Stephen Bates (Brisbane, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Prime Minister, why would you invite Donald Trump to Australia when you've got a Temu Trump sitting right opposite you?

Hon. Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! That question is not within the standing orders, so, as I have done on numerous occasions, I will allow the member to rephrase that question.

An opposition member interjecting—

Everyone has been given these opportunities, and so will the crossbench and members of minor parties. That question is not allowed, so it will have to be phrased directly to the Prime Minister's responsibilities. I would prefer not to use those references to any members of parliament.

Stephen Bates (Brisbane, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister still. Given Trump's attacks on democracy and Western institutions, and even threatening our allies and even the PBS, why would you invite him to Australia?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Brisbane for his question. Australia has a longstanding relationship with the United States, as our important ally since the Second World War. President Trump was elected by the American people last October. We respect democratic outcomes in Australia. That's something that I'm very proud of, that we have orderly transitions of power. We had that when Mr Morrison lost the election. There was an orderly transition of power.

I have had two discussions with the President of the United States. The first was after he was elected and the second was after his inauguration. Both of those conversations were some of the first that we had, and I think that reflects the respect that Australia is shown by the United States as important allies. The United States President will always be welcome in Australia. The United States President, I would expect, will attend the Quad meeting, which will be hosted here either next year or the year after. This year's Quad meeting is in India.

The President of the United States has shown me the courtesy of inviting me to visit the United States. I have returned the courtesy, as is normal practice. I will continue to engage in a respectful way, notwithstanding the fact that I have some different political views to different world leaders. But what I do is engage respectfully across the board, and I act in Australia's national interest. That is what people would expect of me. I will continue to do that.

I will continue to stand up for Australia's national interests, including of course on issues such as the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and other things that are uniquely Australian assets. They say a lot about who we are. The PBS is something that was introduced, of course, by the Chifley government. It's something of which the Australian Labor Party is particularly proud, and I'm proud that we've strengthened the PBS by having not just the decrease from $42.50 down to $30, but, now, the further decrease that we support, down to $25, as well as 60-day scripts and other measures that we have put in place. Just like Medicare, it is something that I will always defend. I think that health care and accessibility is something that we should be proud of. If you compare our health system to the American health system, what happens in this country is that people, no matter how wealthy you are or no matter how poor you are, have access to proper health care. That's something that we should be proud of, and that is something that I will always defend.