ALL EYES ON PENNY WONG – AUSTRALIA’S NEW FOREIGN MINISTER AS SHE HEADS STRAIGHT TO QUAD MEETING AFTER SPECTACULAR POLLS WIN – WILL SHE BE ABLE TO REPAIR TIES WITH A ‘VERY ANGRY’ CHINA – AND TRANSFORM AUSTRALIA’S IMAGE OF BEING AMERICA’S LAPDOG & SELF-APPOINTED ASIA DEPUTY SHERIFF – AFTER ALL, WTF IS AUSTRALIA IN THE SCHEME OF THINGS! WHY SHOULD AUSTRALIA THINK THEY SHOULD LEAD ASIA?
Anthony Albanese has been sworn in as Australia’s new leader and will fly immediately to an international summit.
Mr Albanese’s Labor Party defeated Scott Morrison’s conservative government in an election on Saturday.
I would say.. brain drain.. https://t.co/0xs6VU8S9J
— Marina Majid (@ulamwe) May 22, 2022
It remains unclear whether Mr Albanese will form a majority or govern with the support of crossbenchers.
The prime minister left for Tokyo on Monday to meet the leaders of the so-called Quad nations – the US, India and Japan.
Earlier in the day, he was sworn in with four key cabinet members, including new Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who is travelling with him to Japan.
Richard Marles is the new deputy prime minister and employment minister, Jim Chalmers is treasurer, and Katy Gallagher is attorney-general and finance minister.
But the primary vote for both major parties fell – almost a third of Australians put the Greens, independents and other minor parties as their first preference.
The Quad group is seen as largely aiming to counter growing Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific region.
It will meet on Tuesday following recent diplomatic tensions in the Pacific, after the Solomon Islands last month signed a security pact with China.
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGESThe US and Australia hold fears the deal could allow China to build a naval base there.
In a statement ahead of the meeting, Mr Albanese said: “The Quad Leaders’ Summit brings together four leaders of great liberal democracies – Australia, Japan, India, and the United States of America – in support of a free, open and resilient Indo-Pacific.”
Climate change played a huge role in the election result, with a surge in support for candidates wanting urgent action.
Mr Morrison’s government had committed to a 2030 emissions reduction target of 26%-28% – about half that of the UK and US. Mr Albanese’s government has a target of 43%.
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGESThe Greens are expected to pick up four lower seats, adding to seven climate-focused independents. They could put pressure on Labor to take even stronger action, especially if it fails to reach a majority.
Mr Morrison’s unpopularity and his party’s stance on climate have been blamed by some Liberal MPs for wiping out their vote.
Losses included senior party figures, including deputy leader Josh Frydenberg, in traditional Liberal strongholds.
Mr Dutton – from the party’s right – has been a controversial figure at times. Some question whether he could rebuild Liberal support in more progressive, metropolitan areas.
It’s been a busy few days for Mr Albanese. Since Saturday he has won an election, been sworn in as PM, and is now on his way to the Quad.
It’s fitting that Australia’s new leader would hit the ground running. There’s a lot to get to domestically and globally.
Mr Albanese has said the Quad alliance is an absolute priority for Australia. This meeting comes at a crucial and tense time in the region with a growing Chinese influence that’s making Australia and its allies nervous.
The recent China defence deal with the Solomon Islands is seen as a threat to Australia’s status as a strategic partner to Pacific nations. But there’s a fine balance Mr Albanese needs to strike.
He needs to address China’s expansion in the Indo-Pacific while also repairing a relationship with Beijing that’s fractured significantly since the beginning of the pandemic when Australia called for an investigation into the origins of the Covid virus.
China is now a very angry strategic trade partner. And the other Quad members will need to be reassured that Mr Albanese has a plan to manage the complicated relationship.
The prime minister says this trip is a chance for Australia to send a message globally that it is changing its approach on crucial policies such as climate change.
This is now being called the climate election. Mr Albanese wants to tell his allies and the world that under his leadership they’ll be dealing with a new and more globally-engaged Australia. BBC
How Penny Wong hopes to create friendly relations with China as she secures a top role in Anthony Albanese’s government
- Penny Wong is set to become the new foreign minister following Labor’s victory
- Ms Wong is hoping to repair the relationship between Australia and China
- She has urged the government to ‘stop playing of domestic politics’ on Beijing
- The ALP emerged victorious, with Anthony Albanese named 31st Prime Minister
Penny Wong will be looking to repair Australia’s damaged relationship with China when she becomes the foreign minister after Labor’s historic election win.
The ALP emerged victorious in a captivating contest on Saturday night, with Anthony Albanese named as Australia’s 31st Prime Minister.
Mr Albanese and Ms Wong, along with Richard Marles, Katy Gallagher and Jim Chalmers, are set to be the first ministers sworn in under the new government when they take the affirmation of allegiance at Government House on Monday.
