The Australia-first words that Sussan Ley says are a threat to the US relationship
'At a time of global uncertainty, growing conflict and a growing list of issues in the Australia-United States relationship, now is a time to build our influence in Washington, not diminish it,' she said in a statement.
'Many Australians will wonder whether this speech at this time was in our national interest, given so many things crucial to Australia's future are currently being considered by the US administration.'
The AUKUS defence pact is a trilateral agreement with the United States and United Kingdom that will allow Australia to acquire nuclear submarine capabilities.
James Laurenceson, director of the Australia-China Relations Institute at the University of Technology Sydney, said that since John Howard it was unusual for Australian prime ministers to speak positively about a more independent foreign policy not tied solely to US interests.
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'It's not entirely inconsistent with where Albanese has been headed,' Laurenceson said, pointing to remarks from Trade Minister Don Farrell about growing trade with China following Trump's tariffs.
Laurenceson said Albanese would be confident that the Australian public was comfortable with his coming meeting with Xi occurring before a face-to-face with Trump, pointing to polling showing Trump's unpopularity in Australia. Coalition trade spokesman Kevin Hogan said on Sky News on Sunday that 'it is embarrassing' Albanese had not yet met Trump.
Sydney University international affairs historian James Curran said there was a contradiction in putting a spotlight on sovereignty at a time when Australia was tying itself more firmly into US military framework through the AUKUS submarine pact.
He said Albanese's speech was significant because it came at a time when the US was pressuring allies to boost defence spending and contain a rising power in China.
'While it's not a new strategic doctrine, it is saying that there are times when Australia has to determine its own destiny,' Curran said.
'After the best part of two decades, in which the culture of the alliance has been awash in the sentimental claptrap of '100 years of mateship', it's not necessarily a bad thing for the loose cannons in the Trump administration – who are perhaps getting used to allies capitulating – to hear an Australian PM saying that, from time to time, Australia needs to express itself differently.'
During the election campaign, Albanese and his ministers used Trump's haphazard approach to discredit the Peter Dutton-led Coalition, whose policy agenda and style had similarities with the US president's.
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