Australian universities face a huge revenue hit from falling international student numbers due to COVID-19 and tensions with China. Some institutions should consider merging rather than downsizing.
Unlike the US, Australia hasn’t yet been hit by a large-scale disinformation campaign focussed on meddling with elections. But this is a ‘realistic prospect’ moving forward.
Scott Morrison has made a diplomatic blunder in leading the push for an inquiry into the origins of coronavirus. There is much at stake, and he now needs to find a diplomatic way out.
Despite veiled threats from the Chinese government, and the desire in some parts of the Australian community for a split, China and Australia need each other.
Tianjin Garden at the northern end of Spring Street is a symbol of Melbourne’s 40-year friendship with its sister city, Tianjin.
Leonid Andronov/Shutterstock
Australian city councils appreciate the social and educational benefits of having Chinese sister cities. Gaining new markets and attracting tourists and investment have proved more challenging.
Rudd said Australia must once again become the international champion of the South Pacific nations: ‘The so-called 'Pacific step-up’ is hollow.‘
Lukas Coch/AAP
Launching journalist Peter Hartcher’s Quarterly Essay, Red Flag: Waking up to China’s challenge, Rudd said “we have become too China-dependent. We need to diversify further”.
The alleged attempted penetration of federal parliament is significant, given (if true) its deep implication for Australia’s democratic system.
Lukas Coch/AAP
Amid debate about China’s refusal of visa to two federal MPs, former PM Paul Keating denounced the media for ‘failing to present a balanced picture of the rise, legitimacy and importance of China’.
Morrison told reporters he’d made the point ‘which was well received, that Australia is an independent, sovereign nation’.
Lukas Coch/AAP
Morrison stressed “that we will never feel corralled into any sort of binary assessment of these relationships” - assessments that said “pro-United States or pro-China”.
‘It is inevitable that Australia will make more decisions that China doesn’t like,’ said Penny Wong.
Joel Carrett/AAP
Focusing on China policy in a Monday address - released ahead of delivery - Penny Wong says Australia needs to ‘define the boundaries’ of its engagement with China as the relationship is in a new phase.
In his recent US trip, Prime Minister Scott Morrison align Australia firmly with the US’s vision of China, while Labor has been more circumspect.
AAP/The Conversation
In its mirroring of the US position, the government is indicating it believes China needs to have its wings clipped, while Labor has taken a different view.
Donald Trump and Scott Morrison at the opening of billionaire Anthony Pratt’s paper factory Ohio, which looked like a rally for Trump.
Mick Tsikas/AAP
During his week in the United States, the PM tied himself to Trump to a remarkable degree. Though, the Washington days were better than later appearances, which saw Morrison open the China debate.
In his address on foreign policy in Chicago, Morrison said China needed to reflect its new status as a developed country in its trade arrangements and meeting environmental challenges.
Mick Tsikas/AAP
Anthony Albanese has attacked Scott Morrison for sending a message to Beijing while in the United State, opening a partisan rift at a time when Australia-China relations are at a low point.
“You won’t find a more sure and steadfast friend, a better political mate, than Australia,” said Morrison.
Mick Tsikas/AAP
Amid the glamour and glitter and the mutually admiring exchanges between Donald Trump and Morrison, China and Iran were the central policy issues of interest during the PM’s Washington trip.
Liu won the marginal seat of Chisholm at the May election, making history as the first female Chinese-Australian MP.
Mick Tsikas/AAP
Following a politically disastrous interview, Liberal MP Gladys Liu has issued a statement strongly proclaiming her loyalty to Australia and her support for the government’s policy on China.
In his speech, Lewis noted the scale and sophistication of threats varied greatly.
Steven Saphore
In an address to the Lowy Institute, outgoing ASIO head Duncan Lewis warned that “the scale and scope of foreign intelligence activity against Australian interests is unprecedented”.
Honorary Professor, School of Kinesiology, Western University, London, Canada; Adjunct Fellow, Olympic Scholar and Co-Director of the Olympic and Paralympic Research Centre, Institute for Health and Sport, Victoria University