Canada-China Relations committee  Thank you. It's my pleasure. I wish you all the best.

Canada-China Relations committee  The short answer is that I don't know, and I would be misleading you if I was confident in the solidarity that we're getting. I don't know what's going on behind the scenes. I would hope there's intense consultation among officials and, indeed, among ministers on this and that it's not just a bilateral thing.

Canada-China Relations committee  I'm not sufficiently...across the details, including in Australia, to really comment authoritatively on how well we could or should coordinate on the forced-labour issue, other than to say that, for example, in the Australian policy debate, it probably has receded in the last few years as a headline policy issue.

Canada-China Relations committee  The transparency register for foreign agents in Australian is large, long and extensive. It's certainly not China-specific, so it includes hundreds of individuals and entities involved in many relationships around the world. One argument could be made that this has, therefore, not been very effective because it often captures relationships that actually have no strategic significance.

Canada-China Relations committee  Thank you for quoting my book on the Indo-Pacific. I am confident there will be a massive increase in sales in Canada following this evening's proceedings. Quite seriously, what I attempted to do in that book and what I continue to try to do through my work is to identify the commonalities of Indo-Pacific visions and then encourage our very diverse countries to work together as much as we can.

Canada-China Relations committee  Thank you. That's where the “stabilization” word becomes incredibly important. In fact, there were a number of high-level meetings between the Australian and Chinese governments last year, but the meeting in question, I think, was at APEC. Of course, there was also a visit to China by the Australian prime minister in, I think, October of last year.

Canada-China Relations committee  Yes.

Canada-China Relations committee  Go ahead.

Canada-China Relations committee  Thank you. That is a fundamental question that brings us to the strategic situation. As all of you are aware, the core strategic challenge in the Indo-Pacific is how to manage the power and assertiveness of the People's Republic of China in ways that do not lead to major conflict or escalate to major war.

Canada-China Relations committee  Okay.

Canada-China Relations committee  Thank you. The “how can we be constructive?” question actually helps me complete my point on the previous question, because we need to bridge the gap between countries and institutions that focus very heavily on diplomacy, as if somehow entangling China in a web of rules, diplomacy, meetings and negotiations will prevent aggressive action.

Canada-China Relations committee  Of course, Australia and Canada are more alike than almost any two other countries in the world in the multicultural nature of their national identities, and in that cherished relationship we have with citizens who joined us from all over the world. There is a fundamental affront to what is really the core of Australian national identity by treating someone who is an Australian citizen as, effectively, not an Australian citizen, and to the treat them as the property, in a sense, of a foreign authoritarian state.

Canada-China Relations committee  Do you want me to wrap up?

Canada-China Relations committee  Thank you. That's fine. I have two last points before we go to the conversation. The other issue that's really important to understand, of course, is the economic coercive measures, which, as members of the committee would be aware, were imposed on Australia after the then Australian government called for an independent international inquiry into the origins of the COVID pandemic.

Canada-China Relations committee  Yes, I can speak to that to some extent, but also bear in mind that there was one other instance of an Australian citizen being arbitrarily detained in China in recent years—Cheng Lei. She was released late last year, I think after very extensive interventions and negotiations with the Australian government.