Albanese to use a former PM John Curtin memorial speech to define Australia's sovereignty in US-Alliance

West Australian

2 days ago

Anthony Albanese is expected to use a speech in Sydney on Saturday to draw parallels between Australia's foreign policy under his government with that of war-time PM John Curtin.
Marking the 80th anniversary of the Labor leader's death, Mr Albanese will tell an address at the John Curtin Research Centre that Australia will forge its own path as a middle power in the region — just as Curtin had at the height of World War II.
His speech is expected to draw on Curtin's time in office — which he will describe as 'dark days of conflict' during which the wartime PM shifted Australia's reliance on Britain to the US — forming the US Alliance.
There are calls for the PM to shore up Australia's US relationship, after the Pentagon launched an AUKUS review and Donald Trump cancelled the pair's planned meeting.
Mr Albanese will describe Australia's 14th prime minister, the only one born in WA, as a 'pillar of our foreign policy'.
'John Curtin is rightly honoured as the founder of Australia's alliance with the United States,' he said, in a draft version of the speech seen by The West Australian.
'Our most important defence and security partnership. And a relationship that commands bipartisan support, respect and affection in both our nations.
'Yet our Alliance with the US ought to be remembered as a product of Curtin's leadership in defence and foreign policy, not the extent of it.'
In the face of global leaders, Curtin had defied requests for soldiers to travel to Burma as the Japanese military then swept South-East Asia.
'And he was locked in a battle of wills with the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill as well as the President of the United States, Franklin Roosevelt.
'Churchill wanted them in Burma – and Roosevelt backed him.
'Curtin wanted those troops for the defence of Australia.
'That's what Curtin recognised – this was a Pacific war. It was its own conflict which demanded its own strategy.'
Spruiking Australia's determination to 'think and act for ourselves' he will argue the nation doesn't 'seek our inspiration overseas' but rather 'we find it right here in our people'.
He's expected to outline Australia's ambitions amid an evolving environment in the Indo-Pacific, including strengthening ties with neighbouring nations and deepening economic connections.
'That's the approach our Government has taken, from day one. Rebuilding our standing as a leader and partner in the Pacific,' he will say, referring to security pacts with Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and India.
'Then – and now – we championed the rights and the role of middle powers and smaller nations.'
He will also say Australia needs to 'patiently and deliberately' work to 'stabilise our relationship with China'.
Mr Albanese will travel to China in August, following an invitation from President Xi Jinping before a string of other overseas trips across the Indo-Pacific this year — including Solomon Islands, Malaysia, and South Korea.