❓ Mr. Love questions the Premier about consulting national security advice when engaging with foreign governments, particularly China. The Premier defends his actions, highlighting trade benefits and raising human rights concerns, while accusing the questioner of stirring anti-China sentiment.
AnsweredQoN 253Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
CHINA — PREMIER'S VISIT
253. Mr R.S. LOVE to the Premier:
I
have a supplementary question. The Premier did not answer the question
regarding consultation on national security ; therefore, I ask: does the
Premier have a habit of engaging with foreign governments without taking advice
on national security issues?
253. Mr R.S. LOVE to the Premier:
I
have a supplementary question. The Premier did not answer the question
regarding consultation on national security ; therefore, I ask: does the
Premier have a habit of engaging with foreign governments without taking advice
on national security issues?
AnswerView source ↗
I meet with foreign governments
virtually every day. I met with the Italian ambassador yesterday. I meet with
them all the time. That is not unusual. I do not call the Australian Security
Intelligence Organisation every time I meet with an ambassador, just so the
member knows.
In terms of the meeting in China
that I had with the vice foreign minister—his name is Minister Ma—on
the final day I was there, we consulted with the commonwealth government prior
to that meeting. In that meeting, I raised the issue of the detained
journalist, Cheng Lei, and another Australian who is detained, Dr Yang. I raised
the issue of those two individuals, subsequent to having discussed the matter
with the commonwealth government, which was
appropriate. Originally, I was not going to raise those matters because I was
not going to meet with Minister Ma ; that meeting came about whilst I was
in China.
If the member is in the camp of
trying to stir up anti-China sentiment—that appears to be the course
the member is on—I do not understand that. More than half our exports
as a state go to China. My visit to China allowed me to raise some of those
trade issues, particularly about crayfish, cattle and wine, on behalf of
Australian producers, and I am sure the
agricultural industry out there is very happy that I did that. I am sure that
the family of Cheng Lei is very happy that I was able to raise her case
whilst I was there. The iron ore industry and the mining industry want to have
a good relationship with our largest trading partner. If the Nationals and
Liberals want to turn it into something else and create hostility, I do not
think they are acting in the interests of Western Australia.
virtually every day. I met with the Italian ambassador yesterday. I meet with
them all the time. That is not unusual. I do not call the Australian Security
Intelligence Organisation every time I meet with an ambassador, just so the
member knows.
In terms of the meeting in China
that I had with the vice foreign minister—his name is Minister Ma—on
the final day I was there, we consulted with the commonwealth government prior
to that meeting. In that meeting, I raised the issue of the detained
journalist, Cheng Lei, and another Australian who is detained, Dr Yang. I raised
the issue of those two individuals, subsequent to having discussed the matter
with the commonwealth government, which was
appropriate. Originally, I was not going to raise those matters because I was
not going to meet with Minister Ma ; that meeting came about whilst I was
in China.
If the member is in the camp of
trying to stir up anti-China sentiment—that appears to be the course
the member is on—I do not understand that. More than half our exports
as a state go to China. My visit to China allowed me to raise some of those
trade issues, particularly about crayfish, cattle and wine, on behalf of
Australian producers, and I am sure the
agricultural industry out there is very happy that I did that. I am sure that
the family of Cheng Lei is very happy that I was able to raise her case
whilst I was there. The iron ore industry and the mining industry want to have
a good relationship with our largest trading partner. If the Nationals and
Liberals want to turn it into something else and create hostility, I do not
think they are acting in the interests of Western Australia.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.