As a servant to the people of Queensland and Australia, I would like to say that One Nation
is supportive of the motion that Australia's relations with the People's Republic of China
be referred to the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee for inquiry
and preparation of a report.
It is imperative that Australia and China maintain a mutually respectfull and beneficial
bilateral relationship, and I thank Senator Patrick for moving this motion.
China is Australia's largest two-way trading partner—export market and import source—representing
24 per cent of total trade, with a value of a staggering $183 billion.
Australia is China's sixth-largest trading partner and fifth-biggest supplier of imports.
Twenty-five per cent of Australia's manufactured imports come from China, and 13 per cent of
Australia's exports, including thermal coal, go to China.
A free trade agreement was signed between the two countries in June 2015.
In more recent times, China has embarked on the One Belt, One Road initiative, as Senator
Patrick drew to our attention.
This is a Chinese economic and strategic agenda where Eurasia, Africa and Oceania are more
closely tied along two routes—one land route and one maritime route.
Those who support the initiative say that it facilitates the development of infrastructure
and economic aid to needy economies.
On the other hand, it can be said to facilitate Chinese economic and strategic domination
of smaller countries on the route—some near us.
For Australia we see growing Chinese involvement in projects from northern Australia to Tasmania,
all providing little benefit to Australia but substantial benefit to China.
Other examples of Chinese involvement have been in the funding and support of local academic
conferences and seminars.
One of the ongoing issues of mutual concern relates to regional and global security.
The growing tensions between the United States of America and the People's Republic of China
in terms of imposition of trade tariffs is placing Australia in a challenging position,
given the importance of Australia's relationships with both these countries.
Similarly, the views taken of China's growing military influence in the South China Sea
remain of concern to the United States of America and necessarily Australia as an established
ally of the United States.
Regionally, China is having a growing influence by funding infrastructure projects for some
of the Pacific island countries and Papua New Guinea on our northerly doorstep.
This runs the risk of changing the dynamic between Australia and our near neighbours.
Australia is a destination of choice for many Chinese students to further their education
in our Australian academic institutions.
In 2018, there were more than 166,000 enrolments of Chinese students in Australia representing
43.3 per cent of the total international student cohort—almost half.
A concern noted in some Australian universities is the potential dependence generated by full-fee-paying
international students on the overall money pool available to the universities' budgets.
The concern is that, should those numbers it may leave some of the Universities
destitute.
The unfettered Chinese development of five research bases within the Australian Antarctic
Territory is of growing concern to many of us at a time when Australian investment into
its three bases in that territory has been considered relatively conservative by comparison.
Given the potential for military and strategic use of these bases by China and the potential
for resource extraction at some future time, there is a need to consider this factor when
examining our increasingly complex and improtant relationships with China.
Australia is also a favoured destination for Chinese tourists and this is shown by recent
numbers. Mr Acting Deputy President
More than 1.3 million Chinese tourists visited Australia last year, representing 15 per cent
of the total of visitors to our country.
This is a clear positive for Australia.
At the same time, there is a growing boom of tourists heading to China, which is welcoming
tourists from around the world, including 700,000 of them from Australia alone.
Human rights, though, is a massive and huge issue where China and Australia have competing views,
complex, competing views.
Australia is a democracy and a signatory to many international agreements that preserve
basic human rights.
China is a totalitarian republic following a communist regime that is very rigid, with
little room to question the state and having limited rights for the individual.
One only has to turn on the news and watch the demonstrations for freedom happening in
Hong Kong to see how that goes down.
Many Australians remember the events of Tiananmen Square.
The detention of those whose views differ from those of the regime is a continuing disgrace
and worthy of further review.
Currently Australian writer Yang Hengjun is being detained in China in harsh conditions
and has been charged with spying—a serious issue that could bring the death penalty if
found guilty.
He has published works promoting democracy and seems to be now paying the penalty for
having a different point of view and daring to express it.
An Australian expressing his point of view—what could be more natural?
He has been denied access to his lawyers and family.
I'll now read selectively from an article by the president
of the Law Council of Australia, in the Weekend Australian, Arthur Moses.
He points out Chinese-Australian writer Yang Hengjun after travelling to China with his family,
the democracy advocate and academic was detained in January on the allegation of being suspected
of "endangering national security". By opening his mouth.
Since then he has been held in harsh conditions without charge, with limited access to consular
assistance.
He has not been permitted to talk to his lawyers or see his family.
His lawyers do not even know the particulars of the allegations against him.
Yang as I said, is an Australian citizen.
Now being a true friend and ally of any nation
means when issues arise in a foreign justice system affecting Australian citizens, we are
obliged to speak up.
This is the president of the Law Council of Australia.
As a blogger, he has written thousands of
articles promoting the rule of law, democracy and human rights, and built up a large following
in China.
These fundamental things that Yang is fighting for go back to our country's roots in the
Magna Carta, to our own Constitution and to the tenet of presumption of innocence.
Mr Moses goes on further and says: Yang and detainees like him must be treated
humanely in a fair, transparent manner … and this is really important
for our own future, Mr Moses says: But it is the rule of law that most strongly
drives economic performance.
Without the rule of law, there can be no stable, strong economy—and that is core.
I make note of the LNP's Andrew Hastie's courageous comments about China—frank and open comments
about China.
I note Senator Patrick's comments about Senator Kimberley Kitching from the Labor Party being
a co-sponsor initially.
That's on the public record.
I wonder—a question of Senator Patrick—is Labor worried about losing donations rather
than just simply being cowered?
Then we have, as Senator Patrick pointed out, the New South Wales ICAC's ruminations right
now.
We have questions over the Liberal Party's interactions with Chinese influences.
It's not just the Labor Party.
We have land ownership issues that are upsetting many, many Australians, including One Nation
supporters.
We have essential infrastructure being handed over to the Chinese to control our ports,
our electricity supply and potentially railroads.
And when Clive Hamilton becomes an ally in saying exactly these things, and warning us
of China's influence, then it's really a point to take note, because we don't see eye to
eye with Clive Hamilton on very many issues.
I hope paragraph (h) in Senator Patrick's motion includes political institutions as
well, not just university institutions.
In summary, China is a vital and important trading partner.
There are military and security questions associated with this large and increasingly
powerful country, there are human rights issues and there are fundamentals about the practice
of law.
This is a complex relationship, as Senator Patrick has the courage to point out, and
it must be inquired into for the benefit of our future, for the planning of our future
and for the security and safeguarding of our future.
Government has three fundamental roles: to protect life, protect property and protect
freedom.
There are needs in this inquiry to ensure that it protects Australia's future, but there
are also opportunities, as Senator Patrick pointed out, enormous opportunities if we understand this
relationship and the potential for the future.
One Nation supports the call for such an inquiry into a nation exerting powerful influences
on our nation and on key institutions in our nation and with potentially far more powerful
influences in our nation's future.
For the people of Australia, I urge senators to support Senator Patrick in this motion
Thank you Mr Acting Deputy President.