Snubs, subs and Trump: Albanese's NATO dilemma
Between the US review of the AUKUS submarine deal, the imposition of tariffs on Australian exports, and a call from US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth for Australia to almost double defence spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP, the Australia-US relationship is in relatively poor state of repair at the leader-to-leader level.
Loading
There are risks for Albanese in spending just a couple of days in Canberra before getting back on the plane to be in The Hague for next Tuesday's summit, only to potentially be embarrassed by missing out again on a meeting with the unreliable president – though the risk is not as great as it might at first seem. The Australian prime minister will walk straight into a debate about US demands that European NATO members lift their defence spending to as much as 5 per cent – not a conversation Albanese will want to be part of, given Hegseth's comments and the fact that we currently spend about 2 per cent.
And while some members of the government (and plenty of Australians) do not like Trump and think chasing a meeting amounts to kowtowing, they are wrong. The United States is Australia's most important security partner, it will be for the foreseeable future, and no matter who is in the White House, the Australian prime minister needs a strong personal relationship with the president.
The federal opposition and other government critics sniff an opportunity to damage the prime minister, whether he stays in Australia and avoids a possible cancellation or if he goes and misses out again. This will not guide the prime minister's decision.
At the leader-to-leader level, personal relationships are enormously consequential – they can be the 5 per cent extra that secures a tariff concession or a bigger quota of beef exports. Britain's Starmer, Canada's Mark Carney and Italy's Giorgia Meloni, to give just three examples, have all secured benefits for their nations by moving early to meet the 47th president. Albanese is lagging, but the situation is reparable.
Loading
Even if Trump doesn't turn up, or if he were to cancel on Albanese again, the benefit of being there outweighs the risk. As Trump's sudden departure from the G7 reminded America's allies (as if any reminder were necessary), there are at least another three years of living in an 'America First' world – which only increases the importance of multilateral organisations. US allies have two choices: they can wring their hands about America's absent leadership, or they can get on with the quiet rebuilding of international institutions. Starmer and Macron are two leaders who have signed up to that rebuild. Albanese is another, though he knows the US relationship needs a patch and paint.
Two moments at the G7 summit highlighted the benefits of turning up this week, and of going again next week. The first came just after 9am on the final day of the summit when Carney welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. In his low, even voice, Zelensky outlined the latest carnage visited on Kyiv by the Russians. The capital had been smashed, he said, with 138 people injured and another 12 killed by murderous drones.
But the point was not the death toll. Rather, it was the quiet dignity with which Zelensky spoke and the fact that it was face-to-face, allowing a moment for each leader to look the other in the eye. Upon such moments, friendships are forged and alliances are built.
The second moment came a few hours later, during the 'family photo' of world leaders. As Albanese joined world leaders on stage, he walked straight up to Zelensky and, without saying a word, the pair embraced. That gut-instinct moment, more than any words the prime minister spoke at the summit, mattered.
One of Albanese's greatest strengths over more than three decades in politics has been his ability to build and maintain a broad web of personal relationships. He's a 'relationships guy' in much the same way that Trump has been throughout his careers.
Albanese and Trump will get a chance to look each other in the eye some time soon, whether it is in Holland, at the UN General Assembly in September, or at some other moment in the not-too-distant future. At that point, the questions over the relationship are likely to evaporate.
As he landed back in Australia in the early hours of Thursday morning, Albanese had not made up his mind on whether to attend the summit. My tip is that if Albanese travels to Holland he will focus, at least in his public comments, on the importance of the global rules-based order, regardless of what the president does.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
31 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Collingwood: ‘The Lamington' pad's red hot auction result
An ultra-cool Collingwood apartment known as the Lamington has smashed expectations after selling for more than $1m on Saturday. The two-bedroom home at 3F/68 Oxford St with red tiles, metals and glass throughout was advertised with a $900,000-$950,000 asking range. Short-listed for an Australian Institute of Architects' interiors award, the warehouse conversion is located within a factory complex that formerly belonged to one of Australia's first department store chains, Foy & Gibson. The apartment's owner commissioned architectural practice Rexroth Mannasmann Collective to transform its shell into an eclectic abode with a wall of tall windows, 3.6m-high steel-trussed ceilings and polished hardwood floorboards. A horizontal red line features on many of the walls including in the open-plan living and dining area is much like a strip of jam inside a lamington – contributing to the apartment's unofficial name. There's also a central pod within the home containing a laundry and bathroom. One of the pod's walls has a flip-top desk and foldaway bed. The residence has been featured in both Vogue Living and the Architectural Review magazines. Jellis Craig inner north partner Simon Shrimpton said a $900,000 bid started the auction as three bidders competed for the 'very cool' apartment. It was placed on the market at $950,000 and ended up fetching $1.025m. 'The apartment sold a young couple from Fitzroy and the underbidders were a couple downsizing from the eastern suburbs,' Mr Shrimpton said. 'The couple who bought were very excited, they were the first to inquire and the first ones through the door at the first open for inspection,' Mr Shrimpton said. 'They were absolutely in love with the place and all the design aspects and nuances it has.' Mr Shrimpton said that for inner Melbourne apartments, well-designed homes with stylish flair tended to attract a lot of interest. 'Bespoke, architecturally-designed apartments are few and far between and when they are offered to the market, buyers will always line up to compete for them,' he added. Also on Saturday, a double-fronted, Victorian-era house at 1 Peel St, Newport, sold for $1.21m. The three-bedroom house, in need of some work including replastering, had a $1.05m reserve. The Agency property partners Leigh Melbourne and Noah Lautman-Wurt had the listing. Mr Melbourne said that a young couple from the western suburbs purchased the property, out of three bidders. 'The bidding was fast and furious,' Mr Melbourne said. He noted that homes at Peel St's bottom end, near The Strand in Williamstown, did not often come up for sale. 'In my 25 years covering the area, it's the second property I have sold down here,' he said. Mr Lautman-Wurt said the auction started with a $1m bid, with a buyer's advocate and family among the underbidders.
