Greg Norman playing ‘unofficial envoy’ role with Trump ahead of Albanese US trip

Anthony Albanese says golfing great Greg Norman has been playing the role of an “unofficial envoy” to brief him face-to-face with Donald Trump on his upcoming US trip.

The Prime Minister is expected to fly to New York this weekend to attend the UN General Assembly which will also be attended by the US President.

In a breakfast radio blitz while in Perth on Monday, Mr Albanese said that he expected the pair would meet at “an appropriate time” — hinting that “things are moving on”.

The two were expected to have talks in June on the sidelines of a G7 summit in Canada but the meeting was cancelled after Mr Trump returned to the US early to deal with issues in the Middle East.

Asked when a Trump meeting was scheduled to take place, Mr Albanese said he would remain tight lipped in the lead up to the US trip “because there’s a whole range of things that can occur”.

“We’ll meet. We’ve spoken four times, we’ve had really warm conversations,” the PM told ABC Perth.

“We’ll see each other in New York. He’s hosting a reception on Tuesday night of next week.”

Mr Albanese said Mr Norman —who is one of the most influential Australians in Trump’s orbit — had been “basically” acting as “an unofficial envoy” when asked on Monday.

Mr Trump has played golf several times with the 70-year-old and spoken admiringly about the sports star in the past.

“We’ll have a meeting at an appropriate time. I had a chat with him a bit over a week ago. Things are moving on,” he told Nova Perth.

“You, of course, get briefed on a whole range of things — like golf.

“So, Greg Norman has assisted in the relationship there for example. He’s based in the US of course and he’s very loyal to Australia and plays a really positive role.”

The PM had dined with Mr Norman back in April in Melbourne , on the eve of Mr Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs.

It comes after the PM played down that he was setting the stage for a meeting with Mr Trump while in Perth on Sunday when unveiling a $12 billion commitment to establish a critical AUKUS defence precinct in WA.

He claimed it was not aimed at appeasing the US President whose administration has pressured Australia to boost its total spending on defence closer to 3.5 per cent of GDP.

Defence Minister Richard Marles said the Henderson commitment reflected WA’s strategic importance and its vital role in countering an increasingly assertive China seeking to expand its influence in the Indo-Pacific.

The PM also told Nova he planned to return to WA in coming months to host a regional session of his Federal Cabinet.

“I’m going to bring the whole cabinet to a regional WA meeting in the next couple of months and then we’ll be in Perth,” he said.

“People are pitching up for where. During the last term, we went to Port Hedland. That was fantastic. So we won’t go back to Port Hedland.”