Australia’s prime minister said Sunday he trusts US President Donald Trump to support the two countries’ defence relationship despite their “different values” on trade, in a final television debate before May 3 elections.
The high cost of living is the biggest concern of voters, according to opinion polls, but the US imposition of 10-percent trade tariffs on long-time ally Australia has elbowed its way into a tight election battle.
Asked if he trusted Trump to have Australia’s back on security, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said: “Yes.”
The Australian leader, whose centre-left Labor Party has a narrow lead in the polls over the conservative opposition, said US lawmakers he met had expressed “universal” support for their defence ties.
“I think that gives us confidence is that it’s in the United States’ interests as well as in Australia’s interest,” he said.
But Albanese said he and Trump had “different views, different values”.
“I support free and fair trade, he doesn’t. He thinks tariffs are the way forward for the United States.”
In 2021, Australia signed a US$235 billion agreement with the United States and Britain that would equip the Australian navy with US nuclear-powered submarines and help balance China’s expanding military might.
The government and conservative opposition both support the deal.
Peter Dutton, leader of a Liberal-National Party coalition, said Australia could trust whoever is in the Oval Office.
“We respect the views of the American people. They’ve elected a president.”
The ruling Labor Party has a 52-48 percent lead over the opposition on a two-party preferred basis, according to a Newspoll survey published Sunday in The Australian newspaper.
It is the latest in a series of polls indicating the opposition has lost a slight lead it had enjoyed in February.
‘Evil genius’
On defence risks, Albanese said China was the “major power” in the region and was seeking to increase its influence.
“But the relationship is complex as well, because China is our major trading partner, so what we have to do is to invest in our capability,” he said, pointing to Australian efforts to bolster its defence assets and strengthen diplomatic ties in the Pacific.
Asked what came to mind regarding Trump’s billionaire adviser Elon Musk, Albanese replied: “Tesla, and a very rich man.”
Dutton answered: “I think, evil genius.”
The opposition leader has been accused of adopting aspects of the Trump playbook, notably promising to axe tens of thousands of civil service jobs.
But asked if he was now seeking to distance himself from the US leader, he said: “I have not sought to be anybody other than myself.”
A recent poll shows a sharp fall in Australians’ trust in the United States.
Only 36 percent of Australians said they trusted the United States, a drop of 20 percentage points in a year, said the survey released this month by the Lowy Institute think tank.
The two political rivals also sparred over how best to curb the cost of living.
Albanese touted his party’s promise to cut taxes.
Dutton, who has vowed to reverse the tax cut, said his own plan to slash taxes on gasoline and diesel for one year would provide greater relief.
Perhaps their biggest divide is over how to tackle climate change.
Albanese’s government has embraced the global push towards decarbonisation, warning of a future in which iron ore and polluting coal exports no longer prop up the economy.
Dutton’s signature policy is a US$200 billion scheme to introduce nuclear power by constructing seven industrial-scale reactors, doing away with the need to ramp up renewables.
