With our current federal government rushing to pass legislation banning foreign interference in the Australian democratic process, Mark Dreyfus has pointed out we need to narrow the legislation so it involves only espionage or political interference without netting a whole bunch of people and organisations who deal with foreign powers on a daily basis.
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China is annoyed with Australia, not because we are affirming our sovereign right to protect ourselves as portrayed in the media, but because of the fact we single them out as the only source of this interference.
I support China in their criticism of Australia because we freely allow America and England to influence our governments. Remember the “axis of evil” all based on lies where John Howard manipulated the Australian people to believe this was in our best interest but based on the Americanisation of our alliance with G.W. Bush primarily to undo what Paul Keating was planning for Australia’s Asian future.
Remember the Vietnam War when it was all the way with LBJ but that interference cost us many deaths and our returned service personnel are still suffering. Remember the dismissal of the Whitlam government in 1975? Our Governor General contacted the English Royal family via Prince Charles as early as September of that year of his plans.
Following that two English MPs were dispatched to Australia to further advise all without the government of the knowing. Monash University Emeritus Professor and historian Jenny Hocking is still pursuing the “palace letters” which the courts have ruled private, and archives will not release them until 2027 but even then the English Royal Family has the power not to have them released.
This is interference in the most brazen form. I do agree Australia needs to have legal protections in place against espionage and political interference to protect our democracy but let us be honest in realising our threats can come from our two closest allies and the English Royal family.
The sooner we become a republic and grow up to face our Asian future the better off we will be.
Kevin De La Torre, Staghorn Flat
More to us than Sydney
The use of Crocodile Dundee style ads to promote Australia is long overdue.
The real Australia and real Australians are our best asset. The natural beauty and open spaces of Australia is what many international tourists come here for. They do not come here for buildings and crowds – they have that at home.
Let’s see Australia featured for more than the east coast and Sydney in overseas advertising for a change. We have untapped locations and regions that have not been promoted and should now be featured. There are awesome road trips should be featured, flights into cities like Darwin and Adelaide should be advertised far more overseas.
Many regional areas are worthy of being tourism destinations and are often the gateway to many amazing places. Regional MPs need to be more vocal around inbound tourism for their regional areas .
Our region’s wine and food and the Alps and rivers make us a fine destination.
The use of Crocodile Dundee is fantastic and can go further with the use of the Man from Snowy River as well and finish this lunacy about culling the wild horses. They area great part of our history.
