CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT
Defence Minister Peter Dutton has dragged the election news cycle away from his bumbling leader Scott Morrison today, by banging the drums of war and accusing China of an ‘act of aggression’.
According to intelligence officials, a Chinese naval ship has been tracked off the West Australian coast, which is definitely something that all Australians should keep in mind when they head to the ballots next Saturday
Dutton didn’t offer comment on the fact that this vessel was reportedly spotted a week ago – but only announced today, after the Morrison Government’s nightmare week of dipping polls and poor debate performances.
The Defence Minister, who described the situation as unprecedented, said he was concerned not just at how far south the ship had travelled but also that it had “hugged” the coastline as it headed back north towards the Port of Darwin – a major Australian which the Liberal Party gleefully sold to China in 2015.
According to new reports this week, Australian taxpayers donated close to $20 million as an incentive for the Northern Territory to sell the Port of Darwin to a Chinese company, a reckless decision that Scott Morrison is believed to have actively encouraged as Treasurer.
Chinese company Landbridge secured a 99-year lease of the port for $506 million – in a deal that deeply concerned national security experts, even causing then-United States president Barack Obama to warn against the decision.
However, the fact that one of Australia’s most important international trade facilities is owned by a company that answers to another country’s government is hardly as scary as a boat that was floating around the Top End last week.
It is not yet known what the vessell was doing in these waters, any whether this was a military excercise.
However, judging by Australia’s current failings in foreign policy, it could easily have been sizing up some new island nations to form security pacts with – now that Marise Payne and Scotty have allowed them to just waltz on in to the Solomons Islands.
Defence officials have since clarified they are not concerned about this.
