Opinion: Turnbull put Australia on a collision course with Trump who had made his views clear during election campaign
Rowan Dean, The Courier-Mail
February 5, 2017 9:00am
“TRUMP has treated Australia appallingly!”; “Narcissistic Trump!”; “Scramble to save the alliance!”; “Trump’s extreme volatility!”
There was much merriment to be had over the weekend watching the luvvies go into meltdown faster than a choc top on Main Beach over the disastrous phone call between Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and US President Donald Trump.
Most of the elite insider media types, including those writing in the supposedly conservative press, were in ferocious agreement with each other: Donald Trump has treated Malcolm Turnbull very badly indeed, they thundered at each other.
The Australian’s Paul Kelly wrote: “Donald Trump’s petulant and irresponsible treatment of Malcolm Turnbull … highlights the danger Trump poses for global politics.”
Really? Wow. Former foreign minister Bob Carr ranted on the ABC about Trump’s “rude dismissal” of Turnbull. One Sydney Morning Herald’s journalist diagnosed Trump as a “malignant narcissist”. Meanwhile, Canberra insider Laurie Oakes heaped lavish praise on Turnbull for not “flinching under the presidential bullying”.
All from one phone call. Time for a reality check and time to get back to basics.
Turnbull and Julie Bishop deliberately put Australia on a collision course with America, our closest ally. Worse, they did it for short-term political gain rather than for long-term national interest. And even worse, they have done it not once but three times.
Trump has been on the campaign trail for the US presidency for well over a year. During that time, he repeatedly made clear his intentions on many issues, three of which were of particular relevance to Australia.
If elected president, he promised to tear up the Paris Agreement on climate change; to cancel the TPP trade agreement; and to cease immigration from specific Muslim countries.
Yet unbelievably, within a few days of Trump winning the election, the Turnbull Government announced, ratified or confirmed three separate policies that fly directly in the face of those commitments.
Trump won on November 8. The very next day, a grinning Turnbull and Bishop proudly stood in front of the world’s cameras announcing that they had just ratified the Paris Agreement on climate change – flying directly in the face not only of common sense and our economic interests but in direct defiance of Trump’s election commitment. ...
Rest of editorial at Australian newspaper, the Courier Mail
