Australian prime minister Scott Morrison branded deputy Labor leader Richard Marles a ‘Manchurian candidate’ amid extraordinary scenes in question time on Wednesday. Morrison then withdrew the slur, which infers that a politician is being used as a puppet by an enemy power. Morrison also cited a speech by Marles in Beijing in 2019 calling for Australia and China to strengthen ties. Australia’s domestic spy chief, Mike Burgess, told the ABC’s 7.30 program on Wednesday night that the weaponisation of national security is ‘not helpful to us’. It is the second forthright public intervention by the Asio chief in three days.
