Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to tell Donald Trump Australia lifting its weight on defence spending amid AUKUS uncertainty
Mr Albanese will meet President Trump on Tuesday on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada amid growing uncertainty about the future of the AUKUS pact.
The Trump administration has announced a review of the more than $350 billion pact after calling on Australia to lift defence spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP.
Mr Albanese will seek to reassure Mr Trump that Australia is contributing meaningfully to the alliance and the regional security architecture.
'(We'll focus on) what Australia contributes - the potential that AUKUS has to allow for a range of benefits to the US,' Mr Albanese said at a press conference on Sunday.
'Australia has already contributed $500 million (to AUKUS). We have currently over 100 personnel in Hawaii working on maintenance, working on skills.
'This is about making a contribution … AUKUS Pillar I is very much in Australia's national interest, but it's also in the interests of the United States.'
The White House recently asked Australia to lift defence spending from two per cent of GDP to 3.5 per cent.
While the Albanese government has committed to a target of 2.3 per cent, Mr Albanese pushed back on suggestions that Australia isn't pulling its weight.
'We have doubled defence spending over a recent period of time,' Mr Albanese told reporters in Seattle ahead of his meeting with President Trump.
'We have $57 billion of additional defence investment over the next 10 years, and we have more than $10 billion of additional investment in defence over the forward estimates.
'We will give whatever capability Australia needs to defend our national interest.'
Former prime minister Scott Morrison, who brokered the AUKUS pact, has urged calm in response to the US Pentagon's AUKUS review.
'No, I'm not (concerned),' Mr Morrison told Sky News on Thursday.
'It's totally within their remit … Like with any arrangement, you've always got to keep making the case.'
Defence Minister Richard Marles also downplayed alarm, noting that Canberra had been made aware of the review and was engaged in the process.
'We've known about the review for some time, we welcome it and we will engage with it,' Mr Marles said.
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The binders were essentially full of repackaged, old information. The recipients were Chaya Raichik, who runs a handful of social media accounts that mock progressives; Rogan O'Handley, whose online name is 'DC Draino'; comedian Chad Prather; former TV host Liz Wheeler; right-wing commentator Mike Cernovich; and conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec, best known for spreading the outlandish 'Pizzagate' theory. The quote above is from another, different interview Ms Bondi gave to Fox News, on the eve of the documents' release. The binders were labelled with the words 'phase one', the implication being that more phases would follow. None ever did. 'The department remains committed to transparency and intends to release the remaining documents upon review and redaction,' the Justice Department said at the time. February 28 'We have flight logs. We have information, names. That will come out.' Speaking to British broadcaster Piers Morgan, Mr Trump's personal lawyer turned White House counsellor Alina Habba was unequivocal in saying more files would be released. 'America needs to remember one thing: we are going to be 'promises made, promises kept',' said Ms Habba. 'I believe in accountability.' She alluded to charges being brought against individuals other than Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell in the future, saying people would 'go through their time in court'. March 1 'We will get everything. We will have it in our possession. We will redact it, of course, to protect grand jury information and confidential witnesses. But (the) American people have a right to know.' Another quote from Ms Bondi, from another Fox News interview, during which she assured viewers they would eventually see the 'full Epstein files'. March 3 'It's a new administration, and everything is going to come out to the public. The public has the right to know. Americans have the right to know.' 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'Officials said it was a routine briefing that covered a number of topics, and that Trump's appearance in the documents wasn't the focus,' The Journal reported. At this meeting, Ms Bondi also relayed the decision of senior Justice Department officials to not proceed with releasing more Epstein files to the public. Mr Trump reportedly said he would defer to that decision. May 18 'I'm not going to tell people what they want to hear. I'm going to tell you the truth. And whether you like it or not is up to you. If there was a big, explosive 'there' there, we would have told you.' Mr Patel and his deputy Dan Bongino, both appointed by Mr Trump, did a joint TV interview in which they told viewers Epstein did kill himself in prison. Both men had previously stoked conspiracy theories suggesting he was murdered. 'I have reviewed the case. Jeffrey Epstein killed himself. There's no evidence in the case file indicating otherwise,' Mr Bongino added in a social media post. 'I'm not asking you to believe me. I'm telling you what exists and what doesn't.' May 19 'I know the Attorney-General has committed to releasing those files. I would defer you to the Department of Justice on her timeline. But when she has made a promise in the past, she has kept it, and I'm certain that she will in this case as well.' This was White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, referring to Ms Bondi. May 29 'There is nothing in the file at this point.' Mr Bongino again said that Epstein killed himself, and promised the government would soon release new video footage from the prison on the night he died. 'I'm just telling you what I see in the file,' he told Fox News. 'I just want to be crystal clear on this. I'm not asking anyone to believe me. I'm telling you what's there and what isn't. 'There is nothing in the file at this point, on the Epstein case, and there is going to be a disclosure on this coming shortly. 'We are working through some – there is video. That is something the public does not have.' This video would later be released, but as minutes were missing from it, and the camera in question was not actually pointing at Epstein's cell, it was not enough to satisfy sceptics. June 4 'On the Epstein files, listen, I know this is a hot potato for folks. I totally understand. My comments were clear. I'm not paid for my opinions anymore.' Mr Bongino, there – again during a Fox News appearance – was alluding to his previous job as a right-wing podcaster. Host Sean Hannity had pressed him on 'the Epstein file issue', saying his viewers wanted 'answers' on the case. 'The evidence we have in our files clearly indicates that it was, in fact, a suicide,' Mr Bongino told him. The Deputy Director did not address the Epstein files more broadly. June 5 'Time to drop the really big bomb: Donald Trump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public.' The billionaire Elon Musk, in the middle of an acrimonious exit from the Trump administration after his stint running the cost-cutting 'department' DOGE, sent out this inflammatory tweet. Mr Musk, who was Mr Trump's largest political donor by far during last year's election campaign, has a rather long history of making extreme claims about those with whom he is feuding. So the credibility of his claim was hard to gauge. He later deleted it. June 6 'We're not going to push that s*** back out there. It's not happening, because then he wins. Not doing it. You want to hate me for it, fine.' This was Mr Patel, on Joe Rogan's podcast. And the 'he' in question was Epstein. The FBI Director told listeners 'we're going to give you everything we can', but was quite obviously downplaying expectations. July 7 'No further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted.' This was the turning point, regarding public opinion. 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