John Roskam from the Institute of Public Affairs highlights the failures of the fourth estate to hold our politicians (and other institutions) to account.
After a glorious long weekend (for most of the country) it can be hard to return to work.
However, recent events have me more worried about the future of Australia; just how many of these problems result from naiveté and wilful inaction by political leaders?
Regular readers will know that I have previously said that politicians only like to respond after a crisis has developed so they can ride in like a knight in shining armour to save us from the latest peril. After all, you get no credit preventing something most people don’t know about!
Many times, these ‘perils’ are hyped up by politicians and media alike. As such, they generally pose no greater threat than a mouse to an elephant. The greatest danger is the overreaction.
However, there are times when the initial under-reaction is the cause of the problem. The world faces such a circumstance now.
No, I am not talking about the bogus hysterical man-made global warming cult. We have over-reacted to the entirely natural phenomena of climate change too. After decades of the warming scare, the sun is entering one of the deepest Solar Minima in thousands of years. Even NASA concedes that if the current trend continues we will enter a dramatic cold period.
It’s almost unimaginable to the millions so deeply invested in the anthropogenic global warming (AGW) scam that the Sun’s activity might actually impact temperature on Earth more than the exhaling of mankind, however that is a column for another day.
The dangerous under-reaction I am referring to was the global inertia as China militarised the South China Sea.
As the Chinese Communist government turned coral atolls into airstrips and military bases, the world paid lip-service to objecting whilst China continued its territorial expansion. Demands for freedom of navigation exercises by Labor’s former Defence Minister Stephen Conroy were condemned by his own side as ‘escalating tensions’.
In July 2016, Conroy accused China of bullying and increased aggression, and calling for Australia to authorise the Navy to conduct such an exercise within the 12 nautical mile limit around the island military bases created.
“Now that it’s very clear … there is no 12 mile limit around these islands that China is claiming so Australia should authorise its forces to both sail and fly over the areas of the South China Sea,” he said.
The Australian government argued against such action and now an emboldened China has stared down our greatest ally in a recent skirmish.
This week, as a US-guided missile destroyer passed within 12 nautical miles of Gaven and Johnson reefs (newly made military bases), they were forced off course by a Chinese warship which came within metres of causing a collision.
Media reports the Chinese ship conducted a series of “increasingly aggressive manoeuvres” whilst warning the US vessel to depart the area. I have no further information and presume the US warship changed course.
This is a significant event for our region and is the portent of worse to come.
By ignoring its responsibilities under International law and aggressively expanding its arena of military influence, China now has an even greater influence over our country.
Not only are we now vulnerable to Chinese spending to keep our economy afloat, our education system is clearly being influenced by Beijing and our domestic politics has also been compromised by the weight of Chinese money.
Last weekend’s events now demonstrate that China is prepared to flex its military muscle within some of Australia’s most important trade routes.
Despite the years of denials from political leaders, the evidence of a growing economic, cultural and military threat on our own doorstep is there for all to see. Unfortunately, some people will only open their eyes when it is too late to do anything about it.
Cory Bernardi is the author of seven books and has been a member of the Australian rowing team, a publican, an investment portfolio manager and spent nearly 14 years as an Australian Senator.
