Q; On the Chinese ship off Australia’s southern coast, are you concerned about the route it has taken and what would a Dutton government to deter such activity and specifically, are you concerned such activity is about collecting intelligence on the undersea cables leading from different parts of Australia to another and why would China want to be looking at our undersea cables in that way?

Dutton:

(and me)

A first charge of any prime minister is to protect and defend our country and Anthony Albanese doesn’t know what to do. (There is no threat to our country. The Chinese vessel is not in Australian waters. Oh my Dolly I am going insane)

One part of the government is saying to the Australian border forces monitoring what is happening, the other party saying it is the Australian Defence Force that is monitoring what is happening. (Dutton, as a former defence minister knows that both can be true)

The Prime Minister himself doesn’t know what is happening. That is the problem and for a Virgin pilot to have to notify the government of what was happening off our shores is a disgrace and it shows the gap there is in intelligence collection and in exercise of our military forces at the moment. (That is not what happened here)

It is unbelievable the Prime Minister can’t explain to the Australian people what is happening here. (It has been explained. Several times. This ship was previously in a joint operation with NZ)

Of course there is a collection of intelligence and of course there is a mapping of sea cables. (OK – to do what? We know where theirs are as well.)

We require connectivity to the rest of the world as an island nation and the way we communicate with our partners and allies of the rest of the world is contingent on those cables. (No one has said there is any actual evidence the Chinese are after our sea cables and as Frank Yuan has pointed out, to do anything to the underwater cables would actually require the Chinese to come into our waters, which we can do)

The Prime Minister cannot stand up and be honest with the Australian public and I think this is a test that the Prime Minister has failed and I think he needs to be frank. (About what?!)

The other thing I think is completely offensive to the men and women of the royal Australian navy draw some equivalence between the men and women of the royal Australian Navy and the exercises that they conduct in our country ‘s name and that of the Chinese Communist Party and what those vessels are doing. (This is absolutely ridiculous. Australia does conduct ‘exercises’ in the ‘north Philippine sea” which we know annoys the Chinese. Every nation does this. So everything Australia does is fine and upstanding and anything that is done to us is horrendous and evil. Honestly. The victim mentality here is off the charts)

The Prime Minister needs to explain that statement. (No, he doesn’t) He has made it on multiple occasions. He does it in a way to dismiss what is happening but this is a very serious concern forever Australian and we need to make sure that we have the defences and be a strong country and show leadership to show up for our interests because if we don’t, weakness does not prevail in difficult circumstances and when the Prime Minister says to the Australian people that we live in the most precarious period since 1945, he is right. It is based on intelligence and it is being played out not far from our shores right now and yet the Prime Minister himself has no idea what he is doing.

HONESTLY.