News and politics recap: Anthony Albanese blasts China for destabilising Pacific with missile test

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Former DFAT Australia-China Council scholar Andrew Phelan has warned that China’s missile test is symbolic of a much broader challenge – one he says amounts to a second Cold War.

Mr Phelan told Sky New’s that China’s nuclear weapons programme was extremely ambitious, given it already possesses a full nuclear triad – delivering nuclear weapons by sea, air and land.

“I think we’re in the middle of Cold War 2.0,” he told Sky News.

He continued: “We as a country, as Australians, we need to have a long, hard think about where we are today, how we prepare ourselves for the future, and how we deal with this enormous long-term strategic challenge of the PRC going forward”.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers is facing a challenge to the operation of the Reserve Bank at this month’s national conference, The Australian is reporting.

A motion is expected to be moved calling on the party to recognise that interest rate rises are a “blunt instrument which hurts workers and vulnerable Australians first and hardest”.

Labor for Housing convenor Julijana Todorovichas sponsored a motion aiming to change the policy platform to include language that distances the party’s support from interest rate rises, with it being supported by an official from the Electrical Trades Union.

Political researcher Sam Palmer has looked into the hearts of One Nation voters and concluded they fear Australia is in so much trouble — caused by immigration, inflation and housing shortages — it may be close to the point of no return.

Ten One Nation voters from Liberal and ten from Labor backgrounds granted in-depth interviews to Mr Palmer explaining why they swapped parties, offering a rare insight into the psychological forces behind one of the greatest political shifts in a generation.

Read the full story.

US President Donald Trump has said either the US will make a deal with Iran or they will “finish the job” against the Middle Eastern nation.

Speaking to reporters, Trump said he would prefer to make a deal for the sake of the Iranian people, but warned it would be easy for the US to wipe out critical infrastructure.

“Look, we’re gonna win one way or the other. We are either going to make a deal or we’re going to finish the job, okay? And it won’t be tough to finish the job,” he told reporters on Monday, local time.

“I’d rather make a deal, because I don’t want to affect 91 million people. We can knock down their bridges in one hour. We can knock out their energy supply - all those big plants that they built, big, beautiful, modern plants, they had a lot of money.

“They don’t have any money now. We haven’t given them any money, but we can knock out their electricity and power-generating plants, and I wuld say that in a small part of an afternoon, every plant will be gone. And they know that. They know that.”

The newest threats come as the funeral for Iran’s former supreme leader Ali Khamenei has resumed.

Millions are expected to gather in mourning over the course of the multi-day event.

Shadow Minister for Defence James Paterson warned that Australia is not prepared for a high-intensity conflict in the Asia-Pacific region.

Senator Paterson told Sky News that while the Australian Defence Force was capable of managing low-level incidents, a serious conflict between superpowers was a totally different thing.

“If we’re contemplating a more serious conflict in the region - a high-intensity conflict between superpowers - then no, absolutely not. We are not spending anywhere near enough and we are not ready for that conflict, and we may have no control over whether or not that conflict occurs.

The Liberal frontbencher urged the government to back its rhetoric with investment, warning Australia had an obligation to stand up not only for itself but for its Pacific neighbours and allies.

“The government really needs to match their rhetoric with their investment and ensure we have the defence spending we need so we could come to the aid of our allies and friends, and our own interests, should the need arise.”

He said Australia was “in the business of preventing conflict through deterrence” but was falling short on both counts – deterrence and preparedness.

Shadow Minister for Defence, James Paterson, has branded China’s decision to test-fire a ballistic missile in the Pacific as sending a “menacing message” about their intentions.

The Liberal senator said the act was ‘intimidatory’ but would be counterproductive as it would inspire Pacific nations to invest in defence.

“It’s coercive and intimidatory. I think it is designed to threaten Pacific island nations, in particular, and intimidate them. And it’s about demonstrating China’s capabilities, military capabilities, which are very formidable,” Mr Paterson told Sky News on Tuesday.

“This is an unfriendly act by a country which says it is a friend of the Pacific; it is a friend of Australia.

“But like their circumnavigation of Australia in February last year, it sends a very menacing message to the region about China’s intentions and their capabilities, and it is what inspires countries to act then in their own self interest, in their own defence, to reach regional security arrangements and to invest in their own defence to hopefully deter and prevent conflict in the region. So I think it is entirely counterproductive.”

Senator Paterson says he was satisfied with the government’s response to the incident so far, but he sought further clarification on how the Labor government raised the issue with China.

“I think it would be approporaite for the foreign minister to raise it with her counterpart, or the Prime Minister to raise it with his counterpart, because we’d be objecting to this conduct not just on our own behalf, but also on behalf of our Pacific family.“

Anthony Albanese says negotiations over a treaty with the Solomon Islands have progressed during his visit to the Pacific nation.

On Tuesday, the Prime Minister confirmed that the talks would be led by Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy.

“We want to fast-track negotiations… We want quality, but not at the expense of rushing things, and we’ve had very constructive discussions that began with my cabinet in Canberra when Prime Minister Wale visited with senior members of his team,” he said.

“I think both sides come at this with goodwill, recognising that our respective national sovereignty is important, but also recognising that working together can be stronger.

Mr Wale added that “always the best wine comes last”, claiming his country expected the best deal after Australia signed a number of agreements with Pacific island nations including Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and Fiji.

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Matthew Wale has told media that Monday’s missile test from Beijing is further evidence of the need for a regional pact.

The Pacific nation’s leader was asked on Tuesday if China’s ballistic missile test had deterred the nation from coming to an agreement with Australia.

He said there were some gaps in regional architecture and reviews were occuring at the regional level, such as with intelligence gaps, but he said there was a need for a pact in the region.

“In many ways the missile test is further evidence for the need for regional platform so that the region can speak as one,” he said.

“It will allow some countries, not all the countries in the Pacific are not all on the same level of strength and may not want to speak up when things like this happen.

“But a regional platform will allow cover and allow for much greater sharing of intelligence and information.”

The Greens have called China’s decision to test-fire a nuclear capable missile over the Pacific on Monday an act of militarisation and violence.

The decision has spurred outcries across all sides of politics, with many Australian politicians lambasting Beijing for the move.

Greens senator David Shoebridge says Australia must sign a treaty to prohibit nuclear weapons.

Australia has not signed or ratified the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, despite more than 120 nations adopting the TPNW at the UN General Assembly in 2017.

However, the country is a signatory for the Treaty of Rarotonga, also known as the Nuclear Free Zone Treaty, which bars South Pacific nations including Australia from possessing or using nuclear weapons.

“This was an act of militarisation by China, an act of violence in the Pacific,” Mr Shoebridge said.

“We oppose what happens and we ask our government to take those most effective international measures that will prevent this happening again, and that is signing the treaty.”

The NSW senator also said the federal government should not be doubling down with AUKUS and inviting the US military, who are a nuclear-armed power, into Australia.