The politics of standing up to Xi’s China
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May 1, 2021 — 5.30am
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The new Defence Minister, Peter Dutton, has been criticised for warmongering this week, and the government stands accused of trying to set up a China panic to boost its re-election chances. The toughest critic probably was Kevin Rudd. The former prime minister told the ABC’s Leigh Sales that the government was seeking “the khaki terrain of a national security agenda”.
Rudd told me that “Morrison and company are addicted to the drug of ‘standing up to China’ every day of the week” because it helps the government politically. National security was “old faithful for the next election” while other issues weren’t running in the government’s favour. “And that is what the agenda shift to China is all about.”