VICTORIA’S TRADE DEAL SPARKS GREAT BRAWL OF CHINA
PRESSURE is growing on Premier Daniel Andrews to release a secret trade and infrastructure deal he signed with the Chinese Government on the eve of the state election campaign.
The secret agreement has put Victorian Labor at loggerheads with the Federal Government, which is now moving to boost its presence and spending in the Pacific amid growing concerns about China’s increasing influence.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison will today outline plans to pump $2 billion into infrastructure in neighbouring island nations, declaring Australia has duties to look after the countries in “our home”.
“This is our patch. This is where we have special responsibilities. Always have, always will,” he will say today.
As the debate over Chinese interference reignites, federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg also warned he would block a Hong Kong-owned company from buying an Australian business that controls most of Victoria’s gas pipelines.
The controversial state agreement links Victoria with China’s Belt and Road Initiative, its effort to help build infrastructure projects across the world worth hundreds of billions of dollars while expanding its soft political power.
Mr Andrews continued to defend his government’s memorandum of understanding with China, saying it would re- sult in “more wine, more wool, more beef, more professional services being exported to create more jobs right here in Victoria”.
Opposition Leader Matthew Guy vowed to release details of the deal if elected, and while stopping short of promising to scrap it, he said: “I just want to know what’s in it.”
The Premier brushed aside concerns about China’s human rights record, saying “those matters are rightly the province of the federal government” — and said federal ministers were currently visiting the Asian superpower.
Chinese state-run media has celebrated the deal with Victoria as a way to bypass a federal government more worried about “national security and ideology”.
It is understood the Federal Government’s Foreign Investments Review Board could step in if Victoria becomes involved in Chinese infrastructure deals deemed to jeopardise the nation’s interests.
Mr Morrison said the deal was “a bit of a surprise”.
In a major speech today, he will outline plans for five new Australian diplomatic missions in Pacific nations, joint sporting events, and a push for more Australian content on Pacific TV screens.
The $2 billion Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific will include a mix of funding agreements and interest-free loans for new projects in the region, which could help island nations reduce their reliance on China’s Belt and Road cash.