Adam Bandt warns Aukus joins Australia at the hip with ‘dangerous demagogue’ Donald Trump
Greens leader pushes for submarine pact to be abandoned and says Australia should work with other countries to ‘isolate’ US president
When asked by a reporter what he thought about "AUKUS", Donald Trump did not know what the word meant.
But since Australia is a highly valued ally... no worries! Right?
I mean... almost as close an ally as Canada! Right????
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, says Aukus is not about defending Australia
but ‘joining Donald Trump in his next attack’.
Mick Tsikas/AAP
The Aukus security pact ties Australia to the hip of a “dangerous demagogue” in Donald Trump , Adam Bandt has warned, as he mounts a fresh argument for the submarines deal to be abandoned.
Appearing at the National Press Club in Canberra, the Greens leader said Australia should partner with other countries reeling from the US tariffs to “isolate” the president.
“Because that’s what you should do with bullies like that, work with others and isolate him,” Bandt said.
The Greens’ long-running opposition to the Aukus deal to equip Australia with a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines has intensified since Trump regained the White House.
Aukus has bipartisan support from Labor and the Coalition but Bandt believes public sentiment is turning in favour of the Greens’ position, declaring “we think we’ve got the Australian people behind us on this”.
“Now is precisely the wrong time for Australia to be joined at the hip to Donald Trump,” he said.
“They [the submarines] are about joining Australia at the hip to a dangerous demagogue in the US. They’re not about defending our country – they’re about joining Donald Trump in his next attack that he wants to make on someone else.”
Bandt is adamant Australia is headed for a hung parliament in which the Greens hold the balance-of-power, giving it leverage to force a potential Albanese minority government to add dental to Medicare, ban native forest logging, make childcare free and wind back negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions.
After previously campaigning for the tax breaks to be abolished entirely, Bandt unveiled a more nuanced policy on Wednesday that would grandfather the concessions for one property to protect “mum and dad investors”.
“What we’re trying to do is put on the table something that we think that could be implemented by the end of the year,” he said. “And we think it’s more urgent now with the potential for interest rate cuts [and] fallout from Trump.”
Anthony Albanese dismissed Bandt’s latest demand as an attempt to “make himself relevant”.
The prime minister has repeatedly ruled out striking power-sharing deals with the Greens, refusing to even countenance an outcome other than retaining majority government.
Bandt said he would be “absolutely astounded” if Albanese refused to work with the Greens in a hung parliament – including in adopting items on its policy wishlist.
“I would be absolutely astounded if Anthony Albanese or anybody else says, ‘No, I don’t want to get dental into Medicare, I’m not going to talk to anyone and I’m going to take my bat and ball and go home’,” he told the press club.
“I understand people will … say things during the course of the election campaign, but at the end of the day if that’s what people decide [a hung parliament] then we’ve got an obligation to work together.”
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The US has a trade surplus with Australia.
Trump put a 10% tariff on Australia.
Only 10, what the fck was he thinkin.....again
Ummm... what is "thinking"??
a language Trumperz doesn't speak, like the dumb voices in his head, that only speak sign language, and nun can seehear watt Trump does say, with those tiny little itty bitty hands,l in the way...