Political debate on foreign policy between Australia-China in conjunction with Australia-US relations is an important issue for the 1.2 million Chinese Australian community. It is also an important issue for Australia as this will dictate our future prosperity and leadership role in the Asia Pacific. It should not be trivialised by name calling and political posturing. In the current vernacular, we should put “Australia First”. (more…)
Anthony Pun
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Bullying in the public health system
The formation of the Australian Health Reform Association (AHReform) is triggered by the need to have a community organisation with members from all healthcare professions to help create a safer working environment for all healthcare professionals so that they can provide the highest standard of care for healthcare consumers. This article introduces the subject of medical bullying which is widespread in Australia and AHReform’s proposal on how to effectively reform the healthcare system to reduce the incidence of depression and suicides among medical practitioners. (more…)
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ANTHONY PUN: A response to PM Morrison’s speech in Hurstville concerning Australia/China relations.
The Chinese Community Council of Australia welcomes PM Morrison’s olive branch on community relations and the China-Australia relations at face value and with goodwill. However, we reserve judgement pending resolution of issues with the Chinese Australian community. (more…)
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ANTHONY PUN. History of Multiculturalism: Part 2- A decline in support of Multiculturalism from the Howard to the Rudd-Gillard Administrations.
The racial discrimination legislations flourished under Multicultural with NSW leading the pact. A crack in Multiculturalism support emerged during the Howard Administration with the rise of Pauline Hanson and her racial politics. It was the “ethnic” vote that saved the day and Immigration Minister Phillip Ruddock worked to recapture the votes. Multiculturalism continued under the Rudd-Gillard Administration its policy became controversial when the composition of appointees to the Australian Multicultural Council was question by the multicultural communities. The future Multiculturalism is briefly discussed. (more…)
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ANTHONY PUN. History of multiculturalism: Part 1 – Early development – Chinese Australian community involvement and Chinese students.
Early development of multiculturalism under PM Gough Whitlam and Immigration Minister Al Grassby and its passage through to the Hawke-Keating government; community organisations played an important role in convincing the Hawke government to grant residency to 42,300 Chinese students. (more…)
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ANTHONY PUN: The aftermath of the China Panic & its influence on a General Election
The China Panic has an unintended consequence of shaping the minds of the Chinese Australians and taught them how to be a strategic player in Australian politics. The monopoly held by the “Milking Cows”, and “Uncle Toms” in delivering votes to a political party would soon be over and the community will insist on being consulted. There are several policies in the last 2 years which are unpopular with the Chinese Australian community and together with the China Panic, have filtered through social media to an extend that it can influence votes. Despite a change of leadership, PM Morrison has to demonstrate by actions to soften those previous unpalatable policies to re-capture the votes otherwise the voters would return a Labor government by default. What applies to the Chinese Australian community also generally applies to the multicultural communities. (more…)
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ANTHONY PUN. How do the Chinese settlers in Australia feel regarding the deepening dispute between China and Australia?
The “China Panic”, a phrase coined by Professor Bob Carr, ex-Australian Foreign Minister and Director of Australian China Relations Institute (ACRI), started in December 2016 when the media and the Turnbull government started to “bash” China starting with a media blitz about Chinese political donations to political parties and alleging breach of parliamentary sovereignty and followed by proposed legislation, the Foreign Interference Bills, which was subsequently passed in the Federal Parliament. These events generated xenophobic overtones against the Chinese Australians. The government seems to change direction when PM Turnbull delivered a conciliatory speech at the University of New South Wales attended by the Chinese diplomats. Despite the turnaround, there has been collateral damage done to the 1.2 million Chinese Australians. Notwithstanding recent adversities, Chinese Australians are hopeful for better times as they believe Australians are fair minded. (more…)
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ANTHONY PUN. The Battle for Indo-Pacific.
China is surrounded by at least 16 countries, some with common borders and territorial disputes with her. Japanese PM’s proposal in 2005 to form a Quad alliance (US, Australia, India and Japan) is seen by China as the introduction of Cold War in the Asia Pacific. Former Australian Ambassador to China, Geoff Raby provides a deep insight why Australia should not be a part of it. The analysis of individual countries surrounding China revealed that the BRI initiatives are making an impact on the recipient countries and they are more likely to be neutral or distance themselves from the Quad. India and Japan are likely to changes sides when it suits their national interests and that leaves Australia holding the unwanted baby. (more…)
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ANTHONY PUN. The Battle for the South Pacific.
The Battle for the South Pacific is on! China is already in Australia’s backyard, the South Pacific, wooing and cultivating friends with soft power. As part of China BRI initiative, Chinese investment with the South Pacific nations totalled US 1.78 billion outstripping Australia’s AUD137M for subsea internet cable connecting Australia-PNG-Solomon Islands. The current scorecard is China 10 nations and Australia 2 nations. Is Australia’s or New Zealand’s security being threatened? Would the formation of a South Pacific block a risky option for Australia or New Zealand economic health? Or if you can’t beat them, join them? (more…)