Australia news LIVE: PM to call Trump amid new tariff announcement; Future made in Australia passes Senate
Greens leader Adam Bandt has backed the comments of former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, calling on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to push back against US President Donald Trump’s tariffs while criticising the AUKUS deal.
“I’m very concerned about the impacts of Donald Trump being president. Donald Trump is dangerous – dangerous for climate, dangerous for peace, and dangerous for democracy,” Bandt told ABC News Breakfast.
“Today, it’s steel and aluminium, and who knows what it’s going to be tomorrow?”
Bandt backed Turnbull’s comments overnight, which urged the government to stand up to Trump and called for Australia not to be sycophantic to the US.
Then prime minister Turnbull and US president Donald Trump meeting in Washington in 2018.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
“Do not be misled by the idea that there’s any altruism in Washington towards Australia. Australians love to delude themselves to this,” Turnbull told ABC’s 7.30.
“If we want to be respected, we have to stand up. The United States government, especially with Donald Trump, acts in the national interest of the United States,” he said.
“So we’ve got to be able to make the case that it’s against their interest to impose tariffs on us.”
Turnbull also re-aired his concerns about AUKUS.
“We should think very seriously about the payments that we’re making to support their submarine industrial base,” he said.
“We’re sending them $US3 billion to support this, their sort of languishing submarine industry, with no guarantee that we’ll get any submarines at all.”
Echoing Turnbull, Bandt criticised the continuation of the AUKUS deal.
“Whatever you think about the AUKUS deal – and I’m very concerned about it and don’t support it – but whatever you think about it, it does beggar belief that Australia is handing over billions of dollars of public money to the United States and then facing potential threats of tariffs on our products.”
