NITV Radio News - 07/07/2025
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Sky News AU
an hour ago
- Sky News AU
‘Terrible lapse of judgement': John Howard blasts PM for not having yet visited US President Donald Trump in Washington
Former prime minister John Howard has called out Prime Minister Anthony Albanese over not having yet visited US President Donald Trump in Washington, labelling it 'terrible lapse of judgement' on Mr Albanese's behalf. Mr Albanese begins a six-day trip to China on Saturday at the invitation of Premier Li Qiang, with talks during the bilateral meeting set to cover trade, tourism, and global and regional issues. The trip, which marks the prime minister's fourth official visit to China, comes amid ongoing criticism directed towards Mr Albanese for not having met with Mr Trump since he was sworn in as the 47th US President in January. Speaking with Sky News, Mr Howard has described the current geopolitical environment as 'unstable' and insisted questions need to be asked about the state of the Australia-United States relationship. In light of Mr Albanese's China visit, Mr Howard said it is 'very important' for Australia to maintain relations with both China and the US, adding that he thought the prime minister's trip to Beijing was 'a good thing'. 'But I think that it's very bad thing, very bad thing, that he's still not had a face-to-face meeting with the new American president. Now that is a terrible lapse of judgement and a bad ordering of priorities,' Mr Howard said. 'I'm not saying that he should insult or ignore the Chinese, far from it... but heavens above. Trump has been the President of the United States since the 20th of January this year, and our prime minister hasn't had a meeting with him.' In light of the cancelled meeting between Mr Albanese and Mr Trump that had been set to go ahead at G7 Summit last month before the US President left the event early, Mr Howard outlined what he said he would do if he was in Mr Albanese's position. 'You just ring up and say, 'I want to come and see you in Washington',' Mr Howard said. '... I used to go to see President Bush, and before that President Clinton, I had good relations with both of them, and I just think it's poor form (from Mr Albanese) to say the least.' The former prime minister then questioned whether Mr Albanese was possibly 'scared of meeting' the US President. 'Is he scared of meeting him? I don't know,' Mr Howard said. Mr Howards comments come after more details were revealed this week about a meeting between Mr Trump and Australia's ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd that took place at the Trump International Golf Course in Florida on January 11. The 'brief' face-to-face encounter occurred just days before Mr Tump's Presidential Inauguration, and answers released on notice from Senate Estimates said a diplomatic cable was sent to Canberra after the meeting. The scrapped talks at the G7 summit, which had been expected to cover key issues including AUKUS and US tariffs on Australian exports, involved months of work for Mr Rudd in securing the meeting.
7NEWS
3 hours ago
- 7NEWS
The Issue with Tim Lester: Diplomat Geoff Raby on Anthony Albanese's all-important meeting with Xi Jinping in China
Geoff Raby has no doubt how he would advise Anthony Albanese if he were briefing the Prime Minister in the minutes before this coming week's planned talks with China's President Xi Jinping. 'I'd be telling him that this is a very important moment in Australia-China relations,' Raby said. As Australia's Ambassador in Beijing, Raby counselled prime ministers John Howard, Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard on the critical relationship with China. In the decade-and-a-half since, China has surged as a military superpower, while two-way trade has all but trebled — built on $100 billion a year of Australian iron ore exports. Before leaving Sydney, the Prime Minister acknowledged that — on the list of our trading partners — China is bigger than the next three combined. 'The relationship in China means jobs in Australia. It's as simple as that,' Albanese said. China is the export market we can't live without, at the same time as our longtime security guarantor, the United States, regards China as its greatest military rival. After decades of experience in China diplomacy — stretching back to a stint in Australia's Beijing Embassy in the 1980s — Geoff Raby acknowledges China 'needs to be watched' but says the common assumption that it's now the world's great military threat, is wrong. 'My own view is that China is not a threat to Australia's security as such. China is much more interested in its own stability (and) economic performance,' Raby said. More important to Raby is the fact China has land borders with 14 countries and territorial issues with Xinjiang, Tibet, Taiwan and Hong Kong that loom large in Beijing's calculations. Add in a dependence on foreign energy and natural resources, and China is a 'constrained superpower'. 