Paul Keating launches repeated attacks on media after being grilled on his defence of China during National Press Club address

Former Labor Prime Minister Paul Keating has delivered a blistering attack on a room full of journalists at the National Press Club, telling one reporter to “hang your head in shame” while labelling another’s question “dumb”.

The war of words erupted during the traditionally cordial press club session moments after Mr Keating finished controversial remarks to the room in which he blasted his own party for its adoption of AUKUS and policies towards China.

Mr Keating took issue with the Albanese government’s confirmation Australia would secure up to eight nuclear submarines from the US and UK and went as far as to personally criticise both Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong.

But it was the journalists in the room who bore the brunt of Mr Keating’s verbal lashings with the Sydney Morning Herald’s Matthew Knott facing criticism related to the paper’s Red Alert series, which foreshadowed the possibility of war with China in the region.

“After what you co-wrote with (Peter) Hartcher last week in that shocking presentation in the Herald on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, you should hang your head in shame,” Keating said.

“I’m surprised you even have the gall to stand up in public and ask such a question, frankly. You ought to do the right thing and drum yourself out of Australian journalism.”

Sky News Australia’s Political Reporter Olivia Caisley was also not immune to a sharp rebuke from the former prime minister, with Mr Keating labelling her question as “dumb”.

Ms Caisley asked why the former Labor leader could be so certain China was not a threat when he is not privy to security briefings both Ms Wong and Mr Albanese attend.

“Because I’ve got a brain, principally, and I can think and I can read and I read every day,” Mr Keating snapped back.

“I mean, why would China want to threat, what would be the point? They get the iron ore, the coal, the wheat. What would be the point of China wanting to occupy Sydney and Melbourne militarily?

“And could they ever do it? Could they ever bring the numbers here? It would be an armada of troop ships to do it.

“So you don’t need a briefing from the dopey security agencies that we have in Canberra to tell you that. I mean, I know you’re trying to ask a question, but the question is so dumb, it’s hardly worth an answer.”

The former prime minister did not only have the Nine newspapers and Sky News Australia in his line of site, using the questions to launch more attacks on the ABC.

Mr Keating was asked by the ABC’s Andrew Probyn to defend his claims that Australia was not threatened by China despite a series of trade and economic sanctions as well as suspected cyber attacks.

Mr Keating earlier rubbished suggestions China would engage militarily with Australia while refusing to accept the term “threatening” as anything other than an invasion.

“The threat to Australia is a military threat. A military threat. It’s a threat for the army of the People’s Republic of China to come and occupy Australia. That’s what a threat is,” Mr Keating said in response to Probyn.

“You can’t impute threat, meaning invasion, with putting a tariff on wine or maybe you’re silly enough to think that.

“But you can’t impute, as your question imputes, that tariffs on wine or barley is equivalent to an invasion of the country. China does not threaten Australia. Has not threatened Australia. Does not intend to threaten Australia.”

Mr Keating has been an outspoken critic of the AUKUS alliance since its inception in 2021 and has on multiple occasions hit back at responses by governments of both persuasions to China’s growing coercion.