Mr Albanese will then fly over to Tokyo with Ms Wong for a crucial meeting with the Quad leaders from Japan, the U.S. and India to discuss international matters.
Penny Wong (pictured) will be looking to repair Australia’s damaged relationship with China as she’s set to become the foreign minister after Labor’s historic election win
The ALP emerged victorious on Saturday night, with Anthony Albanese named as Australia’s 31st Prime Minister. Mr Albanese and Ms Wong (both pictured with Jodie Haynon), along with Richard Marles, Katy Gallagher and Jim Chalmers, are set to be the first ministers sworn in
China will likely be a point of discussion during the leaders meeting, as Penny Wong aims to repair relations with Australia’s largest trading partner.
Ms Wong has previously admitted the task of getting back on Beijing‘s good side will be ‘difficult’ amid an ongoing trade spat, as well as a whirlwind of threats by diplomats and communist party-run newspapers.
But the senator has argued that it is possible for the bitter feud to simmer down if the government stops ‘playing on domestic politics’ with the external issue.
Ms Wong told the Guardian’s Australian Politics Podcast that tactics by Scott Morrison to paint Labor as soft on China had only made the situation worse.
The Prime Minister in February branded Labor deputy leader Richard Marles a ‘Manchurian candidate’ after he called for closer defence ties with China on a trip to Beijing in 2019.
Penny Wong says Labor will look to repair Australia’s battered relationship with China if Labor is voted in next month
China under Xi Jinping have become increasingly aggressive in the region. Pictured: Chinese special forces training in Guangxi
Ms Wong said the extraordinary attack to portray the Opposition as weak on national security and a puppet of an enemy power, was an act of ‘desperation’.
‘It is also a trashing of Australia’s national interests because one of the things that makes us strongest is our unity,’ she said.
‘What we won’t do is play domestic politics with the China relationship.’
The once rosy political ties has spiralled downwards since April 2020.
Beijing reacted furiously to Australian government calls for an international independent inquiry into the origins of the Covid pandemic by imposing a range of tariffs and arbitrary bans of billions of dollars worth of key exports including barley, wine, beef, seafood, coal, copper and timber.
Prior to that in 2018, the authoritarian superpower erupted when Australia moved to ban Huawei from participating in the nation’s 5G rollout on the grounds of national security concerns.
Beijing’s militarisation of the South China Sea, crackdowns on democratic freedoms in Hong Kong and horrific human rights abuses against minorities in Xinjiang and Tibet, have also been sticking points for the two nations – as well as intelligence that China had tried to ‘influence’ Australia’s political system through an thwarted espionage plot.
Ms Wong reiterated that Labor will not kowtow to China on any of these issues, adding that repairing the relationship is ultimately ‘a question for China’.
The senator admits it’s going to be ‘difficult’ to get back on Beijing’s good side amid an ongoing trade spat as well as a whirlwind of threats by diplomats and communist party-run newspapers
‘We can’t control how they behave,’ Ms Wong said. ‘If China chooses to continue to impose what are clearly coercive economic measures on Australia, then that’s going to have a consequence in terms of the relationship.’
‘We won’t be abandoning the positions that cause China concern – Australia’s position on the South China Sea, Australia’s right to determine who builds its 5G network and who is part of the NBN,’ Ms Wong said.
‘We’re not going to abandon our position on the UN convention on the law of the sea or human rights or foreign interference.’
Dr Wakefield, who heads up the Australian Institute of International Affairs as the national executive director explained that Labor has tried very hard to burnish its credentials on foreign policy and rising tensions surrounding China.
‘They want to create the impression there is no daylight between the two parties and that is very true,’ he said.
Beijing reacted furiously to Australian government calls for an international independent inquiry into the origins of the Covid pandemic. Pictured: Chinese President Xi Jinping (pictured)
‘So that could encourage a feeling of mutual respect creating an opportunity for the relationship to be repaired.’
But he also added that there is a tendency to believe Chinese pressure on Australia is ‘all about Australia’.
‘That’s not always the case. In many ways it’s about sending a message to other countries in the region not to speak out,’ Dr Wakefield said.
‘So tensions may continue no matter who is elected or what stance they take.’
But this tactic by Beijing is starting to wear thin.
‘There is actually pressure on China from the international community and even domestically, to find some sort of off ramp for tensions with Canberra.
‘Their trade measures against Australia haven’t been particularly successful, nor has their wolf warrior diplomacy. It has received an international backlash.
‘So, it may be looking for some sort of reset and an election may be reset even if Australian policy towards China doesn’t actually change.’
Highlighting this point is that Foreign Minister Marise Payne met China’s new ambassador, Xiao Qian, in Sydney last month in what was regarded as a major breakthrough in relations.
Chinese diplomats have not even returned the phone calls of Australian officials in almost two years.