Murrays' think tank.

The next big surprise will be the real and true extent of Chinese investment in Au.

I think we can safely conclude that the FIRB is beyond a joke as a tool for keeping track of foreign investment.

Using history as a guide, me thinks it would be prudent to assume we are at war with China now, not in a possible future.

As we are quick to deport a few NZ criminals and missfits, Australia would be wise to extend that operation to include deporting Chinese missfits.
News is eerily silent on that aspect.

Next would be to intern Australian Chinese into internment camps, as we did with the Japanese in WW11.

But then again, one would need a truthful answer to the question, who is the real enemy in our midst?
We need to turn to Canberra for that answer.

Dan

Murray's bio reveals that his area is business: nothing about achievements in defence matters. So, we must take his piece as mere opinion. And, we all know about China. Not sure what our "traditional defense and security doctrine" means. Not sure that Murray does, either. Bushfires, drought and "the pandemic" don't seem to be relevant to it. And, politicians are correct in assuming that "that Australia's defense and security was closely aligned with US objectives", because they are. Murray even spells 'defence' the American way, with a 's'.

We should be continuing to foster "traditional" allies and partnerships, because, apart from Japan, the Asians have little interest in us, and they have nothing in common with us. They are even more cowed by China than we are; some are already up to their ears in debt to China.

Our only hope is a strong, Republican America. We need to start seriously defending ourselves and our culture - Western culture, not blathering about being in the Asian region. We have the example of the United Kingdom and the European Union to see how getting mixed up with people who don't speak the same language ends. Geography has nothing to do with who we are.

According to an IPA poll, 54% of Victorians do not want Andrew's Chinese BRI agreement with an obvious enemy of Australia going ahead. That's enough people to knock him and his extremist government on the head if they carry through on his amazing incompetence on that other Chinese legacy, the virus. Given Andrew's demonstration of what it is like live under a totalitarian regime, it's high time Victorians started taking action. Here's hoping.

What Diver Dan and TTBN have said here make me proud that there are still some Australian's around this empty echo chamber that is our country. Kudos

Yes ttbn, if the democrats win the upcoming US election, we will find ourselves basically alone. Depending too much on the yanks would be about as much use as depending on the poms in WW11. They defended India, not Oz, & expecting more from particularly a democrat US would be at least as fruitless.

We need to be adequately nuclear armed. Not that we could actually win a war against China, but to make invading us too costly for the prize to be worth the taking. As distinct from tanks & aircraft, nuclear weapons are weapons of peace not weapons of war. The plan is that by having them, war is just not worth the waging.

Without them we are a sitting duck for any numerically strong power, that could outlast the few superior weapons we have. At the moment we could not defend ourselves against just one US aircraft carrier, or even one of the latest Chinese carriers.

I guess that if we upgrade our intelligence capacity we could throw emails at any invading force, we don't have much else really dangerous to throw.

A rethink is essential! But one that includes much more self-reliance and nuclear-armed, nuclear submarines!

China will have no respect for a partner it can bully! We need to push back and demonstrate, it needs us more than we need them!

I'd start with a 10% tarrif on all manufactured products we buy from them, then up it by another 10% every time they stick one of their BS tarrifs on our traditional, unsubsidised, trade goods! And cancel some very important to them export licences and local real estate purchases, retropectively.

Starting with the Darwin port! Then the belt and road Andrews has negotiated? Then Gas!

We need to continue to be who we are. Folk who say what they believe and without fear or favour. Or worry that the truth as we see it, will cause some totalitarian tyrant to lose face? Then totally overreact as if we were Brutus, backstabbing Ceaser! Punish all Australians for the comment of a single man! And if you think that looks like lunacy? It's because it does!

We need to look to a world where we can trade finished products, not selling raw materials to it! And earn ten times what we make now, selling rocks! A high tech manufacturing sector is ultimaely, our only reliable defence/security.

And needs to be a nuclear-powered sector, i.e., MSR thorium.

We can do it or waste precious time prevaricating! If hot air counted for anything? Our politicians would rule the world!

As for Asia as defense partners? They will need to be proven reliable! Someone we can absolutely count on until the bitter end? Four candidates seem to come to mind? Vietnam, Japan, Taiwan and Singapore? It's not the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog that counts!
Alan B.