National security should outweigh trade

The sacking of the Director-Generals of Australia’s security agencies as permanent attendees at the country’s National Security Committee is an issue of grave concern.

The recent news of the decision - taken some time ago - leads to serious questions about the Albanese government’s commitment to Australia’s national security.

Instead of the heads of the premier security agencies, the government has appointed the Secretary of the environment department as a permanent attendee.

The NSC is the premier standing committee of the Cabinet. It is authorised to make decisions about Australia’s national defence and security without reference back to the full Cabinet. Hence, it is the nation’s ultimate decision-making body on security.

While various ministers comprise the NSC, it has been a long tradition that the heads of various agencies, including the Defence Forces and the security bodies attend its meetings routinely.

Having been a member of the NSC, I can attest that the regular advice of the heads of the security agencies was invaluable. The idea that they are only invited to attend when it is thought appropriate is misguided. 

What is the point of a NSC that doesn’t regularly listen to the heads of the principal security agencies?

Why was this decision taken?  No explanation has been given. When asked by Senator James Paterson, the Foreign Minister Penny Wong claimed that “we don’t comment on the workings of the NSC” even though she was queried about its composition, not its workings. In fact she claimed that it was beneath Senator Paterson to even ask her questions about the issue!

It has been reported that the decision was recommended by the Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Glyn Davis, the nation’s top public servant and the principal advisor to the prime minister.

Professor Davis had fostered close relations with China in his previous position as the Vice Chancellor of the University of Melbourne (2005-2018). Of the university’s 52,000 students, 41 per cent are from overseas, a large number from China.

As at December 2022, the 14,166 overseas students at the University of Melbourne trailed the 26,590 at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and the 22,140 at Monash University. 

Prior to her appointment by Victorian Premier Dan Andrews as Governor of the state, Mr Davis’ partner, Margaret Gardner was Vice Chancellor of RMIT (2005-2014) and Monash University (2014-2023).

The various Melbourne universities had three of the four largest cohorts of overseas students in Australia, the other being Perth’s Curtin University with 15,598 students.

Mr Davis has accompanied former Victorian Premier Andrews to China and has clearly sought to promote the benefits of the relationship with the Middle Kingdom.

He has also ordered a review of the funding of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, the country’s leading thinktank on national defence and security. Many observers fear that the review will be a vehicle to defund ASPI.

Despite publicly rejecting former prime minister Paul Keating’s criticism of the government for not being sufficiently pro-China, there are indications that the Albanese government has elevated trade and commerce to the detriment of national security.

The visit last week by Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, focussed on trade issues, with the Australian government announcing that it would lift restrictions on the import of wind turbine equipment.

It also expressed hope that CCP tariffs on Australian wine exports would be withdrawn.

While trade is important, the national governments first priority is the security of the country.

A few weeks ago, the head of the domestic security agency ASIO, Mike Burgess warned that a former Member of Parliament had been a spy for an unnamed foreign regime. The regime is widely believed to be the Chinese Communist Party. 

According to Mr Burgess, the unnamed country had assembled a special A-team - an Australian team - to recruit domestic spies, including members of parliament. “Several years ago, the A-team successfully cultivated and recruited a former Australian politician. This politician sold out their country, party and former colleagues to advance the interests of the foreign regime. At one point, the former politician even proposed bringing a Prime Minister’s family member into the spies’ orbit. Fortunately, that plot did not go ahead but other schemes did.”

The approaches were not limited to former parliamentarians. “Another Australian, an aspiring politician, provided insights into the factional dynamics of his party, analysis of a recent election and the names of up-and-comers – presumably so the A-team could target them too.”

Doesn’t the government wish to regularly hear and discuss this type of advice? Removing Mr Burgess and the head of ASIS, Kerri Hartland as regular attendees at the NSC sends the wrong messages to other nations.

The record of the CCP interfering in Australian affairs is beyond dispute.

This is not the time to be complacent about our national security.

First published in the Epoch Times Australia.