A former Australian government minister has broken rank to criticise the Australian government’s new loan programme for the Pacific.
In an opinion piece published in the Sydney Morning Herald, Concetta Fierravanti‑Wells said it was disingenuous for Canberra to launch the scheme while criticising China for debt‑trap diplomacy.
Radio NZ reports that Prime Minister Scott Morrison last year announced a US$1.4 billion fund for infrastructure projects in the Pacific, in a push‑back against China's growing role.
But Fierravanti‑Wells who was Pacific development minister under the last prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull said the fund would just saddle Pacific nations with more debt to pay for infrastructure.
She said this was exactly what Australia had been criticising China for doing.
The attack from within his own party comes as Morrison visits Fiji.
[Source: Radio NZ]
