Peter Dutton takes aim at ineffective Anthony Albanese over tariff trade troubles
Donald Trump has thrown a trade war-sized wedge into the election campaign but Peter Dutton insists it should never have come to this.
And the Opposition Leader believes ambassador Kevin Rudd, and his previous comments about the US President — which hang around like a bad stench — are partly to blame.
On one of the darkest days of the decades-long Australia-US partnership, as Foreign Minister Penny Wong called for political unity, the Opposition Leader said Anthony Albanese was to blame for being unable to do what no other world leader has achieved.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“There is a deal to be done here, if the Prime Minister had the strength of leadership and the ability to do it,” Mr Dutton said. “We could have leveraged a better outcome if we’d been speaking about this from January 20.”
Since the President first agreed to give “great consideration” to Australia’s case for steel and aluminium tariff exemptions, the PM has been unable to organise a phone call with Mr Trump to personally plead Australia’s case leader-to-leader.
That does raise alarm bells, but Mr Dutton says if it had been him, there would have been “greater connection and greater communication”.
Mr Dutton’s argument is partly based on history. The former Coalition Government, led by then-PM Malcolm Turnbull, negotiated an exemption from tariffs in Trump Mk I.
Mr Turnbull has been one of the most high-profile commentators declaring that there was no negotiating an outcome with this second Trump Administration, hellbent on pursuing their ruthless isolationist agenda.
Mr Albanese and Senator Wong said they’ve been preparing for these tariffs, predicting their efforts would indeed prove fruitless.
But the Opposition Leader says he would have tried harder. A Coalition Government could have at least ensured the ambassador “got into the West Wing”, he says.
Asked specifically what levers he could pull, Mr Dutton pointed to his own high-level experience with the Obama Administration, and the work with the first Trump Administration and Joe Biden’s team.
“We have the links and the ability to reach into the Administration, and there is a pathway for a deal to be done. The basis of which will be critical minerals and our defence relationship with the United States,” he said.
The Albanese Government tried to use our wealth of critical minerals as a bargaining chip before the first round of tariffs came in. Mr Dutton dismissed this, saying the Government hadn’t achieved anything.
Putting the defence relationship on the table is also risky. This, the Opposition Leader says, is less to do with holding AUKUS or America’s presence at Australian bases against Washington, but more about defence industry.
“We’re not trading anything away. We want to enhance the relationship,” he said, rejecting assertions he was “kowtowing” in not really putting any weight behind threats.
The Opposition Leader says the May 3 election is a choice on who can best navigate the way forward with the Trump Administration.
“We have an opportunity… to start negotiations with the US straight away. I think there can be a deal done very quickly,” he said.
But he couldn’t commit that if he won, he could get the tariffs removed.
“What I offer to the Australian people, my team offers stability and proven performance. We have the ability to manage the economy, the ability to manage our national security needs, and we have an ability to make sure that we can get a better deal for Australia,” he said in response.
