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Opinion | Australia is in no position to criticise China on human rights abuses
- Australian governments have inflicted mental and physical harm on asylum seekers and Indigenous Australians, supported Israel in its treatment of Palestinians and lagged in the fight against climate change
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It would be an understatement to observe that the China-Australia relationship is experiencing some turbulence at the moment.
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Australia’s biggest export destination is making life difficult, and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s indignant reaction to a tweet by a Chinese Foreign Ministry official showing a fake image of an Australian soldier murdering a child – along with a new law passed by parliament which enables Morrison’s government to override investment agreements Australian states and territories reach with China – means smoother waters remain a distant hope.
The narrative being told by Morrison’s government, opposition parties and the media is that China is a human rights pariah, a thug and a bully whereas Australia is a beacon of humanity, the very essence of a liberal democratic state.
US President-elect Joe Biden’s choice for national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, took to Twitter this week to push this line observing, “The Australian people have made great sacrifices to protect freedom and democracy around the world. As we have for a century, America will stand shoulder to shoulder with our ally Australia and rally fellow democracies to advance our shared security, prosperity, and values.”
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While the image of Australia as a champion of human rights is convenient in the context of a spat with a one-party state like China, the reality is very different. Over the past 20 years in particular, Australia has become a pariah when it comes to upholding “freedom and democracy”, to use Sullivan’s term.
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