PM cannot say when he'll meet Donald Trump
Anthony Albanese says his decision to not attend this week's NATO summit in The Hague, which may have included a meeting with Donald Trump, was driven by other Indo-Pacific leaders also opting to miss the event.
Defence Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles will represent Australia at the summit and, while he refused to speculate whether he might break the ice by having an audience with the US president, government sources said it was highly unlikely.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Donald Trump to meet Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky at NATO summit
Fresh from the ceasefire brokered between Iran and Israel - which appears to have been broken a matter of hours after it came into effect - US President Donald Trump is planning on meeting Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the NATO summit in The Hague, a senior source in the Ukrainian presidency told AFP. The war-time leader has been a central figure at recent summits but given his fractious relationship with Trump, Zelensky has not been invited to the main working session with NATO members which begins on Tuesday local time. After much to-ing and fro-ing on Zelensky's part about whether the trip to the Netherlands would be worth it without a meeting with Trump, he has confirmed he will attend the two-day summit alongside the leaders of the 32 NATO members. 'The teams are finalising the details' of the meeting, the source told AFP, adding that the talks were scheduled for the 'early afternoon' in the Netherlands. The source added that the discussion would focus on Ukraine's 'purchase of a defence package, a large part of which consists of air defence systems'. The leaders would also discuss more 'sanctions against Russia, and a price cap on oil', the source added. Ukraine and its allies have sought to lower an existing oil cap imposed on Russia after it invaded Ukraine more than three years ago, from $60 to $45, to dent the Kremlin war chest. Trump so far has frustrated Western allies by refusing to impose new sanctions on Russia despite President Vladimir Putin's refusal to agree to a Ukraine ceasefire. Trump famously said during his election campaign that he would end the war in Ukraine 'in one day, 24 hours'. After brokering a short-lived ceasefire between Iran and Israel, he may be looking to advance plans to do the same in Ukraine.
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
‘Sharp deterioration': Queensland budget sparks S&P Global credit warning
Queensland's finances are on shaky ground after a reduced slice of the GST, credit ratings agency S&P Global Ratings says. The updated rating comes as the state government released its budget Tuesday, showing next year's deficit will rise by $1.7bn to $8.6bn. 'Today's Queensland budget highlights a sharp deterioration in the state's finances,' S&P's government ratings director Anthony Walker said in a note. 'The negative outlook on the credit rating highlights the size and pace of the state's fiscal decline, rising debt levels and potentially weaker liquidity coverage. 'The new government has refreshed, rather than redesigned, the state's fiscal strategy, with a greater emphasis on stabilising its ratio of non-financial public sector debt to revenue. Debt continues to rise to fund operating deficits and a growing infrastructure budget.' S&P points to falling coal royalties, the reduced GST allocation and the previous Labor government's decisions for the state's fiscal deterioration. On Tuesday, Treasurer David Janetzki delivered the first Liberal National budget in more than a decade. The LNP administration has trimmed net debt to $205.7bn by 2028-29. Mr Janetzki promised the electorate Queensland was 'on a path to surplus', with the budget papers showing a healthier deficit of $1.1bn by 2029. 'We are front-loading investment into jobs and services that will bring long-term benefits to the Queensland people,' he said. But S&P points to elevated risks for the state's credit rating 'if fiscal and debt ratios are structurally weaker than in the past with little prospect of improvement within the next two years'. 'It shows debt is increasing to cover the state's weak operating position and fund its large infrastructure pipeline,' Mr Walker said. 'We don't believe Queensland is overly exposed to ongoing global uncertainties compared with other Australian states.'
Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Once the West's great hero, Zelensky is now fighting to keep a divided world on his side
Notably, Zelensky ditched his trademark military fatigues for a black blazer and trousers – a subtle shift that reflected both the gravity of the moment and a calculated diplomatic posture. His visit came in the shadow of another devastating Russian assault on Ukraine. Overnight, Moscow had launched 352 drones and 16 missiles, killing at least 10 civilians – seven of them in Kyiv. Zelensky accused Russia of using North Korean-supplied missiles, warning that Moscow was now part of what he described as a 'coalition of murderers' alongside Iran and North Korea. Loading While political leaders continue to reaffirm their commitment to Ukraine – Starmer's office said he would 'reiterate our steadfast support' – public sentiment is growing more complex. In democracies where elections loom, support for military aid is increasingly filtered through domestic politics, particularly as right-wing populist movements gain traction. Among Trump-aligned voters around the world, scepticism of Zelensky is rising, as is sympathy, albeit marginal, for Putin. That change in public mood reflects a deeper strategic recalibration under way in Europe. A report from the European Council on Foreign Relations reveals that majorities across 12 surveyed European Union nations now believe the continent must prepare to defend itself, with or without the United States. In Denmark and Poland, 70 per cent of citizens support increased defence spending. In countries such as Germany, Portugal and even Spain, previously controversial ideas such as mandatory national service now enjoy majority or plurality support. The council report's authors, Ivan Krastev and Mark Leonard, argue that US President Donald Trump's re-emergence as the dominant force in Republican politics has accelerated Europe's reassessment of its own security posture. 'Trump's revolution has come to Europe,' Leonard writes. 'It is overturning not just military expectations, but also the internal political order. What was once dismissed as populist fringe thinking has found legitimacy in the rhetoric of the US president.' Krastev adds that a new ideological alignment is taking shape: 'To be pro-European today means to be sceptical of Trump's America. To be pro-American increasingly means to be critical of the EU.' Across NATO member states, support for the alliance remains high; a median of 66 per cent view it favourably, according to Pew. But belief in Europe's capacity to achieve military autonomy is more fragile. Only in Denmark and Portugal do majorities believe that goal is achievable within five years. In Italy and Hungary, more than half say it is 'practically impossible'. For Zelensky, the challenge is twofold. First, he must secure continued military and financial support in an increasingly fragmented West. Second, he must convince NATO allies to offer Ukraine a credible long-term security framework – possibly a path to eventual membership – despite signs of internal drift within the alliance. Loading Though Zelensky has been invited to attend the NATO summit, he is not expected to participate in the main discussions. His presence remains symbolically powerful, but increasingly peripheral to decision-making. That in itself speaks volumes about the changing dynamics at play. Where once the Ukrainian president rallied Western leaders with moral clarity, he now must navigate a landscape shaped by shifting alliances, electoral uncertainty and competing definitions of security. His image may still resonate, but it will land on a continent no longer unified in its assumptions – not only about Russia, but about America, NATO and the future of the liberal order.
