At last there are signs of a tough, even brutal, debate about the implications of the rise of an assertive and Leninist China and its consequences for an Australia that merrily assumes it can stay independent and live by values repudiated in Beijing.
Australians inhabit a dream world, yet we are unique among G20 nations as the country most exposed to pressure, intimidation and leverage from Beijing. The Australian psychology, still imbued with the residue of its “lucky country” cargo cult, is slow to grasp the awesome transformation before the nation and is unprepared for the unprecedented challenge it faces.