Key events
Daniel Hurst
At an early media conference in Tonga this morning, Anthony Albanese responded to questions about the video showing his conversation with a top US official. A journalist asked the prime minister whether “Kurt Campbell will go you halvies on that policing plan”.
Albanese laughed and replied:
“No, he won’t, because this has come from the Pacific. I’m aware of the video of a private conversation. Kurt Campbell’s a mate of mine, it’s us having a chat.”
When asked whether he could give any insight into what initiative Australia had asked the US not to pursue, Albanese said:
“No … It was private conversation. It was a jovial conversation, a friendly one. You know, it is what it is. People try and read something into it – you must be pretty bored.”
Asked by a journalist whether there was a sense he had “said the quiet bit out loud” (about the intention to exclude China from the region), Albanese said:
“What was the quiet bit? It’s a cracker of an announcement. That’s what I said. That’s what I stand by. It was.”
Albanese said he wasn’t a part of the conversation that ambassador Kevin Rudd had with Campbell about a US initiative that, according to Campbell, Australia asked the US not to pursue. Asked whether he would have a word to ambassador Kevin Rudd about this, Albanese said:
“No, no. Chill out, people!”
Daniel Hurst
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has been caught on camera in Tonga joking with a senior US official about going “halvies” on the cost of a newly announced Pacific policing plan.
The video also suggests that the US had been planning to pursue a police-related proposal but had been told by Australia to hold off.
The video was filmed at the Pacific Islands Forum venue yesterday and was posted online by Radio New Zealand.
At the beginning of the video, the deputy US secretary of state, Kurt Campbell, told Albanese that the US delegation was making its way throughout the Pacific.
Albanese replied:
“Well, we had a cracker today getting the Pacific policing initiative through, it is so important, it’ll make such a difference.”
Campbell said it was “fantastic” and the senior US official recounted:
“I talked with Kevin about it – so you know, we were going to do something and he asked us not to so we did not. We’ve given you the lane, so take the lane!”
“Kevin” is most likely a reference to the Australian ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd.
Albanese then joked:
“Oh you can go us halvies on the cost if you like.”
The pair shared a laugh. The Australian minister for the Pacific, Pat Conroy, then appeared to notice the conversation was being filed and said: “Come on!”
Albanese speaks to media in Tonga
Daniel Hurst
Anthony Albanese has spoken to journalists in the Tongan capital, Nuku’alofa, before flying to the island group of Vava’u for a leaders’ retreat with Pacific counterparts.
On his second full day attending the Pacific Islands Forum in Tonga, Albanese will have more intimate conversations with fellow Pacific leaders. Concerns over the unrest in New Caledonia are expected to dominate the talks today.
Albanese used his early-morning press conference today to reiterate the significance of yesterday’s agreement to proceed with a Pacific Policing Initiative, which includes a training and coordination hub in Brisbane.
But he was asked about a video posted online showing him having a joke with the US deputy secretary of state, Kurt Campbell, about whether the US might “go halvies” with Australia on the cost of the initiative.
Albanese said today the US would not be contributing funding because it was a Pacific-led initiative, and he said it was a private conversation.
We’ll bring you more details on this soon.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live blog. I’m Martin Farrer and I’ll be bringing you some of the main overnight and breaking news stories before I hand over to Emily Wind.
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Anthony Albanese has used an early-morning press conference in Tonga today to reiterate the significance of yesterday’s agreement to proceed with a Pacific policing initiative, which includes a training and coordination hub in Brisbane.
But he has faced questions about the funding of the plan, after being caught on camera in Tonga joking with a senior US official about going “halvies”. More coming up soon from our reporter in Tonga, Daniel Hurst.