Australia’s new man in the US Greg Moriarty sets the record straight
Australia’s new ambassador to the US, Greg Moriarty, said every American official he spoke to about AUKUS had assured him of their strong support for the agreement, rejecting suggestions that US commitment to the agreement was shaky or that Australia needed a backup plan.
The Albanian government is also enlisting Australian companies to prove that the country has good intentions against forced labor after the Trump administration threatened to increase tariffs on Australia for allegedly failing to prevent the import of goods produced under slave conditions abroad.
Moriarty told this imprint that he had raised the issue in all his introductory talks with US officials and vowed that Australia would push back “strongly but respectfully” against proposed new tariffs that were unfair and inconsistent with the long-standing US-Australia free trade agreement.
Moriarty took over as ambassador from former prime minister Kevin Rudd in April and formally presented his credentials to US President Donald Trump at the White House late last month.
Moriarty said he was touched by Trump’s warm greeting, who told him Australia was one of his “favourite countries” and described Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as his “good friend”.
Trump did not raise the issue of Australia’s involvement in the war in Iran or the Strait of Hormuz; this was something he repeatedly complained about to journalists. “He said Australia was a very good partner,” Moriarty said.
In his recent exit interview with this imprint, Rudd said AUKUS, which sees Australia buying at least three nuclear-powered Virginia-class submarines from the US, had “zero chance” of breaking the impasse, despite ongoing doubts about the production capacity of American naval shipyards.
The US has now confirmed that all three boats will be in service (or second-hand), eliminating the possibility of one ship being brand new.
Joe Hockey, a former U.S. ambassador and now a Washington-based lobbyist with extensive ties to the Trump administration, told the National Press Club for the first time recently after speaking to people on Capitol Hill that he was “a little nervous” about the Virginias.
Asked who was right between Rudd and Hockey, Moriarty, formerly head of the Ministry of Defence, said he did not think it was a binary situation and noted that AUKUS was an “extremely challenging endeavour”.
“One of the things that has impressed me since I’ve been here is how strong the United States’ commitment to AUKUS is,” he said. “I’ve met a lot of people in the administration… the people I’ve talked to have all been equally strong in their support.”
He added that many of these people were referring to Trump’s statement last October that AUKUS was “full steam ahead” under his leadership.
Arguably the most pressing issue facing Moriarty in his new job is the Trump administration’s plan to impose tariffs of 10 per cent to 12.5 per cent on goods from Australia, as Canberra has allegedly “failed to enforce and effectively enforce its forced labor import ban”.
The proposal was made after the US Supreme Court ruled that Trump’s sweeping “reciprocal tariffs”, including those on Australia, were illegal and said the administration would find other ways to implement the tariffs.
Asked whether the government considered the new tariff to be real, Moriarty said: “We are dealing with it at face value.”
The government is working on a presentation to the U.S. trade office that will make a strong case against the tariff, the official said. It was commissioning Australian businesses to provide more data on how the industry deals with products sourced from overseas labour.
“Our regime, which opposes modern slavery and forced labor, is one of the strongest in the world… The proposed action has no basis.”
Australia is not trying to trade with the US administration over proposed tariffs.
“We are embarking on this on the basis that we want the terms of the agreement to be respected. [existing] Free trade agreement,” Moriarty said.
Moriarty, Australia’s former ambassador to Iran, briefed then-US President George W. Bush on Iranian policy in the mid-2000s.
As reports emerged that Trump was planning further attacks against Iran, Moriarty reiterated Australia’s position that the war should be resolved diplomatically as quickly as possible.
He said he had spoken to members of the Trump administration about Australia’s contributions (particularly an E-7 surveillance aircraft for the United Arab Emirates) and “our willingness to engage in discussions about future maritime security mechanisms”.
Moriarty added that Iran is a malevolent actor and allowing the regime to develop nuclear weapons would be incredibly destabilizing to the world.
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Michael Koziol is the North America correspondent for The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former Sydney editor, Sun-Herald deputy editor and a federal political correspondent in Canberra.Connect with: X or email.
