, Mr Stokes has unparalleled influence in WA, controlling much of the state’s media and developing a close relationship with Mr McGowan, which includedBut the difficulty for media to access Mr McGowan’s visit also highlights a broader issue – how to cover political trips to China. Earlier this year, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews went on a trade trip to the countryMedia outlets in WA were approached about Mr McGowan’s trip in early March with a request to express interest in attending.
That led to an embarrassing moment on the first day of the trip when the feed distributed by Mr McGowan’s office caught the premier criticising the Coalition’s federal defence spokesman Andrew Hastie, whose electorate is in Perth: “He swallowed some sort of Cold War pills back … when he was born, and he couldn’t get his mindset out of that,” Mr McGowan said.