Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) head Mike Burgess finds himself charged with “besmirching” the good name of former politicians after revealing yesterday that a former MP had been “turned” by a foreign power. Former treasurer Joe Hockey — more recently ambassador to the US and now helping to run a DC lobbying business — has called for Burgess to “name names” to clear the reputations of politicians.
To steal from Abraham Lincoln, Burgess cannot “besmirch” politicians. Politicians have besmirched themselves, far above his poor power to add or detract.
And in any event, the list of Australian politicians who enjoyed relations with foreign powers is very long indeed. While Burgess’ claim might be shocking, it seems odd to suggest all MPs but one have been perfect in their dealings with the governments of other countries, when so many of our MPs have got up close and personal with other governments or their agents of influence.
None of these instances fit what Burgess talked about yesterday, and there’s no suggestion any of the figures named here are the former politician alluded to by the ASIO head — or that there’s something inappropriate, not to mention illegal, in their actions. But the act of sharing internal information about own’s own party, especially when in government, with diplomats of any foreign power, or using political connections to represent the interests of a company linked to a foreign power is not uncommon.
Who can forget Labor’s Sam Dastyari and his relations with billionaire Huang Xiangmo and other China-linked donors? Dasytari was forced out of politics for that. Huang Xiangmo was a generous donor and attendee at fundraisers for both sides of politics and was snapped with some of our most senior political figures across the political spectrum.
The Chinese Communist Party of course secured much more direct influence over Australian politics when Tony Abbott as prime minister fawned over Xi Jinping, inviting him to address Parliament and feting him with a lavish banquet in 2014. “I have never heard a Chinese leader commit so explicitly to a rule-based international order founded on the principle that we should all treat others as we would be treated ourselves,” Abbott laughably said at the time, as he agreed to impose an extradition treaty with China that ultimately sparked a parliamentary rebellion. Abbott’s grovelling to the tyrant was enthusiastically endorsed by the News Corp shills of the day, and critics of his embrace of China were denounced as racist.
Some MPs still hadn’t got the message about China even years later. NSW Labor upper house MP Shaoquett Moselmane, who ended up being raided by ASIO in 2020, has a strong pro-Beijing record — downplaying Mao’s atrocities, lauding the country’s censorship and calling for China to “force a change to the rules and create a new world order.” Moselmane was later advised that he was not a suspect in any investigation.
In a different category is former Liberal trade minister Andrew Robb, who took a consulting job with Chinese-owned Landbridge straight after leaving Parliament until 2019. Landbridge is the firm that controversially leased Darwin Port while the Coalition was in office. Even after leaving Landbridge, Robb criticised his former colleagues for damaging relations with China and questioned claims it was a threat to Australia. Not that Robb was alone, by any means — both former Liberal foreign minister Alexander Downer and former Labor premier of Victoria John Brumby took positions with Huawei, these days banned across many Western countries for its links to the Beijing regime.
Burgess also complained of “an aspiring politician” who “provided insights into the factional dynamics of his party, analysis of a recent election and the names of up-and-comers”. That sounds an awful lot like what a stream of Labor politicians, including Bill Shorten and Richard Marles, provided to US diplomats, as diplomatic cables revealed by WikiLeaks showed.
The list of other Labor MPs who shared detailed discussions of the ALP and its policies with diplomats of a foreign power, even if an allied one, is lengthy, and includes Paul Keating and Bob Carr many decades ago, and more recent figures such as Mark Arbib, Michael Danby, Peter Khalil, Bob McMullan, David Feeney and then union leader Paul Howes.
Then there’s the extensive influence of the Israeli government over Australian MPs of all sides, despite Israel’s extraordinary forging of Australian passports for use by its agents. The list of MPs who have enjoyed free trips to Israel runs into the scores. Michael Danby’s support for Israel was so enthusiastic even The Australian — an outlet Danby liked to use to attack his critics — exposed him as travelling to Israel to criticise the charity World Vision while claiming he could not attend Parliament because of illness. Danby told The Australian he took medical advice to “get away” but made it clear no tax payer funds were used for the trip.
Not that Danby should be singled out among his colleagues. A former Labor figure claims then Israeli ambassador Yuval Rotem was present when Labor powerbroker Don Farrell was organising the rolling of Kevin Rudd — who’d clashed with the Israeli government over its forging of our passports — in 2010 (for the record, Farrell denies this, but Rotem did not).
When the WikiLeaks cables revealed the extent to which Labor MPs were keeping the US government apprised of their own internal party machinations, Bob Brown, then Greens leader, said he regularly spoke to diplomats from all over the world but was always “very careful” about what he said. It was good advice.
In this article Bernard Keane misses the elephant in the room, the way in which Australian politicians are manipulated by US agents!
How about Tony Abbott working for the British Government as a trade advisor? Surely that qualifies as selling out Australia to a foreign power?
Maybe not. Arguably, Abbott successfully infiltrated the UK’s Board of Trade and helped Australia; quite the opposite of selling it out. If Abbott was really trying to sell Australia down the river, it was his most spectacular failure yet. Either way, let’s hope he continues. The so-called free trade deal that resulted was a hell of a good win for Australia, did almost nothing for the UK.
