Have faith in yourself: Tony Abbott builds bridges in US

TONY Abbott is seeking to find common ground with US President Barack Obama on economic growth and international security.

Tony Abbott opens trading during his visit to the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street yesterday. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

TONY Abbott is seeking to find common ground with US President Barack Obama on economic growth and international security as he prepares for an official meeting tomorrow that must navigate stark differences on climate change.

The Prime Minister is promising Australian support to keep the US engaged in the Asia-Pacific, urging Americans not to “lose faith” in their own capacity to influence world affairs for the better.

Building links with both sides of American politics, Mr Abbott is talking to potential presidential candidates from the Democratic and Republican parties, as well as meeting the senior congressional leaders from both sides.

He met a likely Republican candidate, former Florida governor Jeb Bush, in New York yesterday and is hoping to hold a phone conversation with a potential Democrat candidate, Hillary Clinton.

While a 2016 presidential contest between a Bush and a Clinton is far from certain, Mr Abbott’s schedule lays some groundwork for that possible outcome.

The Prime Minister is using his first day in Washington today to meet the Speaker of the House of Representatives, John Boehner, a Republican, as well as the minority leader in the house, Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat.

He also has a joint meeting with the Republican majority leader in the Senate, Harry Reid, and the Democrat minority leader in the Senate, Mitch McConnell.

Ahead of his flight to Washington DC, the Prime Minister used a speech in New York yesterday to press the US to assert its influence in the Asia-Pacific rather than retreating from the region.

“The Asian century will be an American century too because America is a Pacific power as well as an Atlantic one,” Mr Abbott told an American Australian Association lunch attended by about 200 business executives.

“Asia needs America involved. The world wants America to succeed. The world needs America to succeed. My hope is that you Americans will have as much faith in yourselves as the rest of the world has in you.”

Business leaders backed the Prime Minister’s message in New York yesterday, with BHP Billiton chairman Jac Nasser welcoming the government’s attempts to lift investment.

“It was very good, very strong, clear,” Mr Nasser said of Mr Abbott’s speech. “What he says is what he means and I think that resonates very well with the business community.”

Asked if Mr Abbott’s message to the US to keep looking to Asia was needed right now, Mr Nasser said: “I don’t think it has to be one excluding the other, so I think his balance was really good.”

The billionaire chairman of Visy Industries, Anthony Pratt, left no doubt regarding his support for Mr Abbott yesterday after the lunch. “I thought his message was characteristically brilliant — that Australia is once again open for business,” Mr Pratt said.

Mr Abbott also met News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch for dinner last night but there was no comment on the discussion. News Corp is the ultimate publisher of The Australian.

The Australian has been told that security and the economy are likely to figure strongly in the talks with Mr Obama, scheduled to take place on Thursday morning in Washington (overnight tonight AEST).

Mr Abbott’s cautious position on climate change has been seen as a rejection of Mr Obama’s more ambitious plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power generation by 30 per cent by 2030. With no agreement likely between the two on that issue, the talks are expected to focus on areas of co-operation, including the plans at the Group of 20 summit in Brisbane in November to reform tax rules and commit to stronger economic growth.

Aiming for continuity in Australia’s relations with the US, Mr Abbott is preparing to extend the appointment of former Labor leader Kim Beazley as the Australian ambassador to the US.

Mr Beazley will be kept on until the end of next year, The Aus­tralian was told.