Former US presidential adviser Andrew Liveris has urged Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese not to “kowtow” to Donald Trump when they meet at the White House later this month.
Speaking at a business lunch in Brisbane on Thursday, the ex-Dow Chemical CEO and Brisbane 2032 Olympic organising chief said too many world leaders had fawned over Trump and warned Albanese against falling into the same trap.
Albanese should instead “be strong and say what he needs to say about our country,” Liveris said. “What’s right for [Australia] should be the conversation and, if America doesn’t like it, we have other friends.”
Liveris stressed that Australia held significant leverage in the relationship, pointing to critical minerals, regional security and its role as “a decent countervailing force… to the ascent of China.”
“We’re needed by the United States,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be kowtowing. Make that case.”
Liveris, who briefly led Trump’s American Manufacturing Council in 2017, also voiced concern over the direction of the second Trump administration, accusing it of demolishing institutions, stifling dissent and weaponising the Department of Justice.
“There is no excuse for what’s going on… institutions are being demolished one by one,” he said, urging stronger opposition to “transactional power plays.”
Albanese this week described the upcoming White House visit as a chance to continue building his relationship with Trump, calling the alliance “very positive.”
Source: The Age.
