Governor-General Cosgrove lets down Australia on Australia Day with Saudi Arabia visit

[From our foreign affairs section]

It is extremely disappointing that Australia’s current Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove missed being in Australia for the 2015 Australia Day celebrations because of a trip to Saudi Arabia where he was to “convey Australia’s sympathy” after the recent passing of the late Saudi King Abdullah.

This came after flags on all government buildings in Australia were flown at half mast two days earlier, in a show of respect for the late Saudi king. This decision drew fire from many Australians, aware of Saudi Arabia’s appalling human rights record. Former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser also condemned the move.

It was clearly yet another example of Australia kowtowing to another country. Whilst Saudi Arabia may indeed be a reasonably important export market for Australia, it should not be overlooked that besides its own human rights record at home, it is also the major global financier of Wahhabism, a radical sect of fundamentalist Islam, and that it is a major weapons supplier to Muslim radicals around the world.

Furthermore, Saudi Arabia should be asked hard questions about exactly what role it played in the September 11 attacks back in 2001. This was dealt with in another APP article (“Was Saudi Arabia behind September 11?”).

The governor-general’s visiting Saudi Arabia seems to epitomise the thinking of Australia’s modern-day leaders — that foreign trade and diplomatic relations should be considered as more important than significant issues here at home. And given that Australia already has an ambassador to Saudi Arabia, who could have easily have done the job, it made Cosgrove’s untimely visit there even less credible.

Whilst it would perhaps be wrong to judge a Middle Eastern regime entirely by Western democratic standards, there can be little doubt that Saudi Arabia has an extremely poor human rights record.

When one considers the hostility and open condemnation that Australia displayed towards the former Apartheid regime in South Africa, it would seem entirely hypocritical that Australia should be so honouring of the late Saudi king.

But it would seem that Governor-General Cosgrove isn’t the only Australian leader who appears hopelessly out-of-touch with the Australian people.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s decision to reward Prince Phillip with an Australian knighthood on Australia Day has gone down like a lead balloon with the Australian public. Even some of Abbott’s own cabinet colleagues spoke out against his bizarre “captain’s call”.

It would indeed seem strange that a Prince and a Duke, married to the Queen of Britain, Australia, and many other countries, would actually require an Australian knighthood.