Trump threats ‘beyond the realms of acceptability’, Canavan says
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More news: Nationals Leader Matt Canavan has taken a sharper tone than his Liberal counterpart Angus Taylor on US President Donald Trump, saying his threats went “well beyond the realms of acceptability”.
The US president posted overnight that “a civilisation will die tonight” after repeatedly threatening to target Iranian civilian infrastructure, though confirmed a two-week ceasefire had been struck hours later.
Speaking to the National Press Club on Wednesday, Canavan went further than Taylor in directly criticising Trump’s threats.
“We’ve got to call spade a spade at times like these. That’s a great Australian trait,” he said.
“Yes, we’re great friends with America, but good friends should be able to tell truths to each other. The post from the president overnight went way too far, and beyond the realms of acceptability.”
Canavan welcomed the fact that, since the original post, the ceasefire may provide a “sliver of hope” that a further “terrible loss of human life” could be averted.
“It has at least been positive to see that it looks like there is now an off-ramp,” he said.
“I don’t know if the widespread condemnation of the president’s post played a role in that. Maybe it didn’t … Perhaps common sense is prevailing.”
But Canavan rejected suggestions that Trump had damaged the US-Australia alliance, saying that that went beyond “any particular post or particular criticism that we may have about individual actions”.
What they said: “It’s absolutely clear that this is a different world, and we can’t simply rely on the comfortable truths of the past,” Canavan said.
Angus Taylor welcomes ceasefire, doesn’t endorse PM’s Trump criticism
More news: Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has stopped short of endorsing Albanese’s criticism of Trump but said the US president’s rhetoric is “not the language” he would use.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Taylor joined Albanese in welcoming the ceasefire and pledged to work with the government to shore-up Australia’s fuel supplies.
Asked directly whether he supported the prime minister’s criticism of Trump, Taylor said the outcome is “what I want to see”.
“The outcome that is an imperative here, is that we have an opening up of the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.
“We have oil and refined products moving through, coming to Australia, putting down pressure on prices at the bowser here in this country.”
Taylor declined to say directly whether Trump, if he had carried out his threat to attack Iranian civilian infrastructure, would have committed a war crime.
“We’ve got to a ceasefire, and that is what we welcome,” he said.
What they said: “We absolutely welcome the cease fire … and we want to see ships moving again,” Taylor said.
Australia welcomes Middle East ceasefire, as Albanese criticises Trump’s rhetoric
The news: Australia has welcomed a two-week ceasefire in the Middle East, after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese criticised US President Donald Trump’s threats to attack civilian infrastructure in Iran.
The context: In a joint statement, Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong welcomed the temporary ceasing in hostilities and repeated calls for a “resolution to the conflict”.
“We have been clear [that] the longer the war goes on, the more significant the impact on the global economy will be, and the greater the human cost,” the statement said.
Without mentioning Washington directly, the pair also urged “all parties” to adhere to international law — after Trump issued threats to attack civilian infrastructure in Iran, a move which could constitute a war crime.
The statement was released moments after Albanese criticised Trump’s language as inappropriate during an interview with Sky News.
“I don’t think it’s appropriate to use language such as that from the president of the United States, and I think it will cause some concern,” Albanese said on Wednesday.
“The potential of damage to civilian infrastructure in Iran was an extraordinary statement to make.”
The government reiterated that it is working with international partners to secure the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil supply flows.
Iran retaliated to the US-Israeli assault by effectively shutting the Strait, forcing global energy prices to skyrocket and sparking widespread diesel shortages in Australia.
“Iran’s de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz, coupled with its attacks on commercial vessels, civilian infrastructure, and oil and gas facilities, is causing unprecedented energy supply shocks and impacting oil and fuel prices,” Albanese and Wong said.
What they said: “Australia welcomes the agreement by the United States, Israel and Iran to a two-week ceasefire to negotiate a resolution to the conflict in the Middle East,” Albanese and Wong’s statement said.
“The Australian government has been calling for de-escalation and an end to the conflict for some time now.”
The sources: Joint statement from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Angus Taylor press conference, Matt Canavan National Press Club address
