Letter
Oz government schizophrenia
Paul Keating is right to take to task the part of the federal government that this week wants to join the US in war with China. Last week, it seems we weren’t automatically joining the US in fighting China.
After all, this week Trade Minister Don Farrell celebrated ChAFTA, the free trade agreement with China, at a 400-person event in Melbourne.
I quote from China Daily:
“Australia’s Minister for Trade and Tourism, Don Farrell, praised ChAFTA for its ‘substantial benefits for both Australia and China’.
“Since coming into force in December 2015, two-way trade has more than doubled to A$312 billion (US$204 billion). And that growth has resulted in ‘more jobs, more investment and greater prosperity for Australia’, he said.
“Farrell reflected on his visit to the China International Import Expo in Shanghai last year, where he saw “just how much Chinese consumers value Australian products”.
“ChAFTA is more than just a free trade agreement. It was and remains a symbol of the benefits for both our countries that can be realised by deeper co-operation,” he noted.”
Why is our federal government so determined to deliberately confuse the Australian body politic?
— Geoff Taylor from Perth