Revamp Foreign Relations

We have all experienced the moment deep in the aisles of Bunnings when we decide to DIY a job a bit beyond our skillset.

“I don’t need a professional tradie,” we tell ourselves.

We all know how the story ends. The DIY job fails, the initial problem gets worse, and we end up paying a lot more to bring the professionals in.

Unfortunately, this is happening to Scott Morrison as he tries to manage Australia’s international relationships.

This isn’t a weekend Bunnings DIY job. We don’t need a leader who tries to fix something on the cheap when a professional tradesperson is clearly needed.

Australia has been fortunate to have leaders who have worked hard to establish strong international relationships, handing them over to their successors with pride.

Paul Keating handed a strong set of international relationships to John Howard. Australia had a reputation as a good international citizen, a security pact with Indonesia and a pivot to Asia that secured our next decade of growth.

After 11 years in office, Howard handed to Kevin Rudd a stronger alliance with the United States, an independent, peaceful East Timor and the fruits of Mark Vaile’s time as trade minister.

And when Tony Abbott became prime minister, the G20 was a leader-level forum and he even had a vote on the United Nations Security Council, thanks to Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard.

So what is Scott Morrison going to hand over?

A legacy of domestic politics overshadowing the China debate.

An enduring memory of his joining then-president Donald Trump at a campaign rally.

Pacific Island neighbours who doubt our commitment to climate change and therefore question our commitment to the survival of their nations.

But his most lasting accomplishment in international relations will be that he proved to other world leaders from Emmanuel Macron to Joe Biden that he couldn’t be trusted. And that whatever they tell him could be selectively leaked to the media to score political points.

I guess we should consider ourselves lucky that Mr Morrison hasn’t done anything to insult the United Kingdom.

Mr Morrison is not the only one in this Government who uses foreign policy for cheap political points. Peter Dutton said he was “taking the trash out” when deporting New Zealand citizens. A range of Liberal backbenchers play politics on China simply to increase their Facebook likes.

Clearly it is going to take some impressive diplomacy to repair Australia’s standing. So what needs to happen?

We need to take the politics out of the China discussion and act in our national interest. That means putting our efforts into effective diplomacy rather than talking up “the drums of war”.

Yes, China is changing and has become more aggressive. At the same time, Australia’s business to business and people to people connections with China are deeper than ever before. Labor is committed to a consistent diplomatic approach. Calm, strategic co-ordinated diplomacy is key.

It is past time to get serious about trade diversification, too. Despite the ongoing announcements of free trade agreements, on Mr Morrison’s watch Australia has become more dependent on exports to China than we’ve ever been.

Now with a new trade agreement with the European Union hanging in the balance, perhaps it wasn’t very wise of Mr Morrison to treat his French counterpart with such contempt. After all, Mr Macron will be the president of the EU next year.

Diversification means not just new markets, it also means supporting new industries here in Australia. Creating the exporters of the future in film, blockchain financial technologies, gaming and advanced manufacturing.

There is still no plan for a mRNA manufacturing plant in Australia. And our Federal departments are too addicted to buying cheap from overseas without seeing the bigger picture.

That’s why Federal Labor will legislate a national Buy Australian Act, forcing the bureaucracy to use taxpayer dollars to buy Australian-made more often.

Lowest prices might be just the beginning for Bunnings, but for our Government, Australian-made must be the starting point.

Expanding Australian manufacturing is just one way we can ensure our security as an Indian and Pacific Ocean nation.

Our Pacific Island neighbours have been waiting for years to see Australia get serious about climate change. Their patience with us is running out. Australia legislating for net zero emissions by 2050 would be a start. But they will only believe us when we show Australia’s Government is doing the hard work of transforming our economy.

Being serious about the Pacific may also be the pathway to warming relations with France. It will still be a few years until we have a French president on an official visit dining on Australia’s best cuisine outside a Bunnings.

We need to restore trust in Australia and trust in our political leaders.

Because Australian workers should not be paying the price of a Prime Minister who leaves our international relationships so much weaker than when he started.

This opinion piece was first published in The West Australian on Thursday, 11 November 2021.