The Nine papers made some very - VERY- alarming predictions three years ago that by now we’d be at war with China. So far, so wrong.
In March 2023 the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age predicted — nay, insisted — that Australia would soon be at war with the "overwhelming source of danger" that we all weren't fearing enough: China.
Nine's marquee "Red Alert" series, published March 7, 2023 and written by Peter Hartcher and Matthew Knott, aired some very strong claims, including that Australia was woefully unprepared for the imminent and dire threat of a Chinese attack. "We need to be ready to fight in just three years," the series breathlessly warned.
Well, didn’t we spit out our morning coffee reading that? Ready to fight? Three years?
The coverage, which trapped five hand-picked national security experts in a room and canvassed their thoughts, also claimed that "Australia's holiday from history is over" and "China presents the most comprehensive challenge to the regional order that we have faced for the last 70 years."
The experts featured in Nine's Red Alert series. Interesting that the male security experts have titles like "strategist" and "technologist", while the women are "guru" and "sage"...
It also canvassed — just two years after the COVID-19 lockdowns —the possibility that China could attack Australia with "a bio-attack, a virus" and asked the unholy question: "Was Dutton right?" (The answer to that is always no. But, we digress).
Well, friends, time's up. It's been three years (and one week for good measure) and, uh, war with China has not happened, is not currently happening and does not appear to be the most imminent international conflict involving Australia, which has left the below claims to age like a slab of Roquefort left out in the Sahara sun.
