George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

Yes, I can—thank you very much indeed, Senator Fawcett. In the 58 days since President Trump was inaugurated, the Turnbull government has been swift to engage with key figures in the new administration. As we know, Prime Minister Turnbull has spoken with the President. The outcome of that conversation was the President's honouring of an agreement by America to accept refugees from Manus Island and Nauru—an important outcome for Australia.

Already, three NSC-level ministers have had face-to-face meetings with their cabinet-level counterparts and other senior officials. Last month, Foreign Minister Bishop travelled to Washington to meet the Vice-President, the Secretary of State and the national security adviser. Also last month, the defence minister, Senator Payne, held meetings with the new Secretary of Defense, General Mattis. This morning I returned from the United States after a visit to Washington and New York during which I had meetings with, among others, Attorney-General Jeff Sessions; the new director of the CIA, Mike Pompeo; the director of the FBI, James Comey; the White House homeland security adviser, Thomas Bossert; and the chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, Senator Burr. While in New York, I met with the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Jeffrey Feltman, who has responsibility for counterterrorism. I also spoke to the Council on Foreign Relations on the topic of Islamist terrorism in South-East Asia. On my visit, I was accompanied by the Secretary of the Attorney-General's Department, Chris Moraitis, and senior officials from ASIO and the AFP.

My meetings, like those of Ms Bishop and Senator Payne, are a timely reminder of the depth and breadth of our relationship with the United States and, in the case of the meetings from which I have recently returned, in particular, its intelligence and security agencies.