Defence Secretary Greg Moriarty named next US ambassador
A senior public servant who served as Australia’s first counter-terrorism chief and private secretary to former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has been selected as Australia’s next ambassador to the US.
Anthony Albanese announced on Sunday morning that he would recommend to the Governor-General that Defense Minister Greg Moriarty be Australia’s next ambassador to Washington.
Former prime minister Kevin Rudd announced earlier this month that he would step down after almost three years in office.
Mr Albanese told the ABC he knew Mr Moriarty “very well”.
“I have participated in extensive discussions about who the right person is… including the Trump Administration, who was consulted on this appointment,” he said.
“Kevin will complete his term as ambassador on March 31st and I think he can look back with pride in taking AUKUS from an idea to a reality.
“Also critical mineral deals, pension investment deals in the US and building really strong connections between Australia and the US at a leadership level.”
Mr Moriarty served as ambassador to Iran from 2005 to 2008, ambassador to Indonesia from 2010 to 2014 and Commonwealth Counter-Terrorism Coordinator from 2015 to 2016.
He also served at the High Commission in Port Morseby as senior negotiator for the Peace Monitoring Group in Bougainville.
In the field of defense, Mr. Moriarty has held various positions, including Headquarters of the United States Central Command in the Persian Gulf during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and Secretary of the Department of Defense since 2017.
He was also appointed as Mr Turnbull’s chief of staff in 2017.
“He served both the Labor and Coalition governments,” Mr Albanese said.
“The AUKUS agreement is at the heart of our relationship with the United States, and he is in a strong position to handle all these details.”
Mr Albanese also noted a statement the US President made overnight in which he acknowledged the contribution of Australian men and women in Afghanistan.
Mr. Trump angered veterans earlier this week after telling Fox Business Network that U.S.-allied troops were “staying a little bit behind, a little bit away from the front lines.”
“The 47 Australian families who will be harmed by these comments deserve our absolute respect, admiration and the bravery shown by the 40,000 Australians serving in Afghanistan,” Mr Albanese said.
“They, along with our other allies, have been absolutely at the forefront of defending democracy and freedom and defending our national interests.”
Mr Albanese said the US President’s latest statement “signals a very different position” but that his previous comments were “wholly inappropriate”.
Peace Board invitation approaching
The prime minister said he was still considering whether to accept Mr. Trump’s offer to sit on the Peace Board.
The US-led initiative will start with a peacekeeping mission in Gaza, joining an awkward coalition that includes Saudi Arabia, Argentina and Indonesia, but has been flatly rejected by allies France, Sweden, Norway, Canada and the UK.
Mr Albanese said he was “clearly focused on domestic concerns this week”.
“It’s unclear what the purposes of this are, so we’ll look into that further,” he said.
“My government is one that has always had an orderly and considered approach to all our policies, including our international commitments.”
Mr Albanese confirmed that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who made headlines this week for condemning US President Donald Trump and rallying for middle-power multilateralism in Davos, will visit Australia to address parliament in March.
“I agree with him and that is consistent with what I said at the United Nations and our relationship with the middle powers,” the Prime Minister said of Mr Carney.
“Australia can play a really important role, given our role as a Commonwealth country, we’re a member of APEC, we’re a partner of ASEAN, we’re an important country.
Leader of the Pacific Island Forum.
“All of this means that when you look at the global architecture, the role that we can play in our own region and around the world is as a stabilizing force at a time when, frankly, there is a lot of turbulence and turmoil in the world.”
