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October 24, 2023
JAMES PATERSON: So last night I asked the Australian Federal Police why it was the case that Hong Kong police had been visiting Australia and apparently training at the AFP Academy in Sydney and I was concerned that that the AFP frankly didn't appear to know about it and wasn't across the detail, and that it emerged through the discussion that possibly they were here to cooperate and train on cyber security. I mean, it would be deeply ironic if the number one source of state sponsored cyber attacks on Australia was sending their police force to come and train and cooperate with Australia on that and that the AFP wasn't a course that was for real concern.
JOURNALIST: So do you believe that given that Hong Kong is still technically a special administrative region, that those officers that came here could then directly report intelligence back to Beijing? Is that your concern?
PATERSON: There's no separation whatsoever between the Hong Kong police and the Chinese Communist Party and between the Hong Kong region and the Chinese government. Ever since the national security law passed several years ago, that autonomy has been completely destroyed and we've seen the Hong Kong police been on the front line of arresting pro-democracy protesters, arresting opposition MPs, arresting unionists, even putting bounties on the heads of an Australian citizen and an Australian permanent resident. And so the idea that they are police force that we should be intimately cooperating like this, it really raises concerns for me.
JOURNALIST: Sorry, just finally from me, are you concerned that those police could have then touched base with those China satellite police stations that we've seen popping up in some Western countries and reports that we had one in Sydney?
PATERSON: Look, the ASIO Director General has said that espionage and foreign interference is our number one security concern, and China is the number one source of that security concern. So we have to be very wary of the activities of any representatives
of the Chinese government while they're in Australia. We've seen in the past how academics, students, journalists and others have had to have their visas cancelled because they were acting on behalf of the Chinese government while in Australia. Imagine the possibility of a direct employee of the Chinese state being here and what they could do.
JOURNALIST: Just on your Israel comments in that interview. Do we know that Albo hasn't contacted Bibi?
PATERSON: I don't know whether he has attempted to contact the Prime Minister, but we do know as of today at least, that the Prime Minister hasn't spoken to Benjamin Netanyahu. Benjamin Netanyahu has spoken to dozens and dozens of world leaders. It wouldn't be an accident that they've not spoken and the Prime Minister and the government has provided no explanation for why that’s the case.
JOURNALIST: Was that confirmed at estimates today.
PATERSON: I believe it was this morning, yeah.
JOURNALIST: Penny Wong should go, you say?
PATERSON: Well, if the if the prime minister can't go to Israel because he's too busy or he can't fit in with all of his international travel, well that's the job of the Foreign Minister, then. I mean, we've seen countries like Italy, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, the European Union, they've all been represented. They've all had attendees go at the highest level. I can't understand why Australia doesn't see it has equal interest there to be balanced.
JOURNALIST: Do you feel that the overall response is still meek and slow in terms of Australia's kind of attitude towards the conflict. As you said in the early days.
PATERSON: It certainly was strange that the Prime Minister took as long as he did before he made any statement about it, and the Foreign Minister clearly got the tone wrong when she called for restraint while Hamas terrorists were still on the loose in Israel, shooting Jews in the street for the crime of being Jews. That's not what we said after September 11. That's not what we said after the rise of the caliphate and I think that was wrong in tone. Of course, we expected Israel to conduct itself like a liberal democracy, but we also absolutely understand why they need to do what they're doing right now against Hamas.
JOURNALIST: And just finally, you'd be talking to Israeli community leaders, I imagine. Do you feel like they are of the view that the government's not been strong enough to date.
PATERSON: That they wouldn't want me to comment on their behalf, they can comment for themselves. But ordinary members of the Jewish community have said, they've been very appreciative of the Liberal Party's strong support for Israel.
ENDS
