Politics Live: Chinese ambassador says Australia needs 'less bias and bigotry'

Despite young feminists now strapping red-stained sanitary napkins to their heads in protest, Coalition lower house MPs are expected to hold the conservative line and vote down a Greens-initiated bill to exclude sanitary items from the GST, which passed the Senate on Monday.

But you don’t have to be an aging white conservative man to think purchasers of tampons should continue to pay GST.

Miranda Stewart is a professor at the Melbourne University Law School and a fellow of the Australian National University’s Tax and Transfer Policy Institute.

She says women, as a group, stand to gain the most from a properly funded tax and transfer system.

“The debate about GST on tampons is a distraction. Women benefit from a well-funded tax system that can support public goods and services – that is what is under threat,” she says.

“We would be better off building the strength of our GST – by broadening the base – and also strengthening our income tax base, to ensure that we pay for services such as childcare and public education, rather than cutting the tax base further.”

Read the full piece here. 

• "This is a shocking...it's a terrible, terrible story and it's right that people should be shocked by it. And it's actuallly a beautiful thing that Eurydice Dixon’s family have asked that people also remember that this week there is a young woman missing, presumed dead, in New South Wales, Qi Yu; there was an attempted...well there was an actual abduction and assault on an 11-year-old girl in New South Wales; a two-year-old girl in Tennant Creek. And, Kieran, I remember, in 1988, the abduction of Janine Balding. I remember before that, 1986, the abduction and rape of Anita Cobby. These women stay with us and they stay in our hearts because they change the behaviour of every woman and we need to get their right as a society."
• "There is no question that every decent person feels disgusted by this crime, feels desperately sad for the friends and family of all of the women who have lost their lives to men's violence, and there is no question that every decent Australian wants this to change, to stop."

Here is the vision of Plibersek's remarks – worth watching:

He then gets to Xi's centrepiece Belt and Road Initiative, assserting it is open and transparent. He says China, with the BRI, "has no geopolitical calculations, doesn't seek exclusionary blocks, or impose business deals on others".

He says the Chinese government will "not threaten anyone, attempt to overturn the current international system or seek spheres of influence". 

"China never interferes in the internal affairs of other countries let alone carry out infilitration of other countries," he says. 

Those comments are a rebuke of warnings issued in Australia and elsewhere that China is doing the exact opposite. As mentioned earlier, our front pages today show Julie Bishop's concerns about debt traps under Belt and Road.

The ambassador says China-Australia ties have strengthened over the decades but have "not always been smooth". He says there have sometimes been clouds and "even rain and wind".

He says there needs to be "less bias and bigotry" and "less Cold War mentality" in Australia in order to "dispel the clouds" in the relationship. Adds the two countries need to respect each other's core interests when managing differences.

The comments today follow spats over the Turnbull government's legislation to curb foreign interference; China's territorial claims – and escalating militarisation – in the disputed South China Sea; and growing Chinese development loans in the Pacific.

Cheng's concerns echo those previously expressed about bilateral relations by representatives of the Chinese government.

More key quotes from Brumby:

• "To put it bluntly, the relationship needs reset and repair – to return to a position of mutual trust, respect and friendship – to the long-term benefit of both Australia and China."
• "And to be clear, this doesn’t mean compromising Australia’s values or interests. The choice is not about whether to protect our national interest or engage more closely with China. Rather, it is about how to protect our national interest, which includes a positive relationship with China."
• "There are extraordinary opportunities for Australian exporters as well as service providers ... but we will need the relationship on a strong and positive footing if we are to maximise this potential."

He says the ACBC will be taking a leadership position in maintaining and improving relations, launching various initiatives over the coming months.

And some of the key facts and figures he is wielding:

• $183 billion in two-way trade between Australia and China.
• Since the global financial crisis, China has accounted for almost 40% of all global GDP growth.
• China has four times the population of the US. When Chinese per capita income reaches just half of that of the US, their economy will be twice as big.
• According to management consulting firm McKinsey, China now has 42% of global e-commerce.
• Boston Consulting: by 2020, more than 100 million Chinese households will have annual incomes in excess of $A60,000.

Brumby said some similar things to me an interview a few days ago, foreshadowing today's event. Read that here. 

By the time they return to Canberra in August, the government and Labor will have faced off in five byelections. This is the issue both of them want a fight over: aspiration versus fairness.

One government package is dedicated to a $140 billion 10-year three-stage income tax cut aimed at voters tired of wages going nowhere.

The other is the $35.6 billion remaining of the company tax cuts that will benefit businesses with turnovers of more than $50 million a year.

The Coalition says the cuts will kick-start investment to drive wage growth. Labor has labelled them inequitable and unaffordable.

Read that full rundown here.

This is what shadow treasurer Chris Bowen told ABC radio this morning as the Labor leadership takes its recommendation to the caucus, which will today vote on the party's position:

"The government and the opposition support stage one of the tax cuts. If Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison want to play brinkmanship and say we're not delivering tax cuts to those Australians who are low and middle-income earners on July 1, 2018 because we can't get through the tax cuts that come in in 2014, let them make that case. They can make that case right up to the next election. If they really want to hold those tax cuts hostage, well let's have that debate."

And China-Australia relations are on the front pages again. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop tells us that Australia is concerned about developing nations falling into debt traps under China's Belt and Road Initiative. The comments come as Ms Bishop, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Trade Minister Steven Ciobo and others try to smooth things over with the Chinese government after recent tensions. They will attend a major Australia China Business Council networking event at Parliament today, joined by business leaders and Chinese ambassador Cheng Jingye. 

Here are the top stories in politics this morning:

My name is Fergus Hunter – you can find me on Facebook here and Twitter here. Photos today will be from Alex Ellinghausen – find him on Twitter here.

As always, feel free to email me your hot tips and feedback at fergus.hunter@fairfaxmedia.com.au.