❓ A parliamentary question regarding the Treasurer's past trip to China, specifically questioning the involvement of Huang Xiangmo and the Chinese Communist Party. The Treasurer denies knowing the individual and defends the importance of the WA-China relationship.
AnsweredQoN 47Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
TREASURER — CHINA
VISIT — CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY SUPPORT
47. Mr A. KRSTICEVIC to the Treasurer :
My question is to the Treasurer.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members on my
right.
Mr T. Healy interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Southern River, I call you to order for the first time. I was on my feet.
Mr A. KRSTICEVIC : The Premier
is once again completely unaware of important national security matters,
including this one that has been debated in the house.
(1) Can the
Treasurer explain to the Premier and the house who Huang Xiangmo is and his
links to the Chinese Communist Party?
(2) Was Huang
Xiangmo recently stripped of his permanent residency and citizenship allocation
for his close links to the Chinese Communist Party?
(3) What
respective roles did Huang Xiangmo and the Chinese Communist Party play in
organising and paying for the Treasurer's trip to China in 2015?
VISIT — CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY SUPPORT
47. Mr A. KRSTICEVIC to the Treasurer :
My question is to the Treasurer.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members on my
right.
Mr T. Healy interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Southern River, I call you to order for the first time. I was on my feet.
Mr A. KRSTICEVIC : The Premier
is once again completely unaware of important national security matters,
including this one that has been debated in the house.
(1) Can the
Treasurer explain to the Premier and the house who Huang Xiangmo is and his
links to the Chinese Communist Party?
(2) Was Huang
Xiangmo recently stripped of his permanent residency and citizenship allocation
for his close links to the Chinese Communist Party?
(3) What
respective roles did Huang Xiangmo and the Chinese Communist Party play in
organising and paying for the Treasurer's trip to China in 2015?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(3) First
of all, I do not know the individual the member referred to. Secondly, I am not
actually the immigration minister, so I cannot make any comment about the
reasons why or, indeed, whether that person was stripped of citizenship. I do
not know, because as the member might find out, I am not in the commonwealth
Parliament.
But there are a couple of points I want
to make. I am actually finding that the tone of the debate about China is going
down a path that leaves me feeling slightly uncomfortable.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members!
Mr B.S. WYATT : I do not know
for sure, but the member for Dawesville asked me a very legitimate question
last year on this. I answered that, and I have nothing further to add to that
particular issue. If the member for Carine cares to go back, he can have a look
at it.
I want to make a couple of points.
There seems now to be a spread in the arguments the opposition is making about
Huawei. Although ham-fisted in its articulation, that line of inquiry is
legitimate. The second point I make is that the argument is now spreading more
broadly to China and the Chinese Communist Party. I want to pose a hypothetical
question. I am not seeking an interjection, for your own relief, Mr Speaker.
Does any serious politician in Australia think that you can meet with a senior
official in the Chinese government who is not also a member of the Chinese
Communist Party? Right. I think we all have a view on that that it is fairly
certain. For example, on Hon Colin Barnett's first trip to China in
2009, he met with Mr Han Zheng, deputy secretary of the Communist Party of
China, Shanghai. He was also the mayor of Shanghai. That was a very important
meeting, one would think, in terms of Western Australia's economic
success. Western Australia's exports to China account for 25 per cent
of the Western Australian economy. Hundreds of thousands of jobs in Western Australia
depend upon that relationship. I warn members of the opposition. The member for
Carine should know better. I saw him with the Chinese Consul General. Which
party do members think he is a member of?
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members!
Mr B.S. WYATT : Two weeks ago,
the member for Carine was there gushing about his love of the Chinese. I say to
you, member for Carine—you know better, Leader of the Opposition—that
the relationship we have with China is fundamental to the success of this
state. The relationship Australia has with China is fundamental to the success
of the nation. That has been a bumpy road nationally. We do not want to go down
that road. It is the fundamental economic relationship for Western Australia.
Any gift I have been given has been
declared. If the member has a view about the appropriateness of that gift, go
for it. It has been declared. But I do not accept for a minute the argument
that the Chinese Communist Party is an enemy of the state. The member for
Carine seems to, but I certainly have a view, as a senior member of the WA government
representing the people of Western Australia, that we have to have a responsible,
clear and mature relationship. How we articulate that relationship is
important. My warning to the member for Carine is that he should be very
careful about how he articulates his critique of me, the Premier or the
Minister for Transport, because the fundamental relationship that ensures that Western
Australians are paid and in jobs is the relationship we have with China.
of all, I do not know the individual the member referred to. Secondly, I am not
actually the immigration minister, so I cannot make any comment about the
reasons why or, indeed, whether that person was stripped of citizenship. I do
not know, because as the member might find out, I am not in the commonwealth
Parliament.
But there are a couple of points I want
to make. I am actually finding that the tone of the debate about China is going
down a path that leaves me feeling slightly uncomfortable.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members!
Mr B.S. WYATT : I do not know
for sure, but the member for Dawesville asked me a very legitimate question
last year on this. I answered that, and I have nothing further to add to that
particular issue. If the member for Carine cares to go back, he can have a look
at it.
I want to make a couple of points.
There seems now to be a spread in the arguments the opposition is making about
Huawei. Although ham-fisted in its articulation, that line of inquiry is
legitimate. The second point I make is that the argument is now spreading more
broadly to China and the Chinese Communist Party. I want to pose a hypothetical
question. I am not seeking an interjection, for your own relief, Mr Speaker.
Does any serious politician in Australia think that you can meet with a senior
official in the Chinese government who is not also a member of the Chinese
Communist Party? Right. I think we all have a view on that that it is fairly
certain. For example, on Hon Colin Barnett's first trip to China in
2009, he met with Mr Han Zheng, deputy secretary of the Communist Party of
China, Shanghai. He was also the mayor of Shanghai. That was a very important
meeting, one would think, in terms of Western Australia's economic
success. Western Australia's exports to China account for 25 per cent
of the Western Australian economy. Hundreds of thousands of jobs in Western Australia
depend upon that relationship. I warn members of the opposition. The member for
Carine should know better. I saw him with the Chinese Consul General. Which
party do members think he is a member of?
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members!
Mr B.S. WYATT : Two weeks ago,
the member for Carine was there gushing about his love of the Chinese. I say to
you, member for Carine—you know better, Leader of the Opposition—that
the relationship we have with China is fundamental to the success of this
state. The relationship Australia has with China is fundamental to the success
of the nation. That has been a bumpy road nationally. We do not want to go down
that road. It is the fundamental economic relationship for Western Australia.
Any gift I have been given has been
declared. If the member has a view about the appropriateness of that gift, go
for it. It has been declared. But I do not accept for a minute the argument
that the Chinese Communist Party is an enemy of the state. The member for
Carine seems to, but I certainly have a view, as a senior member of the WA government
representing the people of Western Australia, that we have to have a responsible,
clear and mature relationship. How we articulate that relationship is
important. My warning to the member for Carine is that he should be very
careful about how he articulates his critique of me, the Premier or the
Minister for Transport, because the fundamental relationship that ensures that Western
Australians are paid and in jobs is the relationship we have with China.
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