Penny Wong has accused Prime Minister Scott Morrison of undermining Australia’s relationship with China by acting recklessly for domestic political gain.
Senator Wong - Labour's foreign affairs spokesperson - says too much of the discussion on China is “frenzied, afraid and lacking context” - and that “more strategy” and “less politics” is required in Australia’s foreign policy approach.
She made the comments at a book launch in Canberra, arguing Mr Morrison had failed to understand the complexity of Australia’s relationship with China.
“My concern is that not only does he not fully comprehend Australia’s interests in relation to China, he doesn’t even seek to,” Senator Wong said.
“As with everything else he does, he only seeks to understand his political opportunity. It’s always about the domestic political advantage."
Senator Wong’s comments are significant because they show a willingness to criticise the federal government’s approach on foreign policy - an area that generally receives bipartisan support.
“It is time we called the prime minister out,” Senator Wong said.
“We have many enduring differences with President Xi’s China - they are not made easier to manage by an escalation of rhetoric for domestic political purposes.”
Her criticism of the government’s handling of the relationship comes amid increasingly strained ties between Australia and the Chinese government.
This has included Beijing imposing a number of coercive economic measures on Australian exports of beef, barley, wine, coal, cotton, seafood, sugar and timber.
Senator Wong said there were “structural differences” between Australia's interests and China's - but added this doesn’t mean the relationship is beyond repair.
“They don’t mean that there’s no room for improvement in our own actions,” she said.
In her speech, Senator Wong criticised a number of perceived foreign policy failures of the Morrison government in its handling of this relationship.
This included taking aim at Home Affairs secretary Mike Pezzullo for his comments stating that free nations are once again hearing the “beating drums” of war.
Mr Pezzullo later sought to clarify the comments, saying they expressed a desire for peace.
“Our leaders do not make us safe by beating the drums of war with China,” Senator Wong said.
“It’s Beijing that benefits from other countries thinking war is inevitable.”
Senator Wong also criticised Defence Minister Peter Dutton for his measured warning that the prospect of conflict between China and Taiwan should “not be discounted”.
She warned such comments risked inflating the chance of conflict.
“It would take childlike naivety to think these interventions were a coincidence, or to think the Morrison government isn’t deliberately encouraging anxiety about conflict,” she said.
“But it would represent a monumental and catastrophic failure of leadership to see that anxiety realised.”
In her speech, Senator Wong also cited Mr Morrison’s as an example of another failure on foreign policy.
“He incorrectly claimed Beijing’s preference – One Country, Two Systems – as Australia’s,” Senator Wong said.
“When pressed on this, rather than admitting he got it wrong, he doubled down and covered up the mistake with a lie.”
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian on Tuesday evening reiterated Beijing’s concerns over Australia’s relationship with China.
“For quite some time, the Australian government has repeatedly made provocative and confrontational moves on such issues of China’s core interests and major concerns as those related to Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Taiwan,” Mr Zhao said.
“This has severely undermined the political trust and cooperation foundation between the two sides.”
In comments published in Nine Newspapers on Wednesday, Mr Morrison stated that Australia’s cooperation with China has continued despite tensions surrounding the relationship.
“There can be a lot of diplomatic atmospherics, but at the end of the day the relationship is still going on,” he told Nine Newspapers.
“The relationship still exists, look at trade alone – there have never been bigger volumes. That’s a bit of a proof point. When all’s said and done, there’s still great value in the relationship."
