The Home Affairs Minister uses some of the strong language yet from the Federal Government on the threat posed by China, vowing to call out foreign interference in universities, as well as cyber hacks and theft of intellectual property.
One of the Morrison Government's most senior figures has taken a direct swipe at Beijing, accusing the Chinese Communist Party of behaving in ways that are"inconsistent" with Australian values.
"Our issue is not with the Chinese people, not with the amazing Chinese diaspora community we have here in Australia, my issue is with the Communist Party of China and their policies to the extent that they're inconsistent with our own values," Mr Dutton said. "We won't allow theft of intellectual property and we won't allow our government bodies or our non-government bodies to be hacked into."However last month Prime Minister Scott Morrison declined to confirm if China was behind a cyber attack on Canberra's Parliament House ahead of the May election, after reports emerged intelligence officials had concluded that was the case.
"And if that is being impinged, if people are operating outside of the law, then whether they are from China or from any other country, we have a right to call that out." Critics have questioned the motives behind the initiative, which is something Mr Dutton says is worth discussing."We have got issues in the South China sea, issues in Sri Lanka in the development of a port there.
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