Former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison raised alarm bells about the real and building threat of communist China in his valedictory speech on Feb. 27.
In his final speech to Parliament, Mr. Morrison warned that Beijing’s “tactics change but their strategy remains the same.”
He said the 2022 election may have provided an opportunity for Beijing to step back from their failed attempts at coercion, “but we must not be deluded.”
In a stark warning, Mr. Morrison said, “we are not alone in waking up to this threat, investors are now rightly pricing the risk of their investments in an authoritative communist China” while “consumer advocates are waking up to human rights abuses and environmental degradation that infects these supply chains.”
Global Rules-Based Order Challenged
The former prime minister said the global rules-based order was being challenged by a new arc of autocracy, ranging from Pyongyang to Beijing, to Tehran and Moscow.“An accord of would-be regional hegemons who would prefer power to freedom and care little for the price their own citizens pay to achieve their ends.”
He said for this reason, his government had stood firm against the “bullying and coercion” of an “aggressive Chinese Communist Party governing in Beijing,” who thought Australia would “shrink when pressed.”
“Indeed, we not only stood firm, but we worked with our allies and partners and those in our region who wished to protect their own sovereignty to counter this threat to regional peace, prosperity, and stability.”
Moving on to other regimes, Mr. Morrison said in Tehran, Iran, “we find the funders, trainers, and apologists for terrorists seeking to acquire the most deadly defence technology imaginable in nuclear weapons.”
Mr. Morrison continued, saying Tehran’s green light for the Hamas terrorist attack on innocent civilians in Israel on Oct. 7 was “unforgivable.”
“In response to such overt attacks, there can be no equivocation on where we can stand as a representative democracy when another who has been such a great friend of Australia is under attack,” he said.
“There also can be no equivocation in calling out the anti-Semitism that has now occurred in this country to our shame, and other places across the western hemisphere in the wake of Oct. 7.”
Moving on to Ukraine, Mr. Morrison said fighting continues to rage two years after Russia’s “illegal invasion.” He said, “I’m proud of our swift response to support Ukraine.”
“This must continue and is utilising every resource and capability we can reasonably provide. Ukraine may be a long way from Australia but the implications of a Russian victory will reverberate just as quickly in our own hemisphere, emboldening again those who seek to challenge our region,” he said.
Mr. Morrison served as the 30th prime minister for Australia from 2018 to 2022 after being elected as the member for Cook in 2007.
Morrison Pays Tribute to Wife
Speaking about his family, the former prime minister was grateful to his wife, Jenny, who he said has “always been there for me whenever I needed her from dawn, and beyond the many midnights we have shared together.”“See? I’m actually a true new romantic after all. I can assure you there is no bad blood. As I’ve always been someone who has been able to shake it off,” he said in a Taylor Swift reference.
“As most people know, subject only to God, my family is the centre of my life. And at the very centre of our family is Jen. I cannot imagine life without her. I love you, Jen, and always will. That is the cross you have to bear.
Albanese Pays Tribute to Morrison
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese paid tribute to Mr. Morrison in Parliament, noting that they both agreed the goal was to make the “greatest country on earth” even better.“You and I have had our differences, but we have absolutely agreed—and I hope that you have the same view that I have of you—which is that, no doubt for one second that we know that this is the greatest country on Earth, and that our job—wherever we come from in the political spectrum—is to try and make that greatest country on Earth that much greater by what we do each and every day.”
Mr. Albanese acknowledged Mr. Morrison’s contribution as a parliamentarian, noting his first speech was 16 years and two weeks ago.
“More than half that time in government. And, indeed, in cabinet. And for nearly half of the time in government, serving as prime minister. As I said, one of only 31 people to know that incredible honour,” Mr. Albanese said.
