Albanese weighs in after Pentagon backflips on claims it made over Richard Marles, Pete Hegseth meeting
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the conflicting reports over Defence Minister Richard Marles’ US visit were “rather bizarre”.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has described the conflicting reports over Defence Minister Richard Marles’ US visit as “rather bizarre”.
“He met the vice president. He met the defence secretary. He met senior people in the Trump administration. And that’s a good thing. And then he came home. That’s a good thing,” Albanese told Nine’s Today show on Friday.
His comments comes after the Pentagon walked back its claim Mr Marles only had a “happenstance encounter” rather than a “meeting” with US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth in Washington.
The Coalition and Greens on Wednesday demanded an explanation from Mr Marles after an initial statement from US defence officials suggested Mr Marles, who was photographed with Mr Hegseth in the White House on Tuesday, had not had a formal meeting with the Secretary of Defence.
But hours later chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell followed up the initial claim with a second statement appearing to confirm a pre-arranged meeting.
“Secretary Hegseth welcomed the opportunity to meet in person with Deputy Prime Minister Marles for the third time this year,” Mr Parnell said.
“Their meeting at the White House on Tuesday was coordinated in advance.”
Mr Marles had travelled to the US earlier this week planning to meet with Mr Hegseth, as well as Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Australian officials struggled to lock in the meeting with Mr Hegseth amid scheduling issues with other activities going on, but the Secretary of Defence ultimately caught up with Mr Marles following the Deputy PM’s meeting with Mr Vance.
Grilled about the status of the meeting in Question Time on Thursday, Mr Marles said the Pentagon had “made clear” there “was a meeting between myself and Secretary Hegseth” that was coordinated in advance.
“The relationship between Australia and the United States should be above partisan politics,” Mr Marles said.
‘COME CLEAN’: OPPOSITION’S PUSH OVER US MEETING
The Opposition is calling on Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles to “come clean” on whether he had a formal meeting with the US Secretary of Defence in Washington this week after a Pentagon spokesperson described it as a “happenstance encounter”.
The revelation comes after the Deputy Prime Minister made the last-minute trip to Washington DC, specifically to meet with his defence counterpart Pete Hegseth.
But the Australian Defence Minister struggled to secure a meeting with Mr Hegseth and aides were still working to lock in an appointment the same day he was due to fly back to Australia.
On Tuesday local time Mr Marles shared photos of himself with Mr Hegseth and US Vice President JD Vance at the White House, saying he had been pleased to reaffirm Australia’s commitment to the longstanding alliance with the senior Trump administration officials.
He then cancelled a press conference with Australian media in the US and left Washington without answering questions about meeting outcomes.
The Pentagon has now poured cold water on the gravity of that encounter with Mr Hegseth.
“We can confirm there was not a meeting,” a defence official told this masthead.
“It was a happenstance encounter.”
Opposition defence spokesman Angus Taylor on Thursday called on Mr Marles to clear things up.
“The Deputy Prime Minister must come clean: did he have a formal meeting with his US counterpart, Secretary Hegseth, or not?” he said.
“If no such formal meeting took place, why did his official statement on 24 August suggest that one was scheduled?
“This raises serious concerns about the transparency and credibility of the Albanese government’s handling of our most important alliance.
“The US is our number one investment and security partner, shouldn’t the Deputy Prime Minister be able to secure more than a handshake and a Facebook photo with his counterpart in the US administration.”
Mr Marles has not commented on key issues including whether he was able to secure a meeting between Donald Trump and Anthony Albanese, if the US had continued to push Australia to increase defence spending or whether America was committed to forging ahead with AUKUS.
Instead, he shared the series of photos of himself on social media shaking hands with Mr Vance and Mr Hegseth, later issuing a statement saying he had reaffirmed Australia’s commitment to the alliance and advancing the partnership.
“Australia’s defence relationship with the United States continues to grow and deepen,” he said.
“We are seeing this across the breadth of our co-operation be it through our work together on AUKUS, US Force Posture initiatives, our recent bilateral defence exercise Talisman Sabre, or the growing ties between our two defence industries.”
It is not known whether Australia’s decision to recognise a Palestinian State was a point of discussion, or whether Mr Hegseth’s unheeded calls for Australia to lift defence spending were raised.
Both issues have caused frustration within the Trump administration.
The Pentagon is currently reviewing the AUKUS defence pact and it is unclear whether Mr Marles was given assurances about the future of the trilateral agreement.
Topics of discussion at the White House included Australia’s value as a critical minerals partner, opportunities for two-way investment and defence ties.
Australia’s ambassador to the United States Kevin Rudd joined in the meeting alongside Mr Marles.
The Australian Defence Minister’s last-minute visit to Washington to see his defence counterpart was announced on Sunday but one day before they were due to meet, a meeting still had not been locked in.
It was announced he would instead meet with the Vice President and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The Deputy Prime Minister had been due to hold a press conference in Washington following the meetings but cancelled before flying back to Australia.
On Monday night local time Mr Trump took aim at countries like Australia that impose digital taxes, digital services legislation and digital market regulations on American tech companies, describing the measures as an attack on those businesses.
“This must end, and end NOW!,” Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“With this Truth, I put all countries with digital taxes, legislation, rules, or regulations, on notice that unless these discriminatory actions are removed, I, as President of the United States, will impose substantial additional tariffs on that country’s exports to the USA, and institute export restrictions on our highly protected technology and chips.
“America, and American technology companies, are neither the ‘piggy bank’ nor the ‘doormat’ of the World any longer.”
