Important for Australia to put ‘our sovereign interests first’

Liberal Senator Hollie Hughes says it’s important for Australia to put “our sovereign interests first” amid accusations of bullying from China.

“When you look at what China’s done to so many of our industries, whether it’s been the lobster industry, barely, even the coal ships that they’ve kept off the coasts, they’ve certainly punished Australia more significantly than I think we’ve seen anywhere else in the world,” she told Sky News host Paul Murray.

“But we do need to defend our national interest at all times and what our government’s been focused on is finding alternate markets for our producers.

“And we’ve had incredible success with that - if you look at the wine industry, the way the UK’s opening up to that. There are so many other markets open and available to us.

“This is not about bowing down to anybody else; it's about putting our sovereign interests first."