One poignant aspect too all this is "former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd", not current, not some government official. Which is great as he gets to say

One poignant aspect too all this is "former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd", not current, not some government official. Which is great as he gets to say something, it tractions, China official responds and the Australian government get to see how things are without officially being accountable. So whilst he is a former non-current government official, politicly for Australia he's sounded things out for the government, if that was his intention or not.