Far too many secrets

VICTORIA is increasingly becoming the secret state.

We have hypersensitive judges who are far too “trigger happy” when it comes to issuing suppression orders.

Survey after survey shows the courts in other states such as NSW are far more devoted to the principle of open justice than ours.

Our State Government seems to be withholding the release of annual reports of public bodies that paint them in a poor light until after the election.

Even at a local government level decisions not to release information (such as the movement and remuneration of senior public servants) seem to be made on a whim but with reference to mysterious privacy policies which are also refused to be released.

And now the Andrews Government has signed a controversial memorandum of understanding with Communist China, the details of which it refuses to release to the public.

Little wonder the ordinary man and woman starts to get the distinct impression that society’s elites don’t trust them — and start to distrust the elites back.

The China deal situation is a shocker and makes clear why state governments are not tasked with national issues of foreign policy, trade or security.

Xi Jinping is the most aggressive Chinese leader we have seen in a generation.

China is in the midst of a huge expansionist thrust and is seen as mounting a divide and conquer strategy in the Pacific.

The rise of the Chinese middle class and its western appetites clearly provide a lot of trade opportunities for Australia. But a rising China equally provides just as many issues of security for us.

New Zealand has signed up for the Chinese “One Belt One Road” policy. But we all know who will be bailing them out if they ever have issues of international security.

Victoria madly jumping on board without agreement from Canberra is naive, stupid and reckless.

The refusal to give the public the details is, unfortunately, just routinely insulting.