Opposition calls on Richard Marles to ‘come clean’ on murky US meet

The opposition is calling on Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles to “come clean” on whether he had a formal meeting with his US counterpart in Washington this week after a Pentagon spokesperson reportedly said they did not.

Mr Marles, who is also Defence Minister, set off to the US this week for high level meetings, including with US Vice President JD Vance.

He posted photos of himself, Mr Vance and Mr Hegseth all together, praising the Australia-US alliance as “longstanding, built on our shared history of deep collaboration”.

But a US defence spokesperson said overnight the photos did not show a meeting but “a happenstance encounter”, according to Nine.

The Australian also reported that there was no formal meeting set up and that Mr Marles cancelled his scheduled press conference before flying back to Australia.

Opposition defence spokesman Angus Taylor on Thursday called on Mr Marles to clear things up.

“The Deputy Prime Minister must come clean: did he have a formal meeting with his US counterpart, Secretary Hegseth, or not?” he said.

“If no such formal meeting took place, why did his official statement on 24 August suggest that one was scheduled?

“This raises serious concerns about the transparency and credibility of the Albanese Government’s handling of our most important alliance.

“The US is our number one investment and security partner, shouldn’t the Deputy Prime Minister be able to secure more than a handshake and a Facebook photo with his counterpart in the US Administration?”

Mr Marles’ office put out a readout on Wednesday saying he “had the opportunity to see and engage” with Mr Hegseth at the White House.

“At the conclusion of the bilateral meeting with Vice President Vance, the DPM and Secretary Hegseth had a one-on-one opportunity to discuss the relationship between Australia and the US, including AUKUS – building on their prior engagements,” it said.

More to come