Our noble director sent me the link to the article that I want to tell you about today, but included a note which I found profound, and thought-provoking, so let me quote what Ken said: “Australians are known for their weakness when trade deals are done. You can imagine China declining to buy, for instance, our beef, because we have done something not within their approval. It could be un-related like killing kangaroos etc. BUT we would never use our commodities sold to China as a bargaining point over, say their illegal South-China sea activity. Underneath most problems we find the lack of adequate finance to over-ride most decisions. We tolerate any negative things like mines threatening underground water, as long as the mine delivers something to export for more dollars!!” And that is so true, indicating that unless a nation strives for financial and economic self-reliance, it is doomed to dependency and being at the mercy of the rest of the world, which is really just another definition of globalism. Here is an extract by Adam Ni, on the challenges of China:
http://www.visiontimes.com/2019/04/16/its-time-to-rethink-australias-approach-to-china.html
“The truth is, for too long, Australian elites have turned a blind eye to the challenges posed by China’s rise. Many of our political, business, and community leaders have developed cozy and profitable relations with the Chinese party-state. For too long, our elites have benefited from China’s economic rise without properly preparing the Australian public for the long-term challenges posed by an increasingly powerful authoritarian Middle Kingdom. There is no doubt that Australia needs to engage China on trade, investment, connectivity, security, and a raft of regional and international issues. But there is an urgent need to rethink our current modus operandi and recalibrate Australia’s approach to China. Of course, this process has been underway for some time. The bipartisan support for foreign interference laws and the decision to exclude Huawei and ZTE from the building of Australia’s 5G network highlight Australian concerns about China’s influence. However, I would argue that a deeper rethink is needed if we are to prepare Australia for a future in our corner of the world with an increasingly powerful China with vastly different political institutions and values.
