Penny Wong has hit back at Nat Barr in a live interview from Washington after the Sunrise host questioned whether the AUKUS deal was safe.
The Foreign Minister is in the United States for a Quad meeting between the US, , India and Japan, and has held talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
‘Did you manage to score the PM an invite to the Oval Office?’ Barr asked Wong on Wednesday, referencing the fact Anthony Albanese is yet to meet with President Donald Trump since his re-election.
Wong replied that Rubio had ‘expressed regret’ the US had to reschedule a meeting with the Prime Minister because Trump had to leave the G7.
Barr continued: ‘We note the issue of defence spending has been large between the two countries. Did the Secretary of State raise that in your meeting? Was that pressure applied?’
Wong said she and Rubio had a ‘long discussion about all the work we do together to ensure strategic stability in the Indo-Pacific’.
‘The Secretary of State did not raise ‘s defence budget with me,’ she said.
‘We did have a good conversation about the positive benefits of AUKUS for all three countries.
‘It’s a good deal for , it’s a good deal for the United States, and obviously a good deal for the United Kingdom as well.’
But Barr wanted to know about the Trump administration’s review of AUKUS and whether it meant the deal was in doubt.
‘America is investigating or doing a review of it, because we may not end up with any subs. Did he give you an update on how that review is going?’ she asked.
Wong responded: ‘I don’t think that’s an accurate assessment of the review, Nat.
‘It’s a new administration wanting to look at a policy or partnership that is of great importance and that will go over many decades.
‘We understand that. The UK also had a review when there was a change of administration or change of government.
‘We think AUKUS is a very important partnership for all countries – for the United States, for , and the United Kingdom. We talked about that today.
‘We will continue to work with the United States through this review and beyond.’
The foreign minister added it was ‘important to remember’ that the AUKUS deal would be managed and secured over decades and multiple governments.
It comes amid speculation Albanese will finally meet Trump at a Quad meeting in India in September.
‘I’d be prepared, of course, to meet with President Trump when a suitable time can be organised,’ the PM told the ABC on Monday.
‘We also have the Quad meeting coming up that we are finalising as well.
‘So these things are being organised, and I look forward to having a meeting and continuing the constructive dialogue that I’ve had with President Trump up to now.’
The September event now offers the best chance for their long overdue meeting.
That month, Albanese will also travel to New York for the UN leader’s week, and may also be able to meet Trump there, or make a trip to Washington.
Sticking points in the US- relationship which are crying out to be addressed include the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal, which is currently under review by the Trump administration, and punishing tariffs imposed by the US on Aussie imports, including a 50 per cent levy on steel and aluminium.
The prime minister has been accused of dragging his feet in meeting with the leader of ‘s most important security ally.
Since Trump was inaugurated in January, the pair have spoken on the phone three times.
He missed an opportunity to meet the US president at the G7 Summit in Canada earlier this month when Trump left the Summit early to deal with the Israel-Iran conflict.
He also did not attend last week’s NATO Summit, where political observers had hoped he would have a second chance to meet with Trump.