Josh Zimmerman: Mark McGowan’s step back on China
Mark McGowan has built his COVID-era political persona on picking fights.
There was Clive Palmer and the hard border. Gladys Berejiklian and the Ruby Princess. Dominic Perrottet and the GST. In more recent times, western suburbs councils opposed to high-rise development.
It’s a shrewd approach that recognises humans are inherently tribal and prone to an “us and them” mentality. The trick for pollies is to ensure their position aligns with a healthy majority in the “us” column.
But one of those fights has now landed the Premier in an uncomfortable position. Then-defence minister Peter Dutton chose Anzac Day 2022 to say China was “on a very deliberate course” and that the “only way that you can preserve peace is to prepare for war”.
McGowan subsequently labelled Dutton “nutty”, “grossly irresponsible” and the “biggest threat” to Australia for his hard-line rhetoric on Beijing.
There are good reasons premiers usually refrain from entering the fray on foreign policy issues.
One of the primary ones was on display on Monday as McGowan repeatedly deflected questions about whether he took umbrage at language strikingly similar to that used by Dutton contained in the Defence Strategic Review.
It is one thing to take pot shots at a Liberal defence minister but quite another to keep up the attack when you are suddenly pitted against your own side. “I just think we need to calm down and tone down the rhetoric,” McGowan said yesterday. Wise words.
Mark McGowan has built his COVID-era political persona on picking fights.
There was Clive Palmer and the hard border. Gladys Berejiklian and the Ruby Princess. Dominic Perrottet and the GST. In more recent times, western suburbs councils opposed to high-rise development.
It’s a shrewd approach that recognises humans are inherently tribal and prone to an “us and them” mentality. The trick for pollies is to ensure their position aligns with a healthy majority in the “us” column.
But one of those fights has now landed the Premier in an uncomfortable position. Then-defence minister Peter Dutton chose Anzac Day 2022 to say China was “on a very deliberate course” and that the “only way that you can preserve peace is to prepare for war”.
McGowan subsequently labelled Dutton “nutty”, “grossly irresponsible” and the “biggest threat” to Australia for his hard-line rhetoric on Beijing.
There are good reasons premiers usually refrain from entering the fray on foreign policy issues.
One of the primary ones was on display on Monday as McGowan repeatedly deflected questions about whether he took umbrage at language strikingly similar to that used by Dutton contained in the Defence Strategic Review.
It is one thing to take pot shots at a Liberal defence minister but quite another to keep up the attack when you are suddenly pitted against your own side. “I just think we need to calm down and tone down the rhetoric,” McGowan said yesterday. Wise words.
