The Victorian premier will land in China soon - but there won't be any Australian press trailing along. Now, he's facing scrutiny over failing to provide what is in the country's public interest amid Australia's fragile relationship with China.
Professor Greste was imprisoned for 13 months in Egypt while employed as a journalist at Al Jazeera in 2013 after being convicted of spreading false news and aiding the Muslim Brotherhood group. He was sentenced to seven years in jail but was later deported to Australia in February 2016.On Sunday, when it was revealed Mr Andrews was heading to China, he said the trip was not "very picture-friendly".
Professor Greste said he hoped Chinese-born Australian journalist Cheng Lei and author Yang Hengjun, who are among those imprisoned in China, were at the "very top of the premier's agenda".Penny Wong raised the issue of Australians detained in China in historic talks. Why were they imprisoned? "I just want to make it very clear, that would not be something that I would raise because they are deeply sensitive matters," Mr Andrews said.
"There is a clear public interest for journalists to report on an official, taxpayer-funded visit to another nation," president Karen Percy said.
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