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The ABC 7.30 program host, Sarah Ferguson, pressed Albanese on what he would say if the US president, Donald Trump, where to question him on Australia’s response if China were to attack Taiwan.
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The questions has emerged as part of Washington’s review of the Aukus pact and the request about Australia’s thinking is understood to have been made by an under secretary of defence, Elbridge Colby.
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Ferguson asked what Albanese would say if he was pressed on that question. The PM replied:
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I’d say what any Australian prime minister has ever said for a long period of time on a bipartisan basis. We’re a sovereign nation. We make decisions depending upon the circumstances of the day, and it’s up to the government the day will make those decisions.
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Ferguson then asked whether it would be a fair question for Australia to make its position clearer given the nature of Aukus. Albanese said Elbridge “hasn’t made that suggestion to me”.
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As for the question being posed in the reports, Albanese said:
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There’s a range of reports. So one of the things that we’re not going to do is to jump at the different reports of issues in the United States on a daily basis. … And of course, the United States has had a long-term position about strategic ambiguity when it comes to Taiwan, and that’s a position which Australia has held as well.
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The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has spoken to ABC’s 7.30 program ahead of the first day of parliament sitting tomorrow following Labor’s resounding electoral victory.
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Asked about how he will avoid falling into the trap of excessive caution, Albanese said “with determination making sure we are an ambitious government”.
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Albanese flagged the changes announced at the beginning of the month (including increasing the minimum wage, Centrelink payments and parental leave) and said he has an “ambitious agenda” for this coming week with three important pieces of legislation: reduction student debt, the childcare reform to give parents and legislation to protect penalty rates.
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But in order to have those medium and longer-term objectives, you need to make sure you’re looking after people’s living standards and making sure you’re making those immediate changes to make people’s lives better.
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Good morning and welcome to our live blog of the first day of Australia’s 48th parliament. I’m Martin Farrer with the best of the early stories and then it’ll be Krishani Dhanji to bring you the main action.
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Australia has joined 24 other countries, including the UK and New Zealand, in condemning Israel for depriving Palestinians of “human dignity” as they issued a call for an immediate end to the war in Gaza. The foreign minister, Penny Wong, called on Israel to “immediately lift restrictions on the flow of aid” and allow aid organisations “to do their life saving work”. More coming up.
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Anthony Albanese told ABC’s 7.30 last night that he finds some of Mark Latham’s views “repulsive” after the Labor caucus voted yesterday to add text to a portrait of the former leader at Parliament House condemning his actions since he departed federal politics. More coming up.
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It was a busy pre-parliamentary night for the prime minister as he fielded a range of other questions from the ABC host, Sarah Ferguson. These included her pressing him on his relationship with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, and whether or not he has spoken to US officials about how Australia would respond if China attacked Taiwan. All this and more from Albanese’s interview coming up.
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The first day of the parliament will be marked by rallies and vigils urging the Albanese government to do more to address the humanitarian situation in Gaza. This will include the culmination of three days of rolling protests calling for sanctions on Israel and a 24-hour vigil orgainised by Amnesty International for children killed in the conflict. More shortly.
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Key events
Albanese says US has not asked about how he would respond over Taiwan
Natasha May
The ABC 7.30 program host, Sarah Ferguson, pressed Albanese on what he would say if the US president, Donald Trump, where to question him on Australia’s response if China were to attack Taiwan.
The questions has emerged as part of Washington’s review of the Aukus pact and the request about Australia’s thinking is understood to have been made by an under secretary of defence, Elbridge Colby.
Ferguson asked what Albanese would say if he was pressed on that question. The PM replied:
I’d say what any Australian prime minister has ever said for a long period of time on a bipartisan basis. We’re a sovereign nation. We make decisions depending upon the circumstances of the day, and it’s up to the government the day will make those decisions.
Ferguson then asked whether it would be a fair question for Australia to make its position clearer given the nature of Aukus. Albanese said Elbridge “hasn’t made that suggestion to me”.
