Greens leader Adam Bandt says the government should get out of the AUKUS deal with the United States and explore other relationships in the wake of Donald Trump’s tariffs, warning it puts a “very big” target on Australia’s back.
The minor party has long opposed the AUKUS nuclear submarine project, which is expected to cost $368 billion, but Mr Bandt said the new tariffs imposed this week were a “wake-up call that we need to rethink our relationship with the United States”.
“We should get out of AUKUS, now is not the time to be hitching Australia’s wagon to Donald Trump — it puts Australia at risk and it is billions of dollars being spent on submarines that might never arrive,” he told ABC’s Insiders on Sunday.
“One of the things it does do is paint a very big Trump shaped target on Australia’s back — and now is precisely the wrong time for that.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has already ruled out walking away from the AUKUS deal as a response to the tariffs, describing it as a “good deal for Australia”.
The federal government had fought for an exemption to Mr Trump’s sweeping 25 per cent tariff on steel and aluminium imports, but on Wednesday the White House revealed that no country would be spared.
In the wake of the decision, Mr Albanese said it was “not a friendly act”.
The Greens leader said Mr Trump was a “very dangerous man” and it was “wishful thinking” to believe he would come to Australia’s aid in the event of a security threat.
Like Labor and the Coalition, Mr Bandt said the Greens do support imposing retaliatory tariffs on the US because it was clear they would not lead to Mr Trump reconsidering an exemption.
Instead he said there was “strength in numbers” with other countries impacted by the US president’s orders and “economically we should be exploring diversifying our relationship with those countries”.
“But in terms of a lasting arrangement now for the future, it has to be more based on what’s in Australia’s interest.”
Greens open-minded to formal hung parliament deal
The Greens are preparing for the possibility of a minority government after the federal election, which is due on or before May 17.
Mr Bandt said the party would be “open minded” to striking a formal agreement with Labor if that eventuated, categorically ruling out working with Coalition leader Peter Dutton.
He said his preference would be to work with Labor and the party would consider a formal agreement, as was the case in 2010.
“What people are wanting is more voices at the table to push Labor to act on some of these things that they’ve been ignoring,” he said.
“And the flip side is that when you have greater representation in parliament, we’ve all got to work together and cooperate to get outcomes for people and that would be the spirit we’d go into it with.”
Mr Bandt said a hung parliament was a “once in a generation chance” to get action on the cost of living crisis and climate change.
“There’s a reason that the experts are saying we are heading towards a minority parliament. People want real action on the climate, want real action on housing, on health care,” he said.
“And last time there was minority parliament, the Greens got dental into Medicare for kids. This time we could get in for everyone.”
Mr Bandt wrote to the government on Friday with an offer to support Labor measures in return for an immediate slashing of student debt and a tripling of the bulk billing incentive.
Labor has vowed to knock 20 per cent off student loans as one of its main pitches to younger voters, but not until after the election.
Instead the Greens want to see the measure passed by parliament when it returns for three days so the government can hand down a federal budget later this month.
“Let’s get that locked in, that shouldn’t be held ransom to the outcome of the election,” he said.
