Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

I join with the Prime Minister, and, on behalf of the coalition, I congratulate the 45th President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, and soon to be the 47th President of the United States. As we know, it is a truly historic electoral outcome for the United States. It hasn't been repeated by any other president in American history, except in the 19th century, and that makes it a truly historic event. It makes it important in Australia's eyes because we want the United States to continue to be the great democracy that it is. We have worked together closely with our friends through the ANZUS alliance and the AUKUS arrangement, which the coalition signed with the Americans and the Brits during our term in government. Our troops have fought together since 1918 in the Battle of Hamel. We have enduring strengths, and together we are stronger. We will make sure that President Trump is not somebody to be scared of but somebody that we can work very closely with, and that's exactly what we will do.

I want to also congratulate the Republican party for the campaign that they conducted and acknowledge the fact that they won not just the Senate but the House as well. I offer my respects also to Vice President Harris for the campaign that she ran and the dignity that she demonstrated during her concession speech earlier today, our time.

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