Labor reveals plan to tackle China’s influence in Pacific – give more money to the ABC
Australia will train defence personnel from the Pacific, increase foreign aid spending and expand the ABC’s overseas coverage under a Labor plan to lift engagement in the region and challenge China’s influence.
But the prime minister has dismissed the plan saying it was no different from his government’s Pacific engagement policy, with the exception of the ABC funding.
Scott Morrison labelled Labor’s idea as “farcical” and showed the opposition did not understand the extent of the challenges in the Pacific.
“(Labor) think the way to solve the problem in the Solomon Islands is to send in the ABC,” he told 2GB radio on Tuesday.
“Their answer to solving the Solomon Islands problem is to have Q&A in Honiara.”
The Labor plan comes as two new opinion polls show the opposition in a winning position ahead of the May 21 election.
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Under the plan a $6.5 million Australia Pacific Defence School would be set up to train personnel from regional neighbours, and the ABC would get $8 million a year to deliver Australian content to Pacific nations.
Labor foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong said diplomatic and soft power initiatives, as well as defence partnerships, were the key to Australia’s relationship with the Pacific.
“We have to leverage Australia’s strengths and our strengths are our closeness, our proximity, our people-to-people engagements, our cultural ties,” she told ABC Radio.
Senator Wong said Labor consulted with Pacific partners while developing the plan, but would not confirm how many soldiers would be trained each year.
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Under Labor’s Pacific broadcasting and publishing initiative, content will promote “Australian identity, values, and interests”, while partnerships and training with Pacific journalists will be strengthened.
Funding for aerial surveillance under the Pacific Maritime Security Program would be bolstered by $12 million a year to help Pacific nations guard against illegal fishing and drug smuggling.
The election promise will be unveiled on Tuesday by senior Labor members who say Mr Morrison “dropped the ball” in the Pacific after a security pact was signed between the Solomon Islands and China.
Security experts fear the deal could lead to a Chinese military base, although both nations have denied this, with a Beijing spokesman saying overnight such speculation was “fake news”.
Meanwhile, two opinion polls show Labor holding an election-winning lead over the coalition with less than four weeks to polling day.
The latest Ipsos poll shows Labor leading the primary vote by 34 points to the coalition’s 32.
On a two-party preferred basis, 50 per cent would vote Labor and 42 per cent the coalition, while eight per cent of respondents were undecided.
In Newspoll, Mr Morrison moved ahead of Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese as preferred prime minister 46-37 per cent.
Labor leads the Coalition 53-47 on a two-party preferred basis, enough to secure majority government.
The prime minister started the day in Townsville, campaigning in the Liberal-National Party seat of Herbert which the party holds by a margin of 8.4 per cent.
