Premier polishes pitch to lure Trump to Australia
A state premier has stepped up an effort to host a diplomatic summit that, if successful, would see Donald Trump become the first US president to visit Australian soil in more than a decade.
Addressing the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday, Queensland Premier David Crisafulli laid out his vision for holding the state’s Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad).
The strategic partnership between Australia, India, Japan and the United States was established in 2007 as a counterbalance to Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific region.
Mr Crisafulli also sees this as a commercial opportunity that will put Queensland on the world stage ahead of the Olympic Games in Brisbane in 2032.
The last US president to visit Australia was Barack Obama in 2014.
Asked how President Trump could be persuaded to come to Australia for the summit, Mr Crisafulli said: “The US needs this relationship and Queensland needs the US,” adding that his state was “in the ballot box”.
He said Queensland had critical minerals the United States needed for military hardware and other advanced technologies.
“When you talk about minerals that could be used as hard coatings for night vision goggles or military equipment, it’s a big deal, but it’s also very important from a safety perspective,” Mr. Crisafulli said.
He said the US was overly dependent on sourcing its minerals from other countries and states that were less stable than Australia.
“In some cases, the United States acquires up to 90 percent of these individual mines from a single jurisdiction,” Mr. Crisafulli said.
“You don’t do this in any industry, let alone when you’re talking about geopolitical instability and relationships that could break down.
“I see this as the next wave of the Queensland economy… My view is that Queensland is in a better position than anywhere else.”
Mr Crisafulli said Premier Anthony Albanese strongly supported Queensland hosting a future summit and the funding had already been apportioned.
Six Quad summits have been held since 2021, two in the US, two in Japan and two via videoconference.
The last meeting in September 2024 was held in the US state of Delaware and hosted by then-president Joe Biden.
India will host the next summit, the date of which has not been announced yet.
Mr Crisafulli stated that Australia was ready to host the following event, noting that Brisbane had previously hosted the G20 in 2014, which was attended by world leaders, including then-President Obama.
Australia withdrew from the Quad in 2008 during Kevin Rudd’s Labor government.
The strategic partnership was restarted in 2017 when Australia later re-entered the coalition led by Malcolm Turnbull.
The Chinese government had previously issued official diplomatic protests to member countries to oppose the partnership.
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