executive power in such a way that is hard to rein him in. So he constantly gets away with being unaccountable, which is in itself a form of corruption.
The Drum and Q&A tonight – one politician on each panel and both from the Coalition Ewen Jones and Barnett.
Q&A :-
A question to Ray Minniecon, about “boomers” ….among Indigenous Australians?
Barnett happy with the “egalitarian” way the country is going : Kerry O’Brien with two eyes, can see the lack of leadership from both sides and where that’s taking us.
What about the biggest foreign government influence – the USA.
With which country has Australia had the largest trade deficit? For the last 30+years.
With which (major) country does Australia have the largest trade surplus? For the last 20+ years.
Which country has attacked, invaded, occupied, subjugated, destabilised and embargoed more countries since WWII than the rest of the world combined?
Answers on a postage stamp, or piece of confetti.
Bonus question – Which country holds $2T+ of anothers Treasury Bonds?