China brought their thug tactics to the heart of Australia’s democracy and Albo had NO IDEA? Pull the other one – here’s why the PM was being less than sincere, writes PETER VAN ONSELEN
Anthony Albanese would have us believe that he channeled the three wise monkeys yesterday.
When Chinese officials tried to prevent Australian journalist Cheng Lei β previously jailed in China on trumped up charges β from being seen on camera just before the prime minister addressed the media, Albo pleaded ignorance.
He saw nothing, he heard nothing, he didn’t have much say in the matter.
Asked whether it is acceptable to import “that kind of behavior” into “the heart of democracy” in Australia’s Parliament House, the prime minister gave an unclear response.
βI didn’t see that,β he claimed. βI am not aware of these problems,β Albo insisted. Before we give in, ‘it is important that people can participate fully’. A bit of power in the end. Next question.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese shakes hands with China’s Li Qiang during a diplomatic meeting in Canberra on June 17
Did the Prime Minister’s personal staff of 11 media advisors miss the incident that was happening right under their noses? Not to mention the dozens of communications advisors in the Prime Minister’s and Cabinet’s departments?
It was a department official who tried to intervene and stop the Chinese from doing what they were doing.
The incident happened at 12:30 pm and was quickly reported by the media. The footage was broadcast on Sky News’ rolling coverage shortly afterwards and the Prime Minister arrived in the room to start his media conference just two hours after the incident.
No one was bothered by what happened? No televisions on in their parliamentary offices? Was the Prime Minister’s entire media team perhaps having a bite to eat? Or is it possible that the Prime Minister thought he was being clever and pretended not to be aware of the issue? After attending a workshop on how to avoid getting caught in the middle of a diplomatic incident.
It’s a stark choice β or the collective spin doctors around the boss are completely hopeless at their jobs β to track down an incident that was always going to be brought up at the impending media conference. Or the Prime Minister and his inner sanctum decided that ignorance really is bliss: don’t tell the Prime Minister!
Perhaps they decided that Albo would do better not to upset the visiting Chinese delegation, so he should just say he didn’t see it. For example, instead of noting that an authoritarian regime is throwing its weight around in our democratic parliament and pushing journalists out of the way when it suits them, is not appropriate.
This isn’t China, we don’t lock up journalists when they report uncomfortable truths.
After witnessing the consequences of his lackluster response on the radio this morning, the Prime Minister hardened slightly, presumably having now seen and heard what had happened.
Today he said it was a “pretty clumsy effort” by Chinese officials, humbly bragging that he “helped keep her safe.” [Cheng Lei] coming home’.
Ms Lei (pictured sitting and looking to the right) was hidden from view of television cameras by Chinese media officials (pictured, far right)
An Australian media official (pictured in the cream blazer) came to Ms Lei’s aid and ‘wedged’ herself between Ms Lei and another Chinese official in an attempt to block her view
Australian officials responded by physically securing themselves to protect the Sky News presenter, while China’s second-in-command Prime Minister Li Qiang and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese spoke to reporters.
Think how ridiculous it is to think that the Prime Minister’s media professionals were too incompetent to inform him of what happened on the day it happened. It’s not exactly an inexperienced lineup that Albo has hired around him.
Its head of communications, Brett Mason, is the former senior political correspondent for SBS β an Australian state news network dedicated to reporting on international politics.
Didn’t Mason know that Chinese officials were doing what they were doing?
The two senior advisers working closely with Mason are former Guardian Australia political editor Katherine Murphy and Fiona Sugden, who has worked for a number of Labor prime ministers and opposition leaders, including Kevin Rudd and Bill Shorten.
Sugden failed to see the political implications of the incident? Murphy missed it too?
My former colleague at Channel 10 Stela Todorovic is also in Albo’s office these days. During her time at the gallery, she was one of the best political reporters of the next generation, someone who always knew how to sniff out a good story.
Did they all miss what happened? Or did you just not think it was remarkable enough to bring to the boss’s attention two hours after the incident? Before he arrived at the microphone in the same room where it happened, to answer questions from journalists who had witnessed everything that unfolded.
I HIGHLY doubt it.
Cheng Lei is seen (left) with a Chinese official standing nearby in an attempt to block her view
Or was the Prime Minister deliberately kept in the dark so that he could say honestly and truthfully what he did? That he had no idea.
Katherine the Great, one of the greatest moralisers of our time for decades in the Parliamentary Press Gallery before moving to political staff, thought hiding the facts from the boss was the virtuous option on this occasion? I do not believe that.
Murphy was always quick to take political leaders like Scott Morrison, Tony Abbott and John Howard to task when she felt they were conveniently misinformed. She wouldn’t adhere to such double standards, would she?
Body language expert Dr. Louise Mahler doesn’t buy what Albo sold either.
βImagine if he really didn’t see it and didn’t know it,β Dr. Mahler said.
‘In this case he would have asked more questions about what had happened and said, ‘If that happened, of course it wouldn’t be acceptable.’
‘Instead, he had a pre-prepared answer: ‘I haven’t seen it.’ He then followed all too quickly with a quick (not sincere) smile for the Chinese-Australian lady in the gallery.’
Dr. Mahler insisted that the prime minister’s body language betrayed that the solution had been found.
βThis was clearly something they had discussed and organized in advance,β she said.
If the Prime Minister’s top priority was not to upset his Chinese guests, perhaps with the election just around the corner, his top priority should have been to consider how the Australian public would view such shenanigans.
Politely pretending not to have seen something that happened right under his nose in our democratic Parliament simply does not pass the political sniff test, especially with a team of taxpayer-funded media consultants bigger than any other MP until has at their disposal.
If they had had time again, let’s hope Team Albo would have done things differently.