Australian PM Scott Morrison rebukes Victoria state that broke ranks to join China’s belt and road
- Last month, Victoria became the first and only Australian state to support President Xi Jinping’s global trade and infrastructure initiative
- Morrison said he was ‘surprised that the Victorian government went into that arrangement without any discussions with the commonwealth government’
Morrison’s remarks, made on the campaign trail, put him at odds with Foreign Minister Marise Payne, who downplayed the significance of the secret memorandum of understanding earlier on Tuesday.
On October 25, the Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, finalised the MOU with the Chinese ambassador to Australia, Cheng Jingye, making Victoria the first and only Australian state to support President Xi Jinping’s global trade and infrastructure plan.
In response to questions from the Nine Network on November 2, the Victorian government said that it “consulted with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) during the MOU’s drafting process and DFAT have been provided with a copy”.
While DFAT responded that it “became aware in June that Victoria was considering” joining the Belt and Road Initiative, as it is also known, it said the government was not informed the MOU had been signed until October 25, when it was announced.
On Tuesday, Morrison told reporters on the Sunshine Coast that he was “surprised that the Victorian government went into that arrangement without any discussions with the commonwealth government at all or taking … any advice … on what is a matter of international relations”.
“They’re the responsibilities of the commonwealth government and I would’ve hoped the Victorian government would’ve taken a more cooperative approach to that process.
“They know full well our policy on those issues and I thought that was not a very cooperative or helpful way to do things on such issues.”