Antinuclear

‘Extraordinary’: Albanese slams Morrison for not briefing him on subs deal,  

SMH, By Anthony Galloway, May 14, 2022  Labor leader Anthony Albanese has accused Prime Minister Scott Morrison of breaking trust with the Biden administration by not briefing Labor well before the announcement of the AUKUS defence pact, as the presence of a Chinese spy ship off Australia’s coast re-ignites debates over national security.The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age revealed on Saturday that four-and-half months before the announcement on September 16, senior members of the Biden administration insisted that it would only consider pursuing the landmark AUKUS project if it had solid support from both major Australian political parties.

Labor leader Anthony Albanese has accused Prime Minister Scott Morrison of breaking trust with the Biden administration by not briefing Labor well before the announcement of the AUKUS defence pact, as the presence of a Chinese spy ship off Australia’s coast re-ignites debates over national security.The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age revealed on Saturday that four-and-half months before the announcement on September 16, senior members of the Biden administration insisted that it would only consider pursuing the landmark AUKUS project if it had solid support from both major Australian political parties.“They [the US] wanted to have the confidence that this would be a bipartisan issue in terms of support.”

Albanese said the briefing on September 15 was a “good comprehensive briefing by officials”. But he said the fact that the US had made a request to Australia “that was ignored for-four-and-a-half months shows that this is a prime minister who always plays short-term politics and isn’t interested in the national interest”.“I will not treat national security issues as an opportunity to make a difference on partisan domestic political points,” Albanese said. “No Australian Prime Minister should do that.”Foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong said the report in this masthead confirms Morrison “held back” from briefing Labor against the wishes of the Biden administration.“Now what this confirms to Australians is that this Prime Minister will do and say anything to save his political skin,” she said…………………………………….   https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/extraordinary-albanese-unloads-on-morrison-for-not-briefing-him-on-aukus-months-before-announcement-20220514-p5albm.html

May 14, 2022 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized