Albanese’s visit reminds America ‘it doesn’t have to be this way’ on guns, says Harris

Washington: US Vice President Kamala Harris has praised Australia for its gun reforms as America deals with another mass shooting, using a state lunch with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to declare: “It does not have to be this way”.

With a manhunt under way for a shooting suspect who killed at least 18 people in Maine, Harris expressed outrage and frustration that another community had been “torn apart by senseless gun violence” and told Americans “we must continue to speak truth about the moment we are in”.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US Vice President Kamala Harris during a state luncheon in Washington, during Albanese’s state visit to the US. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

“In our country today, the leading cause of death of American children is gun violence,” she said, standing alongside Albanese and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

“Gun violence has terrorised and traumatised so many of our communities in this country. And let us be clear, it does not have to be this way – as our friends in Australia have demonstrated.”

Harris’ comments were a last-minute addition to a speech marking the final day of Albanese’s four-day blitz of Washington, which included a lavish state dinner at the White House on the night the gunman opened fire in Maine, first at a bowling alley and later at a restaurant.

The manhunt for the suspect Robert Card, an Army reservist who had been committed to a mental health facility over the northern summer, continued into Friday with authorities searching towns, forests and waterways. A search at a property ended without any arrests.

Governor Janet Mills said it was a dark day for Maine.

“Mr Card is considered armed and dangerous and police advise that Maine people should not approach him under any circumstances,” Mills said.

Albanese also addressed the shooting in Maine on the back of Harris’ comments, saying: “Every time there is one of these [mass shooting] events I am grateful Australia did act in a bipartisan way after the Port Arthur massacre.”

After the 1996 massacre, the Howard Government initiated a gun buyback scheme and Australia now has a strict licensing and registration system to own a firearm.

“My heart goes out to those who will be grieving today,” Albanese said.

On Thursday, the prime minister also travelled to Capitol Hill and made a personal plea to Donald Trump ally Mike Johnson, the new Speaker of the US House of Representatives, to help advance the AUKUS submarine deal.

Albanese also met about 60 Congress members amid lingering concerns that the plan to help Australia acquire nuclear submarines could put a strain on the US industrial base, which has struggled to meet its own submarine-building targets.

The meeting with Johnson, however, was the first the Republican has had with a foreign leader since being appointed Speaker. Johnson’s elevation ended three weeks of paralysis in Congress due to Republican infighting.

Congratulating Johnson on his appointment, Albanese said: “It is terrific and I really look forward to working with you.

“We, of course, have important legislation that’s required for AUKUS and we’re certainly hoping that Congress can pass that legislation this year.”

The prime minister had hoped to make the case for AUKUS at an address to a joint session of Congress, but without a Speaker to convene the House, this wasn’t possible – something Johnson admitted was unfortunate.

Instead, Albanese spent the final morning of his Washington trip in a series of smaller meetings with Congress members, assuring them that Australia was not looking for “a free ride” at America’s expense.

Vice President Kamala Harris with Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, left, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a state luncheon at the State Department in Washington.Credit: AP

His first meeting was a breakfast organised by the Friends of Australia Caucus, co-led by Democrat co-chair Joe Courtney, where he met some politicians who have previously raised concerns about the AUKUS pact.

Among them was Republican Senator Roger Wicker. Wicker has previously blocked AUKUS bills by requesting they be contingent on more defence funding, and last week spearheaded a bipartisan letter to Biden pushing for the release Pentagon cost estimates related to the submarine-industrial base.

Also present was Republican Senator Jack Reed, the co-author of a separate letter warning Biden last year that AUKUS could stretch the US industrial base to “breaking point”.

Albanese told the group this was a bipartisan issue in Australia, initially announced by conservative prime minister Scott Morrison, and that Australia was making a huge investment to work alongside the US.

“There was no better salesman in the room than the prime minister,” Courtney said later.

Albanese also attended a Senate leadership meeting with Democrat Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, among others, before heading to the luncheon hosted by Harris and Blinken at the State Department.

Albanese told the audience that AUKUS was a “game changing” pact that would allow Australians and Americans to “work and train side-by-side in allied shipyards” and enable both countries to meet “the new strategic challenges of our time”.

“We, people of Australia, are not looking for a free ride,” he said. “We are a middle power – and a leader in our region. And Australians always pay our way.”

Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for the weekly What in the World newsletter here.