Culture of Consensus Stopped Public Service From Tackling China Threat Early: Think Tanks
A culture of consensus held back the Australian Public Service from recognising, and acting, on the threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), leading think tank experts argue.
Peter Jennings of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute said there was a “remarkable degree of conformity” within the debate in the public service, particularly around foreign affairs.
“There’s not a lot of warmth or welcome towards people who challenge that conformity. You could argue that perhaps that’s a product of the design of the federal capital, which means that foreign and defence policy is very much a public service business inside the Australian Capital Territory and that, unlike Washington or London, it’s not troubled by a broader exposure to a range of views,” he told the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade.
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6 May 2021
China on Thursday announced the suspension of economic dialogue with Australia amid deteriorating relations over human rights issues, Chinese espionage and political interference, and Australia’s withdrawal from two projects tied to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
France24 described China’s action as “a largely symbolic act of fury,” the latest step in a process of deteriorating relations that began with Australia’s insistence on an independent probe into the origins of the Wuhan coronavirus.
China has been waging an increasingly intense trade war against Australia, coupled with diplomatic pressure and some very ugly propaganda, in an effort to bully Canberra out of demanding that coronavirus investigation.