The Jane Marwick Show

WA State, National and international news and politics. The WA Premier came out guns blazing when a sheep ship in the port of Fremantle was found to have crew stricken with COVID-19, blaming the Federal government for not warning WA authorities. But what really happened? Listen to Andrew Hastie’s withering attack on a WA newspaper. What implications does that have for MSM in the future? Hong Kong’s last governor, Lord Patten has spoken out about Beijing’s attempts to curb freedoms in Hong Kong and Nathan reveals that the WA government has sent a senior bureaucrat on a mission to China organised by a body advising the Victorian government on its Belt and Road Initiative deal with Beijing. Plus, what’s the deal with Dominic Cummings, and why are protective masks now a marker of politics in the USA?

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Andrew Hastie, the Federal MP for the seat of Canning and Chair of the powerful Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security talks about China and Australia in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. What is our strategic dependence on China and how important is the Five Eyes alliance? How do members of the alliance, including Australia, maintain sovereignty while continuing trade with China? Andrew discusses Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews’ decision to engage in the Belt and Road Initiative and pushes back on criticisms by Labor’s Joel Fitzgibbon regarding the Morrison government’s call for an inquiry into the origins of COVD-19. Plus, the importance of baseload power. Is it time to take the nuclear option?

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A wrap of the week with WA Today’s Nathan Hondros.

PPE, China, the State of WA, Job Keeper and Job Seeker and why did the WA China Consul General, Madam Dong go back to Beijing?

Questions from The Nationals’ Martin Aldridge about the amount of PPE WA bought from Andrew Forrest, and problems with WA’s intrastate borders.

The economy versus health. The tensions between the federal government’s wishes for states and territories to open up versus premiers and chief ministers keeping borders closed.

What happens next? Nathan gets out his crystal ball …

Plus, the effect of COVID in the UK, Boris and a bit of Trump talk.

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Drew Two: The Story of Drew Pavlou and his fight with the University of Queensland.

Threatened with contempt of court, a charge which if proven, can carry the penalty of a prison sentence, and still fighting his university’s close ties with the Chinese government, twenty-year-old Drew Pavlou has walked out of a closed door hearing where he was supposed to answer allegations of misconduct, decrying it as a “kangaroo court”.

This is part two in the long running saga that began when the philosophy student rallied in support of Hong Kong democracy protesters on the university campus in 2019.

Now he’s fighting for the right to stay at UQ.  His lawyer, meanwhile, is prepared to take his case all the way to the Supreme Court in Queensland.

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China has imposed punitive tariffs on Australian barley totalling over 80% for a whopping five years. The impositions are a 73.6% anti-dumping tariff and a 6.9% anti-subsidy tariff, applied from Tuesday, May 19.

Jane speaks with two WA grain growers who jump off their tractors in the middle of seeding to have a chat about the impact of the tariff, who knew what when, how they feel about the PM’s call for an inquiry into the origins of COVID-19, and what this means for grain growing in the short to medium term.

How will farmers, already under pressure and working around the clock, cope with the devastating news?

What does this mean for barley growers in Western Australia, where the majority of the billion dollar export crop is produced? Is this a political reprisal?

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Shooting brumbies. Under cover of darkness on Monday night May 18, Parks Victoria plans to cull and or trap these Australian icons. Bev McArthur, the MP for Western Victoria says “These little horses (approximately 100) are the last in Australia directly linked to the Waler trade.  No new blood has been introduced into them. These horses carry the genes of Walers that left Australia to serve in the Middle East in WWI and never returned.  Confined to one unique area for more than 100 years, they make up a distinct group.  Their population is not growing, and it’s absurd to suggest they are causing widespread damage.”

So why is Parks Victoria planning to shoot them? If the bush is suffering degradation, surely a proper study is warranted. Are these horses causing environmental problems, or could it be down to other animals?

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David and Goliath. How could this happen in Australia? In July 2019, a peaceful protest to support imprisoned Uyghurs and Hong Kong democracy protesters is interrupted by pro-Beijing defenders on a university campus. University of Queensland student Drew Pavlou and his friends were punched, chokeslammed and bitten by masked men. There were no arrests and no charges were laid. Pavlou is a thorn in the university’s side, constantly criticising its Confucius Institute and close ties with Beijing.  Now, 11 allegations of misconduct have been levelled against the 20-year-old by UQ, which has belatedly allowed him legal representation after he recorded this podcast. This is the story of one young man and his battle against the might and power of a university and Beijing, with commentary and analysis from Professor Clive Hamilton, author of Silent Invasion: China's Influence in Australia.

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