Topics: Biden decision to not recontest; Australia-US relationship; Albanese weak on CFMEU;

7:18AM AEST
23 July 2024

 


Pete Stefanovic:
 Live now to the Shadow Foreign Minister, Simon Birmingham. Simon, good to have you with us this morning. A few events that have taken place over the past 24 hours. One notable big one, that political earthquake after Joe Biden announced that he wouldn’t be contesting this election. Looks like Kamala Harris will replace him. Your thoughts on all of that?

 

 

Simon Birmingham: Oh, indeed, Pete, for a news hound like you it’s definitely been a big 24 hours, big couple of weeks and it will continue to be a big few months in the run up to the US presidential election in November. Now, Australia’s relationship with the US is in the best possible position in many ways that the AUKUS alliance cementing our deep, long-lasting alliance with the US, our most important security partnership. It is essential that we ensure that is at the forefront of our continued relations under whoever becomes the next US president, be it Donald Trump, be it Kamala Harris, be it anybody else. Should also remember the US is Australia’s largest investment partner. So economically we have much at stake in this relationship as well. And these are the reasons why it’s so critical that the Albanese Government is front and centre in building relations with all potential presidential candidates and ensuring that when a new president is elected in November, we can hit the ground running with them.

 

Pete Stefanovic: Simon with Biden hiding at the moment, is the US or its allies vulnerable at the moment? I’m looking at Taiwan, Israel and Ukraine here. Might this uneasy transition embolden opponents?

 

Simon Birmingham: This is not the first time that a US president has gone through the period where they’re not seeking re-election. In fact, it’s quite commonplace for second term presidents to have that period of time where they’re not seeking re-election. It’s crucial that Joe Biden continues to show leadership in international affairs, engage in those big events that you indicate. And indeed, with the Israeli prime minister slated to be in Washington this week, and that will be crucial that the dialogue he has with Benjamin Netanyahu is one that drives forward in backing Israel’s right to self-defence, but also pushes to try to ensure that a peace deal, which Hamas has continued to resist, can be landed.

 

Pete Stefanovic: Would you be worried about if Kamala Harris were to be president? I mean, there are there were huge problems that Benjamin Netanyahu had with, say, Barack Obama. The Democrats often struggle with that left flank, as politicians in Australia do, with the left wing of certain parties when it comes to support for Palestinians over those in Israel. Would you have any concern about that?

 

Simon Birmingham: Well, there are risks always and we’ve seen the Albanese Government shift Australia’s position over time rather than remaining as resolute as they should have in support of Israel’s inherent right to self-defence and in support of a negotiated two-state solution that deals with the difficult issues. Now the US position has been critical in support of Israel and also being consistent around how a two-state solution is ultimately achieved. And we would hope and expect that again, any US administration maintains that consistency in terms of its approach to Israel and its approach to a negotiated two-state solution that is so important to long-term peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians.

 

Pete Stefanovic: Okay. Quick one locally here, Simon. Anthony Albanese has got no interest in re-establishing the ABCC, digging in over calls for tougher action against the CFMEU. Your thoughts on where that is?

 

Simon Birmingham: Well, this shows remarkable intransigence and weakness in the face of the union movement from Anthony Albanese. We’ve got new breaking stories today about the influence the union boasts of over the construction superannuation funds. So, we’ve got super funds, money potentially at risk from the CFMEU. We’ve got concerns that the so-called Made in Australia agenda, the picking winners program of the Albanese Government, could just line the pockets of the CFMEU and militant unions rather than get outcomes. And yet all Anthony Albanese wants to do is appoint an administrator rather than take the tough action of putting a proper cop back on the beat and of de-registering this militant union once and for all.

 

Pete Stefanovic: Simon, we’ll leave it there. Thanks for your time, though. We’ll chat to you again soon.

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