Victorian Premier Stands By Upcoming China Trip Amid Questions Over Andrews’ Parade Visit
Udumbara
.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan is standing firm on her upcoming trip to Beijing following a wave of criticism at former leader Daniel Andrews attending a CCP military parade.
Allan is scheduled to lead a five-day trade mission to China from Sept. 14 to 19 with a delegation of Labor MPs who represent major Chinese-Australian communities in Melbourne’s east and west.
The move comes as both major state parties gear up for the 2026 Victorian state election, where Chinese communities will be a key voting demographic.
“That why I’m proud to be travelling to China to strengthen the connection with our biggest trading partner, and that’s why I’ll always show respect to multicultural people who contribute so much to the success of our state.”
Allan will be accompanied by MPs Meng Heang Tak of the electorate of Clarinda, Matt Frego of Ashwood, John Mullahy of Glen Waverley, and Mathew Hilakari of Point Cook. Allan said it was time to “tone down the divisive rhetoric” when it came to Chinese Victorians.
“People can have any views they wish about foreign policy, but they should draw the line at hysterical language that fuels fear and distrust about the motives of people living in and contributing to our country,” Allan said in a statement.
The premier has tried to pivot away from the publicity surrounding former Premier Andrews’ visit to Beijing to commemorate the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War.
During the event, Andrews shook hands with Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping and took part in a group photo with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Shadow Minister for Home Affairs Andrew Hastie said it was not appropriate for former Australian leaders to be at the event, describing it as “pageantry run by the CCP.”
“When you know that Vladimir Putin, when you know that Kim Jong Un is going, this is a parade for dictators, it’s a celebration of the Chinese Communist Party.”
“I think it’s very strange that we have two former Australian political leaders attending in a private capacity. I look forward to seeing them clap like seals as the missiles roll by on the parade,” Hastie told Sky News Australia.
That comment drew a response from Premier Allan who said it was harmful to Chinese Australians.
“A senior federal Liberal MP using the term ‘clapping like seals’ this week had all the hallmarks of a Liberal senator who claimed an election campaign had been infiltrated by Chinese spies,” Allan said, in reference to Senator Jane Hume’s comments to Minister Clare O’Neil during a morning interview.
“Chinese Victorian kids hear all this stuff, and it hurts in a way that the rest of us don’t understand,” Allan said. The CCP parade cost the Chinese people an estimated US$5 billion, and marked the 80th anniversary of Japan’s defeat in World War II.
Former Queensland Labor Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk was also critical of Andrews’ decision.
“If it was me, it would be a definite N-O. I would not be attending that. It just is the next level. It’s a bridge too far,” she said in an interview with Sky News Australia.
However, Andrews defended his attendance at the event in a statement.
“It was a chance to meet and engage with regional leaders—like former New Zealand Prime Ministers John Key and Helen Clark, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and of course Chinese President Xi,” he said.
.
