PM Anthony Albanese has said he hopes the United Kingdom will quickly organise a replacement for the outgoing Boris Johnson, saying it would be “not a great thing” if the transition process took a long period of time.
Johnson resigned last night but said he would stay on as British PM until a replacement was organised, a process which could take weeks. Speaking on Channel Nine’s Today program, Albanese said Australia would work with whoever followed Johnson:
Whoever comes through this process we’ll work with. I hope it’s a quick process, because I think the idea that you have a couple of months where there’s no-one in charge, no Prime Minister with authority, is not a great thing for the UK.
But we’ll allow them to have their own political processes.
Asked again about his recent gifting of a Rabbitohs jersey to the outgoing British leader, Albanese talked up the diplomatic possibilities of South Sydney.
Well, there’s an endless supply of Bunnies jerseys and caps. There are no limits on our capacity to reach out.
The PM said Australia needed “to pick up our game in the Pacific”, as he prepares to attend the Pacific Islands Forum in Fiji next week, specifically talking up his concern at the Solomon Islands inking a security deal with China.
We’ve been the preferred security and economic partner for a long period of time with our neighbours in the Pacific. My government’s changed position on climate change has been welcomed by all of these leaders. We need to continue to engage with them. We can’t afford a circumstance whereby Australia is not the preferred security partner in our own region.