It will add to the difficult conversations for Mr Marles, with Australia already under pressure to increase defence spending, and comes weeks after Anthony Albanese sparked anger within the Trump administration over plans to recognise a Palestinian State.
Mr Trump said the tech rules unfairly discriminated against American businesses and gave a free pass to Chinese companies.
“Show respect to America and our amazing tech Companies or, consider the consequences,” the US President said.
The Trump administration has been a vocal critic of Australia’s News Media Bargaining Code that was introduced in 2021 and requires social media giants to fairly remunerate news businesses for the use of their content.
Earlier this year, the US Trade Representative identified the code as a “barrier” to trade with Australia.
That same report took issue with Australia’s restrictions on imports of American beef, which have since been relaxed by the Albanese government.
The Computer and Communications Industry Association, which represents tech companies including Apple, Meta and Elon Musk’s X, have also previously labelled Australia’s bargaining code as an “unfair trade practice”.
In its March it described the Bargaining Code as a “coercive and discriminatory tax that requires US technology companies to subsidise Australian media companies”, claiming targeted companies had already paid $250m annually but warning that cost could significantly increase.
MAJOR RISKS THREATENING AUKUS SUBS DEAL
Australia should closely work with the US on plans to counter Chinese aggression, urgently boost investment in its submarine industrial base, and help slash America’s vessel maintenance backlog as part of a “monumental mobilisation of resources” to guarantee the future of AUKUS.
In a new report briefed to all three governments, US defence experts insist Australia, the US and the United Kingdom must each take bold steps to achieve AUKUS success, warning of disastrous consequences should the trilateral agreement fail or be scrapped.
Among their recommendations is a proposal for Donald Trump’s Golden Dome missile defence aspirations to form part of the AUKUS Pillar II initiative that focuses on the development of advanced trilateral military capabilities.
It comes as Defence Minister Richard Marles arrives in Washington DC to meet with his US counterpart Pete Hegseth who has advocated for Australia to increase defence spending.
he two are expected to come face-to-face at the Pentagon this week where a review of the future of the AUKUS project is currently underway.
Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Australia Chair Charles Edel, a former policy planner for the Secretary of State, and CSIS Asia Program senior associate Abraham Denmark who served as senior AUKUS adviser to the US Secretary of Defence, co-authored the report and said the defence pact was entering a critical stage.
“It is incumbent on all three governments to be clear-eyed about the challenges they face and to address them with energy and alacrity,” they wrote.
In the US, critics of AUKUS have questioned whether the submarines eventually owned and operated by Australia would contribute to efforts to deter Chinese aggression or in the event of conflict in the Indo-Pacific like an invasion of Taiwan.
The experts suggested “robust contingency planning” between the two countries that helped navigate Australia’s sovereignty and America’s request for concrete commitments.
“Planning, in which military strategists from the United States and Australia would jointly undergo a comprehensive process of strategising and organising military operations to achieve specific objectives, would provide US officials with more concrete reassurances that submarines sold to Australia would not disappear if and when needed,” the report states.
Mr Abraham and Mr Edel said the United States also needed to do its part by unlocking more funding to bolster its industrial base which has fallen well behind in its efforts to build new submarines and maintain its current fleet – raising questions about whether Washington will be in a position to sell submarines to Australia by the 2030s.
In the 2023 financial year, only 32 of the US Navy’s 48 Virginia-class subs were operational, less than half its goal of 66.
They suggest Australia could provide part of the solution through its HMAS Stirling facilities that will eventually have capacity to contribute 1800 maintenance days over five years.
But they warn Australia will be reluctant to accelerate the construction of its West Australia facilities without a strong signal from the US that it will sell submarines within the agreed timeline.
The authors argue Australia’s investment in its marine industrial base have “fallen short of its needs” and say more and faster funding with outlined targets would “reassure Australia’s partners it is doing enough”.
“To start, perhaps the largest and most daunting investment priority for Australia’s SIB is its workforce,” they wrote.
“The country has an estimated need for an additional 20,000 jobs to provide direct support to the nuclear-powered submarine initiative. Australia’s lack of an existing civilian nuclear industry means the country is starting nearly from scratch.”
They said Australia face staffing issues to a greater extent than its AUKUS partners and suggested a multi-country Visa program to help move personnel between countries more efficiently.
The authors also recommended changes to the second pillar of AUKUS which focuses on trilateral initiatives to advance military capabilities through shared technology and interoperability.
They said the current format was too “broad and unfocused” and that leaders should narrow the focus to three capabilities – autonomy, long-range strike and integrated air defence.
“On the missile defence side, Trump’s proposed Golden Dome initiative offers opportunity for Pillar II in integrated air defence,” they wrote in reference to the US President’s desire for missile defence system akin to Israel’s Iron Dome.
“Australia already works closely with US missile defence systems and could complement the initiative.”
The authors said the next six months would be critical and suggested Mr Trump and Anthony Albanese follow UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s lead to appoint a representative accountable for the program’s success.
“Achieving the full potential of AUKUS will require a monumental mobilisation of resources and energy across three nations,” they wrote.
“Should AUKUS fail or be scrapped, the United States would become less capable in the Indo-Pacific, its defence posture and diplomatic presence would become less deeply embedded, its international credibility would be dramatically undercut, deterrence would be undermined, and propaganda from Beijing and Moscow declaring the unreliability of American commitments would gain significant credibility.”
More Coverage
Originally published as Albanese weighs in after Pentagon backflips on claims it made over Richard Marles, Pete Hegseth meeting
Join the conversation
Brutal call on Aussie energy rebate
Read more
Veteran firefighter dies in bushfire horror
Read more