CAMERON MILNER: Labor pawns in China’s parade plan expose Albanese’s diplomacy dilemma

Former Labor premiers Bob Carr and Daniel Andrews have just self nominated to be the latest useful idiots for the Chinese Communist Party and Xi Jinping.

Both have been invited to attend a military parade in Tienanmen Square this Wednesday. Bob Carr in his usual style has confirmed his attendance, while Dan Andrews to date is yet to confirm, but Chinese-language media has reported he is on the guest list, alongside Vladmir Putin, Kim Jong Il, the Iranian PM and the leader of the Myanmar political junta.

It’s a roll call of leaders of the axis of evil in total opposition to Australia’s national interests.

The fact neither simply rejected the invite speaks volumes for their absolute lack of political judgment.

Putin is conducting a war in Ukraine that Australia has rightly condemned and sent military and financial aid to defend against.

Last week the Iranian government-sanctioned plot to have Australian Jewish community members harassed and their synagogues fire bombed by Muslim crime gangs was exposed; but hey, Bob Carr’s happy to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them for a selfie.

Australian political enemies couldn’t have hoped for greater acts of self harm by Andrews and Carr

The military junta in Myanmar has been condemned even by Penny Wong. And North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il is trying to develop nuclear weapons to bomb his near neighbours and has missiles which could already reach Australia.

What were Bob and Dan thinking in saying yes to the invites in the first place? Both are seasoned operators.

The answer is both think they know better and are the smartest guys in the room.

Bob Carr resuscitated his public profile after his failed time as Australia’s foreign minister under Gillard by founding the Australia China Research Institute in 2014 at the University of Technology.

Carr became the pin up boy for Chinese soft power, meeting the Chinese propaganda bureau’s deputy director in 2015 and hosting its director a year later in Sydney. Yes, China actually calls it their propaganda bureau officially.

Disgraced property developer Huang Xiangmo, who was exiled from Australia as an agent of foreign influence, boasted he had personally picked Carr to head the institute he founded with a huge donation.

Carr ever since has been a promoter of China and President Xi.

Daniel Andrews led the only State government to sign a Belt and Road agreement with the Chinese government and now heads an opaque strategic advisory group with a focus on China/Australia business ties with his Chinese former staffer, Marty Mei.

Andrews infamously took a selfie in Tienanmen Square as the premier of Victoria without a hint of irony that the very place saw a nascent democracy movement crushed by Chinese tanks and military might.

No one who was politically conscious at that time — and Andrews and Carr both were — can forget that lone person standing in Tienanmen Square staring down a Chinese tank.

Yet here we are, 48 hours out from one and possibly both attending that very same square to witness a massive display of Chinese military might and muscle alongside the very worst dictators the world has to offer.

The event on Wednesday is being billed as a commemoration of China defeating Japan to end the War in the Pacific in 1945.

It’s a perfect example of Chinese propagandists seeking to re-write history.

I’m pretty sure Australia and the US had a fair bit to do with ending the war. While China was flying American supplied Mustang P51s in 1945 it took a US B-29 Super fortress called Enola Gay to drop the bomb on Hiroshima and, however horribly, end the war.

No doubt Comrade Carr will proudly cheer the passing missiles at Xi’s rally on Wednesday that are all capable of carrying Chinese nuclear ordinance.

While China can be a force for peace, they haven’t exerted any such influence on Putin to end the war in Ukraine. Instead, they buy Russian oil and allow safe passage for North Korean soldiers to fight for Russia in Ukraine.

China continues to militarise the South China Sea and challenge the sovereignty of the Philippines, while displaying their military might in sabre-rattling exercises around democratic Taiwan.

Their Australian political enemies couldn’t have hoped for greater acts of self harm by Andrews and Carr.

To be fair, Carr has become ever more embittered on Palestine and is largely irrelevant to Australian politics. He’s better known as Side Show Bob these days.

Andrews, dubbed “Dictator Dan” in Victoria, might feel at home with some of Xi’s invited guests, and is the much bigger prize for China’s well oiled propaganda machine.

Why? Because Andrews also happens to be the Anthony Albanese’s closest advisers and mates. Andrews gave invaluable political advice in the last election and his attendance will be used by China mercilessly to sow dissent around Albanese’s actual commitment to AUKUS.

And here lies the dilemma for Albanese. Albo has so far failed to secure a meeting with US President Donald Trump, even requiring an awkward mission by Marles to help lock something in this month.

Albanese has already put US noses out of joint by backing Palestinian statehood with no plan to remove Hamas from control.

He says he supports AUKUS but hasn’t lifted our defence budget to the levels required.

And now one of his best mates is down to attend a Chinese show of force alongside leaders from the axis of evil.

Now that’s rolled gold fodder for Chinese propaganda right there.

Carr and Andrews may well be just pawns in the game of life, but their presence on Wednesday will be exploited by China to embarrass Albo and further attack AUKUS along with our relationship with the US and the other Five Eyes Nations charged with guarding us all against that very same axis of evil.