TED O’BRIEN
SHADOW MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS
FEDERAL MEMBER FOR FAIRFAX
TRANSCRIPT
INTERVIEW WITH MICHAEL MCLAREN, 2GB
11 August 2026
E&OE………………………………
Michael McLaren
Ted O'Brien is on the line, good to speak with you again, Ted. The average Australian probably doesn't know too much about this law on promoting ethnic unity and progress because they don't really follow, you know, the China Daily. But plenty of our Australian Chinese citizens would be pretty familiar with this.
Ted O'Brien
Yes, indeed. And so, this was a new law that came into effect on the 1st of July this year, so it was adopted by the People's Republic of China's National People's Congress, and the law has a particular article in there. It's Article 63 that really has given rise to a lot of concern among Australians who have a background, a heritage with China or other jurisdictions, you know, whether that be Tibetans, Mongolians, and so forth. And so, just as you read out there, that the real concern they have here is if the People's Republic of China, or let's just say Beijing. If Beijing is going to extend the definition of sovereignty, because usually you talk about a sovereign country, you can look at a map if you like and say, well, that's their that's their borders. If they are going to extend that definition beyond borders to say anyone anywhere who is ethnically Chinese is within their jurisdiction. You can understand why people here in Australia would say, "Well, hang on, does that include me? Does that include my family?"
Michael McLaren
That's right.
Ted O'Brien
So that's the fear I'm talking about, and a lot of these, a lot of Australians have come seeing me about this, which is why I'm taking a stand.
Michael McLaren
Well, and good on you for doing it. Okay, so if you're of Australian Chinese ancestry, I mean, you're probably doing the census tonight, and you're going to be asked what's your background. You tick the box Chinese or whatever it is. I mean, what are the concerns here? I mean, it's one thing to have a statute or a law come out of Beijing, but I mean, what sort of enforcement or practicality could this have on people's lives?
Ted O'Brien
Well, that's the outstanding question people are trying to work out, because you know the law itself talks about ensuring that there is no undermining of ethnic solidarity and progress; that nobody should be undertaking action that looks at ethnic division, and so you can imagine a lot of people saying, "What does what does this actually mean in practice?
Michael McLaren
Very opaque.
Ted O'Brien
Yes, very opaque. And so again, I mean, People's Republic of China is a very important partner of Australia's, and but there are times you just need to put down a very clear red line, and this is one of them. You can't redefine the notion of sovereignty. Any Australian government must always defend its sovereignty and protect its people, and regardless of where Australians have originated from, once you are an Australian, you are a part of our Australia, and you deserve equal rights to the values that define our nation, and that includes the value of freedom. So that is the you know, the freedom to practice whatever faith you want to, the freedom to express your conscience, freedom of association, all these things, right? We cannot have a situation where one group of Australians start going, "Oh, gee, do I still have those freedoms? Because another country has introduced an ethnicity law." So, we just need to draw a very clear line there and just be - you can you can still speak very respectfully, but very firmly to partners, and that's what we need to do in this case when it comes to Beijing.
Michael McLaren
Yes. Okay. I'm told that in fact this week you're going to be sending that sort of a message out, not in English to me, but in Mandarin to a lot of Australian Chinese who get their social media via WeChat and these other sort of particularly Chinese social media platforms. Some Australians probably don't know Ted, but you're fluent in Mandarin because you spent years working in Taiwan and the Chinese mainland in business before you entered politics. I mean, that's not a bad little asset to have. The Liberals, let's be blunt, the Liberal Party need a few people that can communicate with the Chinese Australian diaspora?
Ted O'Brien
Yes, no, thank you, Michael. And to be clear, and I tell everyone this, I'm not fluent. I used to be, I used to speak Chinese every day from morning to night, but that was many years ago when I worked up in the region. But nowadays my Chinese is pretty rusty. But nevertheless, yes, I've decided to record a series of videos which go to our values as Australians. Now, ultimately, it's important that everybody can improve the proficiency of their English because English is our national language, and it's in our in. To the country as well as newcomers to be proficient in it, but at the same time, the reality is there's a whole bunch of new Australians who struggle with English, and they need to understand the importance of Australian values, especially in light of the fear that a lot of them are feeling due to these new laws. So yes, I'm doing that in Mandarin. I'll be asking for forgiveness from those who are truly fluent, whereby accent isn't ideal. But I do think people need to hear it directly from our political leaders, as you know, as opposed to just outsourcing it. Someone can go and you know do an ad or something.
Michael McLaren
I agree with that. There's greater gravitas with it. Just I'm thinking, sort of heading into the next federal election. I mean, you and I know the Liberal Party used to be, in many cases, the go-to party for the Australian Chinese community because many of the values that underpin the Liberal Party, the very same values that underpin that community. I'm speaking generally, but I think it's true when you think about this, champions of small business, this sort of thing. I mean, that was the liberal DNA, but they've walked away over the last three federal elections. Do you think direct communication in their dialect is a way to bridge that gap and bring them back, at least to explain to the Australian Chinese community, Liberal Party isn't your enemy. You know, we are the defenders of the Australian freedoms and rights. We're also the natural party for you because we believe in small business and family and conservative values and so on and so forth.
Ted O'Brien
Michael, yes, it certainly. While it's not the primary reason for doing these videos, I do think that it is important that that the Chinese Australian community understand the liberal values. In fact, liberal values are Australian values, and that's the thing. I mean, you know, as a Liberal Party, honestly, at our core, is our belief in freedom, and then it is our belief in equality, and it is our belief in a fair go and rule of law and reward for effort, and these are absolutely the sort of things that you find Chinese Australians believe in because they are enormous small business owners. Chinese Australians want to choose the education for their child. They want that freedom of choice. They want to practice the faith they want, and so there's a lot of reasons why people come to Australia, and the core sort of glue for all of those that come are our values, and we need to defend those values, promote those values, and it's important in this case, especially given the ongoing contest we'll see between the two great powers, the U.S. and China. It's important that Chinese Australians don't feel stuck in the middle, where there's any tension, especially between Australia and Beijing. They are Australian; they'll be respected as Australian, and and we need to communicate that to them.
Michael McLaren
Well said. Good to speak. Thanks, Ted. We'll speak again down the track.
Ted O'Brien
Thanks very much, Michael. All the best.