At least the United Kingdom of Great Brexit was able to sign something with Australia. Negotiations on the Canadian mutation were suspended a few weeks ago because they were playing even harder to get.
Mathias anyone – remember the 7:30 interviews – talk about gaslighting then changing the narrative after securing his valuable international “trade” role ; all funded on our collective domestic dime
I am not sure why Hockey even gets a run these days. He has been out of the game for over 5 years and now operates purely for commercial interests. Yet, he had 2 prime interviews on ABC this morning followed by numerous replays. Yet we didn’t get a a peep from anyone else in the opposition. Strange?
I wonder if it is similar to whenever Lord Downer lost yet another client of his lobbying shop he would dust off his journo contacts & get his face in the media bloviating on this or that. As time went by & even last few clients chucked the old school tie in the bin his hustling has become sadder & more desperate. The campaigns for Princess Georgina went the same way.
In a city saturated with predator grifters, Hockey’s novelty in the beltway may have been wearing off as a ravenous new flock move in to clip AUKUS tickets. And his journo contacts list is fresher.
Ah !Ah! Ah! ‘Lord Downer’ and ‘Princess Georgina’, that’s spot on !
I remember, during her many failed election campaigns when His Lordship was
advocating the almost divine rights of his family to govern in South Australia.
His Lordship is most comical when feigning outrage.
Yes, castigating South Aussies for not appreciating all the years of selfless service his family had given them.
Yes, the local Adelaide NewsCorpse rag indulged Downer with a weekly column for what seemed like years. The columns (in both style and content) had all the sophistication you would expect from a B-grade Year 9 student. It was then that I fully understood Keating’s description of Downer as ‘the idiot son of the squattocracy’.
A perfect description of Downer.
Yes, the local Adelaide Mudroch rag indulged Downer with a weekly column for what seemed like years. The columns (in both style and content) had all the sophistication you would expect from a B-grade Year 9 student. It was then that I fully understood Keating’s description of Downer as ‘the i-d-i-o-t son of the squattocracy’.
Why not? You’re getting a run. Or maybe not if that’s a false name. ???
Not strange at all,just par for the course. Now that could be interesting?
Good points made there, it should surprise nobody that very many politicians have been talking to and dealing with representatives of other governments and countries. It would be absurd to expect all our politicians to operate in the equivalent of an enclosed monastic order. The question is what lines should be drawn to define what is reasonable, what is going too far and should be rebuked, and finally what is improper and should be subject to some sanction, through the courts or similar.
Anyway, Hockey is being hysterical and leading a beat-up, although I hope Mike Burgess is not taken by surprise at this eruption. Given Burgess was explicit that no legal action could be taken against the particular politician whose activities he outlined, Hockey’s wild talk about a traitor is clearly hyperbolic and defamatory, should the individual be named. There is no public interest in naming this person, it is just scandal-mongering and sensation-seeking, as a substitute for, and distraction from, addressing the more substantive issues around such contacts that affect all politicians. Now why would Hockey do that?
what he who supports in his USA lobby manoeuvering- a leg up to the great orange barnacle of flim flam pro dictatorship? Give me a break!
ok, but I have no idea at all what, if anything, you’re trying to say. Usually I can guess, up to a point, but this time your comment is on a level entirely beyond me.
-As opposed to the long ranting verbose style above ; self important vibes mate But i’ll clarify:
He went and got a nice job in GOP lobbyland mate to clarify ;refering to the past POTUS- anti Democratic
Also members of the media e.g. Israeli junkets, and also Greg Sheridan sponsored by the Hungarian government funded MCC:
AFR 22 JuLy 2019: ‘Greg Sheridan’s Grand European Tour…Sheridan travelled on the dime of the MCC, a Budapest think tank “which organises tuition, leadership classes, civic activities and conferences from a conservative viewpoint for school and tertiary students”. And impressionable old polemists.
Hungary has since 2010 been ruled by Viktor Orban, whom the late radical leftie John McCain once labelled a “neofascist dictator“. But that can’t be the case, Sheridan says, because Orban has no cult of personality.’
https://www.afr.com/rear-window/greg-sheridan-s-grand-european-tour-20190720-p52956
so blinkered and so platformed – Hope that is understood by the club
aka Sherdidan !
An excellent article thanks, Bernard.
It is a good thing that the succession (or should that perhaps be ‘conga line’) of Australian Prime Ministers who, without fail, all seem to end up with their noses stuck so firmly between Uncle Sam’s buttocks that a surgeon would have trouble separating these body parts, is not considered as an act which compromises the independence or sovereignty of Australia. A similar statement is warranted in relation to our relations with Israel. When it comes to our dealings with these two warmongering and aggressive states, we are clearly nothing more than a bunch of obsequious, pusillanimous poltroons. It makes me sick and ashamed.
Yes RR, I remember Hawke being guilty on both counts. The “Deputy Dog” following Bush jr into the illegal war (justified by a lie) stands out as the greatest shame.