Our Team

Joe KellyWashington correspondent

Joe Kelly is The Australian’s Washington correspondent, covering news and politics from the US capital. He is an experienced political reporter, having previously been the masthead’s National Affairs Editor and Canberra bureau chief, having joined the parliamentary press gallery in 2010.

@joekellyoz

Joe Kelly

Latest

ceasefireWorld

TOPSHOT - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a hearing in his trial on corruption charges at the district court in Tel Aviv on December 10, 2024. Netanyahu, the first sitting prime minister of Israel to face a criminal trial, testified for the first time when his corruption case resumed on December 10 on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of public trust in three separate cases. (Photo by Menahem Kahana / POOL / AFP)

Finally, a done deal on road to peace

Israel’s cabinet is set to endorse the Gaza ceasefire plan this weekend after a last-minute delay threatened to upend the path to a permanent end of hostilities after 15 months of brutal conflict.

Joe Kelly

ceasefireWorld

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke this evening with US President-elect Donald Trump and thanked him for his assistance in advancing the release of the hostages and for helping Israel bring an end to the suffering of dozens of hostages and their families. Picture: X

Israel’s historic ceasefire deal set for delay amid cabinet split

The timing of Israel’s hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas has been thrown into doubt as a far-right minister threatens to quit cabinet, forcing a 24 hour delay on the vote over the agreement.

Joe Kelly

Warning to ChinaWorld

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 15: U.S. President-elect Donald Trumpâs nominee for Secretary of State, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) testifies during his Senate Foreign Relations confirmation hearing at Dirksen Senate Office Building on January 15, 2025 in Washington, DC. Rubio, a three-term Senator and a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, has broad bipartisan support from his Senate colleagues but is expected to face questions over Trumpâs plans for Greenland, U.S. relations with Russia and the safe return of Hamas-held hostages. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Kevin Dietsch / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

AUKUS to get ‘strong support’ in Trump administration

Incoming Secretary of State Marco Rubio used his confirmation hearing to say the trilateral agreement could secure ‘a better strategic outlook’ for its partners in the Pacific.

Joe Kelly

israel at warWorld

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds a press conference with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz (not pictured) in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv , Israel , 28 October 2023. ABIR SULTAN POOL/Pool via REUTERS

‘Final stages of truce deal’: hopes rise for imminent ceasefire

Benjamin Netanyahu is meeting with hostage negotiators and security chiefs to finalise a deal amid concerns Hamas may delay an agreement

Joe Kelly and agencies

WAR IN ISRAELWorld

(COMBO) This combination of pictures created on January 12, 2025 shows US President Joe Biden speaking in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on January 3, 2025 and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking during a press conference in Jerusalem on December 9, 2024. Biden spoke on the phone with Netanyahu on January 12, 2025, to discuss negotiations for a hostage release and Gaza ceasefire deal, a US official said. (Photo by Chris Kleponis and Maya Alleruzzo / various sources / AFP)

‘Final stages of truce deal’: hopes rise for imminent ceasefire

Benjamin Netanyahu says a ceasefire deal will be implemented as soon as Hamas agrees final terms, as the militant group reportedly transfers some Gaza hostages ‘to safe places’ ahead of the expected truce.

Joe Kelly

foreign policyUS Politics

TOPSHOT - US President Joe Biden arrives to speak at the State Department in Washington, DC, on January 13, 2025, as he delivers his final foreign policy speech. (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP)

Afghan war exit ‘was right thing to do’

In his last foreign policy speech, the US President said the incoming Trump administration has been left in a better position because of his foreign policies.

Joe Kelly

‘a new era has begun’Defence

14/3/2023: US President Joe Biden (C) participates in a trilateral meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (L) and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (R) during the AUKUS summit on March 13, 2023 in San Diego, California. Picture: US Embassy Australia

Biden lauds AUKUS as key achievement

In his final foreign policy speech, Joe Biden declared the US is ‘winning the worldwide competition’, citing the AUKUS defence pact as a pivotal achievement in countering China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific.

Joe Kelly

exclusivePolitics

Regional security pact in our hands, Pezzullo tells PM

Anthony Albanese has been urged to offer a pledge of solidarity to Asian and Pacific nations that would see Australia stand with them ‘in the face of Chinese aggression and coercion’.

Joe Kelly

state funeralWorld

TOPSHOT - From L to R, front row, US President Joe Biden, First Lady Lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamla Harris, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, second row, former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former President George W. Bush, his wife Laura Bush, former President Barack Obama, President-elect Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump attend the State Funeral Service for former US President Jimmy Carter at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, DC, on January 9, 2025. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP)

‘Unshakeable sense of right’: Washington farewells Jimmy Carter

America’s five living presidents gathered to honour former President Jimmy Carter at his state, with family and colleagues paying tribute to a man of great integrity and faith who was ahead of his time.

Joe Kelly

exclusiveDefence

AUKUS will become stronger over time, leading US congressmen say, ahead of Donald Trump's inauguration.

AUKUS safe port: bipartisan US support amid foreign storm

Leading Democrats and Republicans say the pact is a model for how the US should engage with allies, as Donald Trump entertains using force against friendly nations to expand America’s footprint.

Joe Kelly

Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/author/joe-kelly/page/19