Hansard debates

Mrs McARTHUR (Western Victoria) (23:17): My adjournment matter is for the Premier, and it relates to the interim World Health Organization report on the origins of COVID and its consequences for Victoria’s relationship with China. The action I seek from the Premier is an update on what this means now in light of the belligerence of recent months and the political manipulation of the World Health Organization report.

From the very beginning the Chinese communist government’s lack of transparency has raised serious questions about its motives and trustworthiness as an international partner. If we cannot trust them to prioritise a worldwide public health crisis above domestic politics and the regime’s international prestige, how can we begin to believe their motives in our trade relationship will be any less one-sided? We have already seen beef, barley, coal, timber, wine and lobster targeted, and there are reports that copper ore, sugar, cotton and even wheat may join the list. Of course iron ore and natural gas exports have been spared, not thanks to any interest by the Chinese government in fairness or in abiding by the terms of our free trade agreement but simply due to naked self-interest.

We can see the motives in China’s response to the World Health Organization delegation, sent after international pressure led by the Prime Minister and backed even by our Premier. The 14 scientists sent were initially denied entry and then denied essential data on the early phase of the outbreak by Chinese authorities. The resulting report does not simply dismiss the idea the outbreak may have been related to a scientific research institute in Wuhan; it launches the theory it could have arisen from imports of frozen meat, including Australian beef. It would be laughable if it were not so serious. Victorian beef farmers will be horrified at the potential consequences, given Australia’s export of red meat to China in 2019 was worth about $3 billion. They have already been whacked once by China’s response to our call for the World Health Organization investigation; now the report’s laughable conclusions could be used to justify further economic aggression. In June 2020 the Premier said:

… if you want a good trading relationship, if you want to send more Victorian-made product to China, to create jobs here in Victoria, then a good relationship on the things you can agree on is very, very important.

Well, just what are the things that he and the Chinese regime will agree on, and how much more damage can Victorian farmers and other exporters expect before he finally ditches his morally dubious and economically naive attachment to communist China?