Anthony Albanese reveals ‘sit back’ plan to deal with Donald Trump

Anthony Albanese says he is taking a ‘sit back’ approach to responding to Donald Trump’s policy pronouncements, arguing the President’s position can change within days.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Anthony Albanese says he is taking a “sit back” approach to responding to Donald Trump’s policy pronouncements, arguing the US President’s position can change within days.

The Prime Minister sought to fend off questions for a second day on Mr Trump’s plan to “take over” Gaza, arguing it was “different” to the two-state solution advocated by Australia.

He said he was “not going to ­respond to every statement” by Mr Trump, arguing the President’s rapid about-face on his tariff threats in recent days showed a more cautious approach was needed. “There’s been two different positions in the last week on Canada and on tariffs, and that points towards the need to sit back, not comment on every statement that is made every day,” Mr Albanese told ABC News.

He said Australia’s support for a two-state solution was unwavering, despite Mr Trump’s proposal.

“We support the same position today that we did yesterday morning and the day before. Our position has been long standing and bipartisan – two states in the ­region,” Mr Albanese said.

US President Donald Trump. Picture: Roberto Schmidt / AFP

His comments came as senior members of the Trump administration sought to soften elements of Mr Trump’s plan to take “long-term” ownership of Gaza, relocate its people, and turn the territory into a new “Riviera”.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Mr Trump only wanted to temporarily move Palestinians out of Gaza for the enclave to be rebuilt, while the US President’s Middle East envoy said there was no intention to put “boots on the ground” or spend American money on the territory.

Peter Dutton noted the shift, lauding the President as a master negotiator who was trying to leverage a grand bargain.

“He’s a big thinker and a deal maker. He’s not become the President of the United States for a second time by being anything other than shrewd. You’ve seen it in his business life, and the art of the deal is incredibly important to him … I think there’s a desire for peace here from every reasonable person, and hopefully it can be achieved,” the Opposition Leader said.

“I think it is about how do you leverage the best possible outcome, provide that peace and stability so that people can raise their kids in an environment that is conducive to them leading a good life, not being blown apart.”

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Greens deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi challenged Foreign Minister Penny Wong in the Senate over the government’s failure to condemn the Trump Gaza plan, which she described as “outrageously disgusting … ethnic cleansing”. “Minister, you have rightly condemned land grabs of other countries such as Russia. Will you today break your silence and condemn President Trump’s threat and make clear that Australia will not support such actions?” she asked.

Senator Wong said a two-state solution would “ensure the self-determination for Palestinians, ­security for Israel and peace for all the peoples of the region”.

Former Labor senator Fatima Payman said voters wanted to see the government standing up for international law, not pandering to the US. “People want bolder ­action. They want to see a courageous leader, and they’re not seeing that in Albanese, sidestepping these legitimate questions.

“Australians deserve to know, are you going to send Australian troops? Because our so-called ally is going to go and annex occupied territory and essentially call for what looks like ethnic cleansing.”

Sheik Wesam Charkawi, the founder of Islamic political bloc Muslim Vote, said his community expected better from the ­government.

“The Prime Minister sidestepping the issue instead of dealing with the arrogance of Donald Trump follows the same pattern of behaviour we’ve seen over the last 16 months,” he said.

“Muslim voters are seeking change and are rallying at the grassroots to do just that.”