Graham Fletcher is obviously
a highly regarded "China hand"
The Australian has reported:
Australia’s current ambassador to China gave the green light to Victoria to sign on to President Xi Jinping’s signature Belt and Road Initiative, which has been criticised by Scott Morrison.
The Australian can reveal that Graham Fletcher, then a senior Foreign Affairs official, told the Victorian government in May 2018 that its plan to sign on to the BRI had merit.
Fletcher is obviously a well regarded "China hand" at DFAT.His resume on the DFAT website states:
Graham Fletcher has been Australia’s Ambassador to China since August 2019. Prior to this appointment, Mr Fletcher was head of the North Asia Division in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) during 2008-10 and again from 2015. During 2014, he led the team that completed negotiation of the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement. Mr Fletcher has served in the Australian Embassy to China on three previous occasions: as Third Secretary (1986-88), Counsellor (1997-2000) and Deputy Head of Mission (2004-08).
He was also Deputy Head of Mission in the Australian Embassy in Washington (2011-13) and Deputy Consul-General in the Australian Consulate-General in Noumea (1992-94)
Mr Fletcher has a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) from the University of Sydney. He joined the then Department of Foreign Affairs in 1983. He is married with three children.
As previously reported those who led the ChAFTA negotiations, Peter Vargehse and Andrew Robb, have by their words and actions shown themselves willing to put the interests of China ahead that of Australia.
There is much movement between DFAT and the Office Of National Intelligence (formerly Office Of National Assessment). For example Scott Morrison's former national security advisor, Michelle Chan, has recently returned to the ONI, after acting as ambassador to a number of South East Asian countries. She is regarded a China "moderate", or "dove".
Be they China hands, moderates or doves, DFAT officials who have been advising successive governments over the past decade have clearly weakened Australia's bargaining position vis-a-vis China. It is immaterial whether they have done so by design or simply been incompetent at what they are being paid to do. They are clearly part of a China lobby, howsoever defined, which must be excised from the government and the civil service if Australian national interests are to be defended.
We could start by recalling Ambassador Graham Fletcher.
END
He was also Deputy Head of Mission in the Australian Embassy in Washington (2011-13) and Deputy Consul-General in the Australian Consulate-General in Noumea (1992-94)
Mr Fletcher has a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) from the University of Sydney. He joined the then Department of Foreign Affairs in 1983. He is married with three children.
As previously reported those who led the ChAFTA negotiations, Peter Vargehse and Andrew Robb, have by their words and actions shown themselves willing to put the interests of China ahead that of Australia.
There is much movement between DFAT and the Office Of National Intelligence (formerly Office Of National Assessment). For example Scott Morrison's former national security advisor, Michelle Chan, has recently returned to the ONI, after acting as ambassador to a number of South East Asian countries. She is regarded a China "moderate", or "dove".
Be they China hands, moderates or doves, DFAT officials who have been advising successive governments over the past decade have clearly weakened Australia's bargaining position vis-a-vis China. It is immaterial whether they have done so by design or simply been incompetent at what they are being paid to do. They are clearly part of a China lobby, howsoever defined, which must be excised from the government and the civil service if Australian national interests are to be defended.
We could start by recalling Ambassador Graham Fletcher.
END
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