'This is all part of us having to recognise an emerging new power and be smart in how we deal with it,' Raby said. But one feature of Australia's recent security policy has been anything but 'smart', according to Raby. AUKUS, the giant nuclear submarine pact with the United States and the United Kingdom is set to cost hundreds of billions of dollars over coming decades. Raby called it 'a foreign policy failure for Australia'. 'We have had decades of trying to integrate ourselves into Asia … That has been the cornerstone of our foreign policy for 40-odd years. AUKUS really tears that up,' he said. As Prime Minister Albanese visits China, AUKUS approaches a crossroad in Washington. The Pentagon is reassessing the security pact to see if it fits with President Donald Trump's 'America First' agenda. As well, the Trump Administration's demand that the Albanese government sharply increase military spending has stoked doubts in Australia about the commitment of the United States to our defence. Raby shares that concern. 'Having put this big bet on the US, can we rely on them to be there whenever we need them? Serious defence analysts question that these days,' he said. Raby argued more of Australia's security ought to rest on regional relationships and less on our AUKUS partners. 'Independent foreign policy is essential. We have to be able to make these decisions for ourselves,' he said. So where does that leave Anthony Albanese in his Beijing meeting with Xi Jinping? Raby said the Prime Minister must raise human rights issues and consular cases involving imprisoned Australians. As well he needs from President Xi 'a very clear understanding that China sees a future in a close economic relationship with Australia'. The veteran diplomat also cautioned that the 'personal dynamic is extremely important'. It may be even more so at this, the fourth leaders' meeting between Xi and Albanese. Our Prime Minister has yet to clinch his first Trump meeting. Relations with the U.S. President appear cool. Any sign of warmth in the talks with Xi is sure to stand out. For more from Tim Lester and his interview with Geoff Raby, you can listen to The Issue in the player below or watch their full conversation in the video above.
ABC News
5 hours ago
- ABC News
Police shooting of Kumanjayi Walker shows Australia needs 'comprehensive reform', UN says
The United Nations says Australia is facing a period of "soul-searching" and needs "comprehensive reforms" following the release of long-awaited findings from the inquest into the fatal police shooting of Indigenous man Kumanjayi Walker. Note: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains the names of Indigenous people who have died, used with the permission of their families. Walker, 19, was shot dead by then-police officer Zachary Rolfe during an attempted arrest in the remote outback town of Yuendumu, in central Australia, in November 2019. Mr Rolfe was acquitted of murder, manslaughter and engaging in a violent act causing death by an NT Supreme Court jury in Darwin in 2022. He argued he fired the shots in self-defence after Mr Walker stabbed him in the shoulder with a pair of scissors. UN rights chief Volker Turk said the Northern Territory coroner's inquiry into Mr Walker's death "uncovers disturbing allegations of institutional racism in Northern Territory policing and use of excessive force". "Findings by coroner reinforce urgent need for comprehensive reforms to address injustice suffered by First Nations peoples," Mr Turk said on X. The findings were delivered on Monday, more than five years after the shooting, and after a nearly three-year inquiry. NT coroner Elisabeth Armitage found Mr Rolfe "was racist", and that the then-police officer worked in an organisation with the hallmarks of "institutional racism", warning that there was a "significant risk" that Mr Rolfe's racism and other attitudes affected his response "in a way that increased the likelihood of a fatal outcome". She found that she could not definitively rule that Mr Rolfe's racist attitudes contributed to Mr Walker's death, however she also said it could be not ruled out. "That I cannot exclude that possibility is a tragedy for Kumanjayi's family and community who will always believe that racism played an integral part in Kumanjayi's death; and it is a taint that may stain the NT Police," she said. Mr Rolfe was dismissed from the police force a year after his trial concluded for penning an open letter criticising the coronial process and upper echelons of the NT Police Force. He rejected the coroner's findings around racism and misconduct while on duty and is considering appealing the findings. Mr Walker is one of 598 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have died in custody in Australia since 1991, when detailed records began. Speaking to reporters in Geneva, Mr Turk's spokesperson, Ravina Shamdasani, said she expected the inquiry to "lead to quite a bit of soul-searching by the authorities to take measures". Australian authorities should evaluate whether "further independent oversight" was needed, she said, also calling for "awareness-raising among police officers of the dangers of profiling, the dangers of unconscious bias". ABC/Wires
