We can rail against bullying by expanding trading base

EVER since I can remember as a young child we sold poppies on Anzac Day at school, we polished grandad’s war medals for the big parade, and we revered those Australians and New Zealanders who went off to Gallipoli, WWI and WWII. They suffered horrendous losses far away from home, lost many mates, and they sacrificed so much to protect our way of life, to uphold our values of right and wrong, and to give freedom to future generations.

It is because of this sacrifice, this mateship, and this Anzac spirit, that we have what we have today. So it makes me incredibly angry that in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis we are starting to see so-called “Australians” that are willing to put Communist China ahead of our own nation.

The whole world knows the virus originated in Wuhan, we know China shut down all domestic travel in and out of Wuhan to stop it spreading inside China, yet they chose to allow international travel in and out of Wuhan, and the virus spread worldwide as a result.

It has killed almost 300,00 people and infected over 4 million that we know of, Australia’s economy has been brutalised, a million people unemployed, schools and workplaces and hotels and pubs closed, our entire way of life suddenly changed. Billions of dollars has had to be spent to support jobs, families, and the economy.

All Australians, and our government, want is answers to how and why this was allowed to happen. You can bet if COVID-19 originated from Pakistan, or Singapore, or England, there would be worldwide investigations.

All Australians are well aware China is our biggest trading partner, and the potential costs if we stop trading with China, but the threats coming from China and the condescending way their leaders speak about Australia is bullying, plain and simple. We need to find new markets for our beef, dairy, grains, ores, minerals etc and we need to open trade with India, Taiwan, Japan, UK etc as many of these nations have been seeking more trade with Australia for years.

We simply cannot put the dollar, or Chinese trade, ahead of our national interests, national security and national pride. Australia is a free and democratic nation and we have to stand strong against such blatant bullying.

T BRIEN, HOPE ISLAND