Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to briefly make a few points. The first point is that Senator Di Natale moved this motion in question time without notice, I think, to any other party or any other individual. I think that demonstrates, frankly, in the context of question time, a lack of courtesy to other parties in this chamber and I think it is disappointing.

The second point I would make is this: it is true that any election of a new President is a cause of great focus and substantial discussion in the Australian community. It is particularly true, in the context of the election of Mr Trump, that there will be a focus on issues that have arisen in the course of the election campaign and a focus on policies. They are serious questions for leaders to discuss calmly in the context of the alliance. They are not matters for a stunt in question time.

My third point is this: Mr Shorten in the other place has, in a brief address, now offered on behalf of the Labor Party, first, congratulations to President-elect Donald Trump and, second, commiserations to Hillary Clinton, who we acknowledge and regard as a women who has been an advocate of equality and who has served her country with distinction.

Finally, I make this point: the Australian Labor Party remains committed, as have all parties of government, to the ANZUS alliance. It is an alliance that has served Australia well. We are committed to that alliance, but we have been willing, as history books will show, to disagree with American policy when we judge that it does not reflect Australian interests. We did so in relation to Vietnam and we did so in relation to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. From this side of the chamber, we will always pursue our interests through an independent foreign policy and defence self-reliance within an alliance framework.