Thursday, August 11, 2016

Australia's Got Foreign Policy Talent

How lucky is Australia to have a surfeit of foreign policy genius at its helm.

There's Julie Bishop of course, on the government side. And now, taking over from that other foreign policy genius, Tanya (Once Was Warrior) Plibersek, there's foreign policy genius Penny Wong on the opposition side.

And just look at the foreign policy expertise she's got to draw on:

"Senator Wong, who served for some time on the parliamentary joint committee for intelligence and security, said she would work closely with Labor's new defence spokesman Richard Marles, shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus and leader Bill Shorten on national security issues... Most foreign policy was bipartisan, Senator Wong said. 'Ultimately you have to look to the national interest and we'll work with the government wherever the national interest demands it'." (We must think global: Wong, Brendan Nicholson, The Australian, 30/7/16)

How do I know that they're all foreign policy geniuses? Because they're all made of the right stuff and ziononsense, of course:

Penny Wong: rambammed 2014
Richard Marles: rambammed 2010, mate of Michael Danby, Labor's shadow minister for Israel
Mark Dreyfus: rambammed 2009
Bill Shorten: rambammed 2005, 2010

I suspect we'll also be hearing the NATIONAL INTEREST mantra a lot from Penny Wong from now on. Just remember, however, that when it comes to the Middle East, she may not always be referring to our national interest.

4 comments:

Grappler said...

It is apparently in our national interest to strongly support a country of around 8M people half the world away that has actively sought war with most of its neighbours for most of its lifetime. Our support for that country causes us problems with, for instance, Malaysia, a country of 30M much closer to home,

http://fpif.org/malaysias-relationship-israel-gets-frostier/

with Indonesia, a country of 250M even closer,

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/03/31/indonesia-rejects-israels-latest-call-for-bilateral-relations.html

and with many other countries. I would like one of these politicians to explain to me what we as a nation gain from being, on many occasions, the only country other than the US, Canada, and a few Pacific islands to protect Israel from United Nations sanctions. How can we claim to oppose discrimination on grounds of race and religion when we give this kind of support to Israel? How can we oppose racism and intolerance in other countries? What hypocrisy!

MERC said...

Well put, G!

Anonymous said...

And the major parties wonder aloud, hand on wounded heart, about their shrinking vote and the world wide drift to minor and protest parties.

Anonymous said...

Mark Dreyfus did not need to be rambamed, he is of the rambamers.