Greens leader blames two factors for Australia’s woes with China

Greens leader Adam Bandt says there are two major factors which have led to Australia’s tensions with China.

“We’ve become too reliant on the US politically and too reliant on China economically and there hasn’t been a plan to have more diversified markets and there hasn’t been a plan to develop foreign policy that’s in our own best interests,” he told Tom Elliott.

Mr Bandt said governments of “both stripes” had been too easily seduced.

“I think we’ve become a bit too dependent on China economically and put all of our eggs in quite an unstable basket,” he said.

“I think that’s been a pattern from governments of both stripes over many years and I think we are finding out now that it comes with some costs and that a lot of the agreements that have been signed turn out to not be worth the paper they’re written on.

“Secondly, and more recently, Scott Morrison aligned himself very closely with Donald Trump and bought himself into Donald Trump’s domestic re-election campaign, which obviously involved beginning a trade war with China.

“Scott Morrison coat-tailed Donald Trump and now with Trump on the way out, I think we are finding out that poor decision comes with some consequences.”

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