Peter Dutton to fight Trump in a heartbeat for Australia ahead of Liberation Day tariffs
Peter Dutton says he will put the “Americans on notice” and stand up to Donald Trump “in a heart beat”as Australia braces for a fresh wave of tariffs from the US President.
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Peter Dutton says he will put the “Americans on notice” and stand up to Donald Trump “in a heart beat”as Australia braces for a fresh wave of tariffs from the US President.
On the eve of Mr Trump’s “liberation day” the Opposition leader has vowed to stand up to the US if it threatens Australia’s nations interest.
“If I need to have a fight with Donald Trump or any other world leader to advance our nation’s interest, I will do it in a heartbeat,” Mr Dutton told Sky News.
“I’ll put the Americans on notice and anyone else who seeks to act against our national interest.”
Mr Dutton said Australians wanted a prime minister who could stand up for the country.
“What they see in Anthony Albanese is somebody who doesn’t have the strength, or backbone or the will to stand up for our country’s interest,” he said. “He can’t stand up to China.”
Dutton has referenced the AUKUS submarine deal as an example of how he could drive a hard bargain with US President Donald Trump, ahead of a suite of tariffs set to be introduced tomorrow.
Mr Dutton said the Coalition had a track record of dealing with their US counterparts, pledging to stand up to Mr Trump.
“I’ve been very clear that my job as prime minister would be to stand up for our national interests, and I don’t care whether it’s President Trump or any other world leader, my job is to stand up for Australians, and I have the strength and experience to be able to do that,” he said.
“So I will make decisions that are in our country’s best interests in relation to tariffs or other matters.
“When we negotiated with President Biden in relation to the AUKUS submarine deal, we drove a very hard deal for Australia, and we achieved a great outcome for our country.”
Anthony Albanese and Mr Dutton are on a rare mid-election unity ticket declaring Australia’s medicine subsidies and biosecurity protections are not up for debate as the threat of Trump administration tariffs looms.
Watch the explainer below on what the tariffs are.
Despite being locked in a campaign battle, the Prime Minister and Opposition leader are in fierce agreement Australia won’t put the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, media bargaining code or limits on raw meat imports designed to protect biosecurity in the agriculture sector on the trade negotiating table, both promising they would stand up for Australia’s interests.
On the eve of Donald Trump’s April 2 “liberation day” – where he will reveal details of the reciprocal tariffs he plans to impose on allies and enemies alike – it was former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull who again broke ranks, abandoning diplomacy in favour of outright mockery of the US President.
After criticising Mr Trump earlier this month, Mr Turnbull on Tuesday doubled down, railing against the US leader’s response at the time on social media platform Truth Social by doing an impersonation of the post during an address to the National Press Club in Canberra on Tuesday.
“You’re weak and ineffectual, you don’t know anything about China, Chii-naa,” he said, to applause and laughter from the crowd.
Watch the video of Turnbull’s impersonation of Trump below.
As businesses and farmers brace for impact after Mr Trump declared there would be no exemptions from his tariffs, the US updated its list of trade grievances with Australia to include Labor’s attempt to force tech giants like Meta to pay for local news, as well as restrictions around raw meat, and the PBS.
Out campaigning in the marginal Adelaide seat of Boothby, which Labor won from the Coalition in 2022, Mr Albanese said all three issues raised by the US were “of concern” to the government.
“Those issues are not up for negotiation from the Australian Government,” he said.
“You undermine our biosecurity system? Not on my watch. On my watch, our biosecurity system is essential.”
But Mr Albanese dodged questions on why Mr Trump had not agreed to a third phone call between the two leaders, saying “phone calls come together when things are agreed”.
Meanwhile campaigning in the Labor-held seat of Calwell in the outer reaches of Melbourne, Mr Dutton backed Mr Albanese’s stance on the US’ grievances.
“I agree with the Prime Minister’s position and ... if given the great honour of being Prime Minister of this country I will not compromise in relation to issues that have national significance and importance to us,” Mr Dutton said.
Asked who he would blame out of Mr Trump or Mr Albanese if Labor failed to secure an exemption, Mr Dutton simply repeated that he would stand up for Australia.
After announcing the cash rate would remain on hold at 4.1 per cent on Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of Australia also warned the US tariffs could send inflation “in either direction”.
“Recent announcements from the United States on tariffs are having an impact on confidence globally and this would likely be amplified if the scope of tariffs widens, or other countries take retaliatory measures,” the board said in a statement.
RBA governor Michele Bullock warned a trade war was “not good” for Australia’s economic growth, describing the global trend toward less free movement of goods as “on steroids”.
“Australia, as a small open economy, has massively benefited from open trade,” she said.
“A world trading system that is fragmenting, that’s not good for us.”
KPMG chief economist Brendan Rynne said the heightened uncertainty around inflation meant the RBA had “to keep its powder dry,” potentially jeopardising a May rate cut.
Mr Dutton spent Tuesday campaigning in Victoria after announcing a $1.5 billion top up to a commitment to fund the Melbourne airport rail link, but the Opposition leader came under fire from Labor he left the door open to cut public servants in the Department of Education.
Mr Dutton promised on Tuesday money currently in the budget for health and education would remain if was elected prime minister, but he did not guarantee it would be spent the same way.
“As you see the numbers in the budget papers now in relation to health and education, that is our commitment,” he said.
Asked if the education department would be an area he would be targeting as part of his pledge to cut 41,000 public servant jobs, Mr Dutton said: “we have said we want to take waste out of the federal budget and put back into frontline services.”
Education Minister Jason Clare accused Mr Dutton of “importing half-baked ideas from the US,” a reference to Mr Trump’s pledge to abolish the US department of education.
Mr Albanese travelled to Melbourne later on Tuesday ahead of an announcement he will write to the Fair Work Commission backing an “economically sustainable” real wage increase to Australia’s award workers.
While also in Melbourne, Mr Dutton met with AFL legend Nick Riewoldt to announce the Coalition would give $3 million to support Maddie Riewoldt’s Vision, named after his late sister.
The organisation is dedicated to driving research and support for Australians with bone marrow failure syndromes.
“We are incredibly grateful,” Riewoldt said of the funding pledge.
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Originally published as Peter Dutton to fight Trump in a heartbeat for Australia ahead of Liberation Day tariffs
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