Anyone with any knowledge of Russia could have told the Prime Minister that his gratuitous public and personal attacks on Mr Putin and on Russia in general would lead to retaliation. Russia was left with no other option except humiliation and Russians are too proud and too sensitive to accept that. So the Australian Government must have known that banning of our exports was the most probable Russian response and therefore prepared contingency plans to deal with this event. So why all the panic now? Why has the National Party not protected the interests of its constituents simply so Mr Abbott can engage in a contest with Mr Putin to show who has the hairiest chest?

This is not about MH17 although our attacks on Russia after that can only have made things worse. The sanctions and insults to which Russia is responding took place before the plane was shot down. While we do not know for sure who did it, the most likely explanation is that some incompetent separatist thought he was shooting down a plane out of Kiev. Whether Russia was directly or indirectly involved is not clear. What would Russia have to gain by deliberately shooting down a Malaysian airliner? If stupidity will explain something, we shouldn’t look for devious plots.

The Australian Government claims to have an Asian oriented policy so why are we getting involved in a European problem in which we have no direct interest? How will publicly insulting Russia promote our interests? And when will the Government explain what Australian interests have been served that outweigh the damage done to innocent Australian farmers?

Cavan Hogue is a former Australian Ambassador to USSR and Russia.