I’ll take reins immediately: Anthony Albanese

Anthony Albanese will have himself sworn in as PM and Penny Wong as foreign ­minister as soon as Sunday to attend the Quadrilateral meeting in Tokyo if Labor wins the ­election.

Anthony Albanese says his key message to the Quad leaders would be ‘that you have a strong partner in Australia’.

Anthony Albanese will have ­himself sworn in as prime minister and Penny Wong as foreign ­minister as soon as Sunday or Monday in order to attend the Quadrilateral meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday, if Labor wins the ­election.

In an exclusive final-week ­interview, the Labor leader ­accepted there would be no time for the Labor caucus to meet in Canberra to elect ministers, as is required under party rules, ahead of the Quad meeting with leaders from the US, Japan and India.

“We are not pre-empting the outcome (of the election) but, clearly, we have been asked by Australian officials what our ­intention would be and we have indicated that if we are successful, the intention would be to go,” Mr Albanese said.

Penny Wong. Picture: David Clark

“I will visit the Quad and renew my acquaintance with (US) President (Joe) Biden but also meet, very importantly, with (Japanese) Prime Minister (Fumio) Kishida and (Indian Prime Minister) Narendra Modi who are important friends of Australia … The Quad is an important organisation.”

The Labor leader said he had received advice from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet that, subject to the election result, he could be quickly sworn-in as prime minister in order to ­depart on Monday for the Quad meeting on Tuesday.

“If we are successful on Saturday, it is my intention to go to the Quad leaders meeting to represent Australia (as prime minister),” Mr Albanese said. “If it is unclear, we would seek advice.”

If the election result is not ­decisive, Scott Morrison would ­remain Prime Minister until a new leader who can command majority support in the House of Representatives is sworn in by the Governor-General.

Mr Albanese said he would seek further advice from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet about sending a Labor representative with Mr Morrison if the election result was not certain. This could be Senator Wong.

Only Mr Albanese and Senator Wong are expected to be sworn in quickly to attend the Quad. Labor’s deputy leader, Richard Marles, who is eager to become ­defence minister is expected to be sworn in later with the full cabinet and outer ministry. He will not ­attend the Quad meeting.

The plan to have Mr Albanese sworn in as soon as possible after the election to attend the meeting with Mr Biden, Mr Kishida and Mr Modi evokes memories of Gough Whitlam’s duumvirate government with Lance Barnard. Together they held all 27 portfolios of ­government for 14 days in 1972.

Mr Whitlam was in a rush to implement Labor’s agenda after 23 years in the political wilderness and made some of the most far-reaching policy decisions in ­Australian history over a two-week period. The election was held on December 2, 1972, and the ­duumvirate was sworn in three days later.

Mr Albanese, should his party win the election, is not in such a rush but the Quad meeting ­demands an early swearing-in. To enable the Labor leader to attend the meeting as prime minister, he would need to be sworn in on ­Sunday or Monday because he would need to travel to Japan on Monday.

The Quad meeting comes at a critical time for the Indo-Pacific given China’s assertiveness, its ­security pact with the Solomon ­Islands and a state-sanctioned campaign of espionage, cyber warfare and disinformation.

Mr Albanese said he would affirm with Quad leaders his strong support for the dialogue and discuss his priorities for the Indo-Pacific in the years ahead.

The Labor leader revealed that he would also meet separately for bilateral discussions with Mr Biden, Mr Kishida and Mr Modi while in Tokyo. It would also be an opportunity to share with the Quad partners, Labor’s policy agenda for southeast Asia which includes $470m in foreign aid over the forward estimates, the establishment of a special office for the region within the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the appointment of a special envoy.

Mr Albanese said his key message to the Quad leaders would be “that you have a strong partner in Australia, that we want to work with our friends, consistent with what I see as the three pillars of foreign policy: our alliance with the US, our engagement with the region and our support for multilateral forums”.

“We will re-join the effort and work on climate change, particularly closely with the Biden administration,” Mr Albanese said.

“There is a lot of work to be done in the Indo-Pacific. We will work very closely with them in particular and I would be having a bilateral meeting with President Biden about those issues.”