Stephen Smith (Perth, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

And it is not a problem for the Australian government’s dealings with the current Bush administration and it is certainly not a problem for dealing with the new Obama-elect administration.

The argument of the Leader of the Opposition is that this has done damage to Australia’s standing in public relations—that no leader would contact Australia with confidence. Last time I looked, President-elect Obama had a telephone conversation with the Prime Minister as one of his first 10 conversations with world leaders. Let us go to the substance of this. There are two substantive issues—firstly, whether as a matter of foreign or public policy utilising the G20 as the international financial institution to deal with this international crisis was the correct thing to do or not the correct thing to do. We are very pleased that President Bush, President Barroso and President Sarkozy effectively chose the G20. Do you know why? That was due to Australia’s very strong argument, mounted by the Prime Minister when he addressed the United Nations General Assembly. We are very pleased that that was chosen and made no secret of the fact that the Prime Minister, I as Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Minister for Trade and the Treasurer spoke respectively to various colleagues throughout the world making precisely that point. Do you know why? It was in Australia’s national interest to make that point.

Secondly, the assertion that this erroneous report, which the White House says is wrong, the Prime Minister says is wrong, the Prime Minister’s office says is wrong and the US ambassador says is wrong and is of no consequence, has somehow damaged the framework of our relationship with the Bush administration. Let me make a couple of central points. The relationship between a government and an administration is one thing. That is not as high or as important as the relationship between nation-state and nation-state under the alliance between Australia and the United States and our very strong policy position, articulated from day one. We deal with whatever administration the United States people throw up. We do not choose. We do not choose McCain; we do not choose Obama. We deal with what the democratic process in the United States throws up. That is also unambiguously in our national interest. We have had a very good positive, constructive working relationship with the Bush administration, and that will continue until 20 January.

On the central issue in respect of which we disagreed with the Bush administration in the run-up to the election and on which we were voted in by the Australian people with support for this policy position—withdrawal of our troops from Iraq—we satisfied that commitment in constructive, positive engagement with the United States and we withdrew our troops from Iraq in a very successful and positive manner, conducted professionally and cooperatively with the United States administration. So the second tenet of the assertion, that this has somehow damaged our relationship with the Bush administration, is fallacious.

Let’s now come to what has damaged the standing of Australia in the United States and put at risk the relationship between Australia and the United States. That is the Liberal Party saying that President-elect Obama was a terrorist. That is what happened. When you were a minister in the previous government, when the Deputy Leader of the Opposition was a minister in the previous government, when the former Leader of the Opposition, Dr Nelson, was Minister for Defence in the previous government and when the former Treasurer was a minister in the previous government, the former Prime Minister, Mr Howard, said that if President-elect Obama were elected as President of the United States that would be a red-letter day for terrorists. The Liberal Party actively supported the election of McCain and derogated and abused the President-elect. The Liberal Party’s assertion was that to elect Obama was to elect—

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