“It's extraordinary”: Biden praises Albo after new PM hits the ground running
Just days after the federal election and within 24 hours of being sworn in as Australia’s 31st Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese has hit the ground running and brought in a slew of changes.
Shortly after he was sworn in on Monday morning, Mr Albanese was jetting off to Tokyo for the Quad Summit, where he was welcomed and congratulated by his peers, including US President Joe Biden.
“Prime Minister Albanese, I welcome you to your first Quad meeting. Like I said, you got sworn in, got on a plane and if you fall asleep while you’re here, it’s okay,” he joked.
“Because I don’t know how you’re doing it! It’s really quite extraordinary just getting off the campaign trail as well. Congratulations on your election.”
Though he might be in Japan at the moment, the newly minted leader has made some noticeable changes, including one in Parliament House’s Blue Room.
Indigenous recognition
During his first press conference, members of the Canberra press gallery were present for the installation of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags behind the podium, joining the Australian flag for the first time.
Mr Albanese didn’t make note of this big change while speaking to reporters, but he did make reference to his plans to accept the Uluru Statement of the Heart in its entirety.
The statement, which was first delivered by First Nations leaders in 2017 and rejected by then PM Malcom Turnbull, involves implementing a Voice to parliament to act as an official representative body for First Nations Australians and establishing a Makarrata Commission, which would involve signing a treaty and engaging in a truth-telling process.
Staffing at the Public Service
Though he suggested that he wouldn’t be sacking anyone in the public service before he was elected, moves have already been made to remove Phil Gaetjens, the country’s top public servant, hours after Mr Albanese was sworn in.
Mr Gaetjen, who was tasked with investigating what Scott Morrison’s office knew about the rape allegations from former staffer Brittany Higgins, is understood to have offered to stand aside, as reported by news.com.au.
Getting acquainted with fellow leaders
As well as attending the Quad meeting, where he has met with leaders from Japan, India and the US, Mr Albanese has already spoken with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson about the “strength of Australia’s close relationship with the United Kingdom” and their shared commitment to AUKUS and acting on climate change.
Mr Albanese has also scheduled one-on-one meetings with Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Mr Biden, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday.
Mass texts come under the microscope
The Prime Minister has reportedly tasked his government with investigation into the arriverl of a Sri Lankan asylum seeker boat on Saturday morning - the same day the Liberals sent out a mass of robo-texts to voters announcing that an asylum seeker vessel had been intercepted.
Senior Labor members questioned the timing of the texts sent to voters in marginal seats, which also came after Mr Morrison warned voters that people smugglers would prepare to send more boats in the event of a Labor win.
The message read: “BREAKING – Australian Border Force has intercepted an illegal boat trying to reach Australia. Keep our borders secure by voting Liberal today. https://vote.liberal.org.au.”
On Tuesday, multiple senior Labor sources confirmed there would be an investigation into how the boat got so close to Australia and the timing of the texts, as reported by The Sydney Morning Herald.
Image: @albomp (Instagram)