As for the question being posed in the reports, Albanese said:
There’s a range of reports. So one of the things that we’re not going to do is to jump at the different reports of issues in the United States on a daily basis. … And of course, the United States has had a long-term position about strategic ambiguity when it comes to Taiwan, and that’s a position which Australia has held as well.
Natasha May
Albanese was reluctant to go into the details of what his “personal” discussion with Xi Jinping involved, outside their formal bilateral discussion.
In order to understand where people are coming from, you’ve got to know their background, and you’ve got to know some of their views about personal things. And I feel as though we got to know each other much more … he had showed a real sense of humour, and it was a very warm conversation that we had.
Asked about Xi’s father’s last role in the Communist party – which was to try to oversee the reunification of Taiwan, and whether the pair discussed that – Albanese said Taiwan was not discussed in the personal discussion.
Albanese did not answer the question of whether the Chinese leader would take a phone call from him in the event of a crisis blowing up over Taiwan or whether Albanese could try to discourage Xi from invading or blockading Taiwan.
He described his encounter with Xi as a “moment of trust”.
Anything that he has said to me has been fulfilled. There haven’t been any breaches on personal commitments that he has given to me. That doesn’t mean he’s agreed with everything that I’ve put forward, far from it, but I’d rather that than someone on an international level saying, ‘Yep, we can do all that,’ and then doing the opposite.
Albanese promises an ‘ambitious government’
Natasha May
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has spoken to ABC’s 7.30 program ahead of the first day of parliament sitting tomorrow following Labor’s resounding electoral victory.
Asked about how he will avoid falling into the trap of excessive caution, Albanese said “with determination making sure we are an ambitious government”.
Albanese flagged the changes announced at the beginning of the month (including increasing the minimum wage, Centrelink payments and parental leave) and said he has an “ambitious agenda” for this coming week with three important pieces of legislation: reduction student debt, the childcare reform to give parents and legislation to protect penalty rates.
But in order to have those medium and longer-term objectives, you need to make sure you’re looking after people’s living standards and making sure you’re making those immediate changes to make people’s lives better.
Australia and 24 other countries have signed a joint statement condemning Israel for depriving Palestinians of “human dignity” and calling for an immediate end to the war in Gaza.
In the statement, signed by the foreign minister, Penny Wong, the countries called on Israel to “immediately lift restrictions on the flow of aid” and to allow aid organisations “to do their life saving work”.
It said:
The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths. The Israeli government’s aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity. We condemn the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food.
It is horrifying that over 800 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid. The Israeli government’s denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable. Israel must comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law.
The statement added that Israeli proposals to remove the Palestinian population into a “humanitarian city” were “completely unacceptable”.
Permanent forced displacement was a violation of international humanitarian law, the statement said.
Read our full story here:
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live blog of the first day of Australia’s 48th parliament. I’m Martin Farrer with the best of the early stories and then it’ll be Krishani Dhanji to bring you the main action.
Australia has joined 24 other countries, including the UK and New Zealand, in condemning Israel for depriving Palestinians of “human dignity” as they issued a call for an immediate end to the war in Gaza. The foreign minister, Penny Wong, called on Israel to “immediately lift restrictions on the flow of aid” and allow aid organisations “to do their life saving work”. More coming up.
Anthony Albanese told ABC’s 7.30 last night that he finds some of Mark Latham’s views “repulsive” after the Labor caucus voted yesterday to add text to a portrait of the former leader at Parliament House condemning his actions since he departed federal politics. More coming up.
It was a busy pre-parliamentary night for the prime minister as he fielded a range of other questions from the ABC host, Sarah Ferguson. These included her pressing him on his relationship with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, and whether or not he has spoken to US officials about how Australia would respond if China attacked Taiwan. All this and more from Albanese’s interview coming up.
The first day of the parliament will be marked by rallies and vigils urging the Albanese government to do more to address the humanitarian situation in Gaza. This will include the culmination of three days of rolling protests calling for sanctions on Israel and a 24-hour vigil orgainised by Amnesty International for children killed in the conflict. More shortly.
