E&OE
PETER STEFANOVIC:
Let’s start there with the Shadow Foreign Minister, David Coleman. Good to see you this morning, David. So what do you make of those comments by Xiao Qian?
DAVID COLEMAN:
Oh look Pete, I think the key point on trade is we want minimal tariff barriers, we want no tariff barriers. That’s why we have a free trade agreement with the US, we have the free trade agreement with China, and we stand for Australia’s interests. And that’s low barriers to trade, regardless of whether it’s trading with China – we did the free trade with them of course – the US or whoever it is, tariffs are not a good thing and we don’t want to see them and we want to see them removed.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
The comments from the Ambassador, China’s Ambassador to Australia, it often provides a window into the thinking of President Xi Jinping. Do you think he’s asserting there that we need to pick a side and that that side should not be the US?
DAVID COLEMAN:
Oh look, I’m not going to sort of delve into analysing the Ambassador’s comments, Pete, but it’s self-evident that free trade is a good thing. It’s self-evident that we should trade with all the nations of the world – that it’s in the interests of our economy to trade as widely as possible. We don’t want tariff barriers with China, with the US, with anyone. That’s why we concluded 11 free trade agreements in Government and our position is very clear.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
Its ministry has pushed back against the US, saying overnight, that all tariffs on China should be dropped. That despite President Trump suggesting that things were on track, that tariffs were going to be reduced. How do you reconcile that with what it might mean for us?
DAVID COLEMAN:
Well, any trade war between China and the US is a bad thing for Australia. I think that’s self-evident, Pete, because it means less economic activity and creates significant global headwinds. So we don’t want to see a trade war between China or the United States, and it’s not in anyone’s interest for that to happen.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
Okay, final point here on Putin. Donald Trump has rebuked him overnight over fresh strikes in Ukraine. Is this a reminder that Putin is not an easy person to deal with, despite what’s perceived to be a closer relationship between Putin and Trump?
DAVID COLEMAN:
Well, it’s a reminder, Pete, that when dictators seek to expand their empires, innocent people pay with their lives. And on Anzac Day today, that is a reflection that I think is true today and it’s been true for thousands of years. Putin obviously should never have invaded Ukraine. It is an evil and an awful conflict. He should cease, he should stop attacking innocent Ukrainians.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
All right, David Coleman, thank you for your time.