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Western United given 14 days to pay overdue wages or run risk of losing players
Western United has again been served with breach notices by a host of the A-League club's players over unpaid wages. It's the second time in two months that United has been issued breach notices by disgruntled players, who were also forced to endure late pay in May. United had 14 days from Friday to make the payments. If the club fails to meet the deadline, players will be entitled to leave to the club, regardless of their contract status. A club spokesman said United was in 'constant communication with all players' and was working 'closely with the PFA (Professional Footballers Australia) and the APL (Australian Professional Leagues) to ensure this is addressed in the coming days'. Earlier in the week, United officials had been confident the club's proposed new majority backers – KAM Melbourne – would have paid the players and staff their overdue wages by Friday. A pitch fit for the European champions 😉🤩 The @FIFACWC is underway with the Rose Bowl in perfect condition for @PSG_inside and @atletienglish yesterday thanks to our groundsman, Justin Lang ðŸ'�ðŸ'š — Western United FC (@wufcofficial) June 17, 2025 However, the money wasn't forthcoming, leading some players issuing breach notices via PFA. KAM Melbourne, a subsidiary of KAM Sports, was last month announced as financially embattled United's new controlling stakeholders. However, the deal is yet to be approved by the APL, which runs the A-League. PFA chief executive officer Beau Busch earlier this week said United's players and staff were 'victims of a governance model that is not fit for purpose, and where FA (Football Australia) and the APL appear unwilling to enforce their own regulations'. 'The professionalism of the Western United players and staff in the most trying conditions is a testament to their character and commitment to Australian football,' Busch said. 'The players (have been) left to fight for their most basic entitlement as employees. We will continue to ensure the players have access to the full resources of the PFA.'
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Ray White data reveals house-unit price difference in 15 blue chip suburbs
The dream of living in a blue-chip suburb is still in reach for younger Australians if they're willing to trade in a house for a unit, fresh data from real estate titan Ray White has revealed. While house prices remain at astronomical levels across much of the country's prime real estate, the gap in price between houses and units is wide enough in a host of up-market suburbs to make unit living affordable for first-home buyers. In Melbourne's iconic Hawthorn South, characterised by its vast patchwork of cafes, restaurants, heritage-listed buildings and elegant park spaces, median house prices are at $2.48m, but units are priced at $560,368, a massive $1.92m difference in cost. In Sydney's Homebush, which sits adjacent to the iconic Sydney Markets and Bicentennial Park, houses are priced at $2.24m, while units are priced at $677,393, for a $1.56m gap. Brisbane's riverside Hamilton, adorned with swanky Queenslanders and opulent modernist structures, houses go for $2.26m while units are listed at $717,358. Ray White chief economist Nerida Conisbee told NewsWire apartments offered Australians in their 20s and 30s a chance to live in suburbs with 'better amenity' as houses move beyond reach. 'To get an apartment, you might be closer to good retail precincts, better public transport, closer to your work,' she said. 'Also potentially to family and friends. I think this is one of the challenges a lot of younger people have. 'They may have grown up in an area but when they are looking to buy now, it's really expensive, but in some areas, there are definitely apartments available at a much more affordable price.' Ms Conisbee added solving Australia's affordability crisis would entail a greater shift to apartment living, even as builders continue to pump out four-bedroom homes that exceed the size of many emerging families. 'Australia is very unusual globally in that we have incredibly low densities,' she said. 'If you have a look at every other major city and even much smaller cities, they do have very high levels of high densities. 'We can't provide affordable housing in areas that have incredible amenity if we stick to the big homes in the future.' Every major city shows savings of at least $500,000 with an apartment buy over a house. In Adelaide's Walkerville, a tree-lined inner-north suburb, houses sit at $1.6m, while units are going for $604,328, a saving of nearly a million dollars. In Perth's beachside Mosman Park, houses are priced at $2.51m, while units are priced at $551,561, a near $2m difference. In Darwin's Larrakeyah, houses are $1.45m while units are $440,907. In Canberra's Reid, houses are $2.19m, while units are $617,050. Queensland's glittery Gold Coast, however, shows a smaller gap between house and unit prices compared to other major cities. In Southport, houses are $1.05m, while units are $637,051, for a $410,669 gap. Regional cities in popular coastal locations also present substantial gaps between house and unit prices. In the Sunshine Coast's Buderim suburb, which borders the Maroochydore and Mooloolaba beaches north of Brisbane, houses are priced at $1.3m, while units are going for $732,921. In Port Douglas, a Coral Sea town in Queensland's far north that faces out to the Great Barrier Reef, houses are listed at $1.71m, while units are $490,372.
