No backdown for Anthony Albanese on climate change and free trade after Donald Trump election win

Anthony Albanese will keep ­pushing for stronger climate change action, free trade and open communication with Beijing, amid fears of trade wars and widening schisms in the wake of Donald Trump’s emphatic election victory.

Donald Trump and Anthony Albanese spoke for the first time on Thursday.

Anthony Albanese will keep ­pushing for stronger climate change action, free trade and open communication with Beijing, amid fears of trade wars and widening US-China schisms in the wake of Donald Trump’s emphatic election victory.

The Prime Minister, who did not express any regrets over his past disparaging comments about Mr Trump, spoke with the US president-elect for the first time on Thursday, underscoring the importance of the US-Australia ­alliance, the AUKUS pact and the strength of the nations’ trade and investment ties.

Australian business leaders used Mr Trump’s victory to urge the Albanese government to cut the corporate tax rate, while Labor’s hopes of a pre-election rate cut were dealt a blow on Thursday after financial markets pushed out expectations of a cut from May to July.

Former prime ministers Scott Morrison and Malcolm Turnbull are urging Mr Albanese to build a personal relationship with Mr Trump that could help shield Australia from threatened tariff hikes and protect vital defence, diplomatic, critical minerals and technology partnerships.

Mr Albanese personally congratulated Mr Trump on his ­election victory in what was said to be a “warm” conversation covering a wide range of issues. There are no immediate plans for an in-person meeting.

Mr Trump also spoke with leaders including China’s Xi Jinping, Britain’s Keir Starmer, India’s Narendra Modi, Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu, new Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru ­Ishiba, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte.

After Australia’s ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd revealed on Thursday he had deleted historic social media posts attacking Mr Trump, Mr Albanese defended the former Labor prime minister and said he was “doing a terrific job”.

Dr Rudd, who in recent months has ramped up efforts to forge ­relationships with Republican figures, will likely struggle to open doors in Washington DC under a Trump administration but is expected to remain in the post until next year’s federal election.

Ahead of his phone call with Mr Trump, Mr Albanese would not be drawn on whether he could convince the incoming president to exclude Australia from his pledge to slap tariffs on imports.

Australian Ambassador to the US and former prime minister Kevin Rudd at his Washington DC residence. Picture: Noah Willman

Mr Albanese, who confirmed the government had prepared for economic and security impacts ­associated with the US election result, said: “Australia is a supporter of trade … we’re a trading nation and we will continue to be advocates for free and fair trade.”

In an ominous sign for the Prime Minister, former US president Barack Obama and wife Michelle on Thursday warned price hikes and economic pain for households had “created headwinds for democratic incumbents around the world”.

Peter Dutton – who is seeking to replicate Trump’s strategy ­targeting outer-suburban and ­regional voters – said there was “a lot of repair work to do” for Mr Albanese and Dr Rudd.

“K-Rudd (will) be down at the tie shop,” the Opposition Leader told 2GB. “He’d be buying up red ties, he’d be buying red hats, he’ll be ordering those MAGA hats. He will do everything he can to ingratiate himself with the Trump campaign. So, he’s indefatigable, as we know.”

Mr Dutton said the US result was partly linked to a rejection of wokeism. He told parliament Mr Trump was “not somebody to be afraid of but somebody that we can work very closely with”.

Mr Albanese, who in 2017 said the billionaire politician “scares the shit out of me”, acknowledged that Mr Trump ran a campaign based on change and “made it clear he’s going to do things differently”.

Mr Trump’s second-term agenda could have an impact on Labor policies, with the president-elect expected to pull out of the Paris climate change agreement for a second time, introduce 10 to 20 per cent universal tariffs on all imports and impose 60 per cent tariff hikes on goods from China.

Mr Trump, whose return will stoke tensions over Taiwan, has promised to swiftly end the Ukraine war and the Middle East conflict.

Mr Albanese – who will travel to Peru and Brazil next week for APEC and G20 summits – said Australia must be “really confident in ourselves and our place in the world … and our ability to deliver on our interests together as Australians”. The 61-year-old said the summits, where Mr Trump’s victory was likely to dominate discussions, would focus on climate change action, the clean energy transition and free trade. Mr Albanese’s first meeting in Peru is with new Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto.

“I am convinced that the G20, like other international forums … will overwhelmingly be focused on climate action, because the whole world is moving in this direction,” Mr Albanese said. “We know that they’re doing that ­because of environmental reasons … but also because it makes good economic sense. Because it’s about creating jobs in their respective economies.”

With Mr Trump expected to dismantle Joe Biden’s clean-­energy policies, Mr Albanese would not commit to announcing a 2035 emissions-­reduction target before the election.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who in 2021 accused Mr Trump of trashing “alliances and partnerships for personal political interest”, said the US alliance was “bigger than any individual” and the government would “work very closely with the Trump administration” to deliver on AUKUS.

The Coalition attacked Labor ministers over their historic critiques of Mr Trump.

Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen in 2021 described Mr Trump as “the worst president in the United States history” who “put his narcissistic self-interest ahead of his country”.

Mr Turnbull urged Mr Albanese not to “suck up … and be utterly deferential” in his dealings with Mr Trump. Mr Morrison said the US relationship would remain strong if Labor didn’t “stuff it up”.

As prime minister, Mr Morrison won a reprieve from tariffs on Australia steel and aluminium after speaking directly with Mr Trump. Mr Turnbull locked horns with the president-elect in 2017 over a US-Australia refugee resettlement agreement Mr Trump criticised as a “dumb deal”.

Mr Morrison, who has ruled out interest in Dr Rudd’s job and praised the former Labor leader for building relationships with ­Republicans, said the government must quickly establish strong ties with the incoming Trump administration. “There’s no reason on the US side, particularly on things like AUKUS and national security, for there to be any issue whatsoever,” Mr Morrison said. “It’ll be a fumble on our end that led to that outcome. And I’m not expecting a fumble, let me stress. On tariffs, that is a much harder task. Both Malcolm (Turnbull) and I had to deal with it last time, and we were both successful. You need to be making the case and you need to be pressing it across many different fronts. I think we’ve got an outstanding case to make. But it has to be made and the case has to be respected and trusted.”

Mr Turnbull, who said Mr Trump respected strength, warned: “You can have very good ambassadors and very good officials and have very good discussions with advisers, but ultimately the deals are going to be done between the Australian prime minister and the American president.”