DITCH THE DICTATORSHIP’S ‘DEVELOPMENT’ DEAL
Western Victoria MP Bev McArthur has echoed Senator Sarah Henderson’s call for the Andrews Labor Government to tear up its Belt and Road Initiative agreement with China.
On Wednesday, Victoria’s Liberal Senator for Regional Victoria declared “As our nation grapples with the coronavirus pandemic and its origins, it is now even more evident that the Belt and Road Initiative is not in our national interest.”
Daniel Andrews signed a memorandum of understanding on the Belt and Road Initiative with Beijing in October 2018.
The Belt and Road Initiative steering committee reports directly into the State Council of the People's Republic of China, which is comprised of high-level ranking members of the Communist Party of China.
Bev McArthur said “If the federal government have refrained from entering into a similar deal with a communist dictatorship, a state premier shouldn’t be running behind their back and taking trips to China to sign Victoria up to deals against our national interest.”
“The Australian Constitution is clear-as-daylight about external affairs being a sole responsibility of the federal government. It’s not the Victorian Government’s place to be signing up to geopolitical development deals.”
“This is emblematic of the systemic poor definition and duplication of government roles and responsibilities occurring across the country that is leading to wasted taxpayer dollars and a lack of accountability."
"We’ve got local councils passing motions on nuclear disarmament, state governments signing up to international agreements and a federal government pitching into local sporting clubs.”
“We shouldn’t be a part of deals that seek to further the geopolitical objectives of a dictatorship that apparently under-reported epidemic statistics and endangered Victorians’ lives, and then threatened to stop buying Australian agricultural produce at the mere suggestion of an inquiry into the virus’ origins.”
“Perhaps Mr Andrews is just fond of the way things operate over there. Shutting down Parliament, refusing to have cross-party oversight of his pandemic response and concentrating power in the ‘gang of eight’ ministers, suggest that he just might prefer dictatorships over democracies that are transparent and accountable.”
1 May 2020