Prime Minister Anthony Albanese 'raises eyebrows' in Washington by shying away from US in John Curtin address

Sky News AU

9 hours ago

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's decision to downplay the US alliance in a major address has rattled the diplomatic relationship amid an AUKUS review, defence spending tensions and criticism from the Trump administration.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has 'raised eyebrows' in the United States at a time of growing disunity, sparking further concerns about his relationship with Washington.
In his weekend address at the 80th anniversary of former prime minister John Curtin's death, Mr Albanese distanced Australia from its history as a close ally of the US.
He said that Australia would pursue its interests as a 'sovereign nation' and not be 'shackled to the past', after Mr Curtin led the country through WWII as a close ally of the US.
Mr Albanese declared the US alliance should be seen as a 'product' of Mr Curtin's leadership in foreign, but not the 'extent' of it.
'Curtin's famous statement that Australia 'looked to America' was much more than the idea of trading one strategic guarantor for another,' Mr Albanese told the John Curtin Research Centre.
'It was a recognition that Australia's fate would be decided in our region.'
The comments have been interpreted by policy experts as a rhetorical step away from the US alliance, and risk being seen in Washington as a signal of diplomatic divergence.
Former Trump senior advisor Christian Whiton weighed in on the Prime Minister's speech, telling Sky News that it would be met with "skepticism" by the US.
'I think you have to look at it as sort of a globalist, soft on China signal,' Mr Whiton said on Sunday.
'Maybe it's one that the United States invited because, you know, the review of AUKUS is sort of an own goal situation; it's a little unclear."
Mr Whiton added that the Australian-US relationship was enduring and that the two countries' shared history was "more important than any verbiage back and forth"
"There's a lot of mixed messages going on," he said.
Retired major general of the Australian Army Mick Ryan also told Sky News that Mr Albanese's speech would "raise eyebrows in the US capital".
"There was a huge amount of enthusiasm for talking down any threat whatsoever posed by China (in the speech)," Mr Ryan said.
"The fact that the US wasn't mentioned, not just in the current concept, but also its great contribution to Australia's defence in the Pacific War will really affect many of our friends in the United States."
It comes as the AUKUS agreement has come under review by the US Pentagon, a defence pact that was set up to enhance US involvement in securing the Indo-Pacific region.
Nationals deputy leader Kevin Hogan warned on Sunday that Mr Albanese had failed to prioritise the US relationship since President Donald Trump was elected in November 2024.
'Given the importance of that country, not just on the economic relationship we have, but the national security relationship, it should be (embarrassing) to all Australians,' Mr Hogan said.
'We know the US is doing a review into AUKUS as well, and the fact our two leaders haven't had a chat and Albanese hasn't been able to secure that is absolutely embarrassing.' — Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) July 5, 2025 Tensions rise following AUKUS friction
The fallout from Mr Albanese's speech followed weeks of growing strain in the trilateral AUKUS security pact after the US Pentagon ordered a review of the deal.
A US defence official said the review would ensure the pact met President Trump's 'America First' agenda, amid criticism of Australia's comparatively low level of defence spending.
That decision came before Australia and the UK adopted what critics described as 'ambiguous' positions on President Trump's recent strikes against Iran.
Mr Albanese waited 24 hours before his government issued a carefully worded statement that stopped short of endorsing the US strikes, calling instead for 'de-escalation' and 'dialogue'.
That response was branded 'flat-footed' by the opposition, with acting shadow foreign affairs minister Andrew Hastie saying Mr Albanese 'should have stood up and spoken to the Australian people'.
'Sending out a government spokesman to make a brief comment about one of the biggest events to happen in the last five years was not good enough,' Mr Hastie said at the time.
The perceived reluctance to back US action in the Middle East likely deepened concerns in Washington over Australia's reliability as an ally.
The Trump administration has been publicly frustrated by the Albanese government's resistance to increasing defence spending to 3.5 per cent requested by USDefence Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The Albanese government has committed to spending 2.3 per cent of GDP by 2033, far shy of the 5 per cent agreed to by NATO allies by 2035. PM dismisses concerns
Despite the mounting concerns, Mr Albanese has downplayed the idea of a rift between Australia and the US.
Speaking at the Sky News/The Australian's Economic Outlook forum on Friday, he insisted that he was 'not worried' about relations with the United States.
He said he was confident in getting a meeting with President Trump, even after their scheduled meeting at the G7 in Canada was abruptly cancelled.
President Trump then failed to follow up with a phone call, despite speaking with other world leaders, and no meeting has been booked in since.
'I'm not worried by someone making an understandable decision, which he did, to return to Washington,' Mr Albanese said of the cancelled meeting on Friday.
'Of course, we will have meetings. There will be a range of meetings between now and the end of the year with President Trump.'