Assistant Minister for Multicultural Affairs Julian Hill has taken aim at the Coalition for criticism some members of the opposition have levelled at Kevin Rudd, following comments US President Donald Trump directed towards him in the White House yesterday.
“This is a triumph for ambassador Rudd in terms of having delivered these things. They don’t just fall from the sky. I’ll make that point,” Hill told Sky News this morning.
Appearing alongside Hill was Liberal MP Phillip Thompson. “To have the president of the United States… say he doesn’t like him is I think bad for our relationship. It’s bad for our diplomacy,” Thompson said.
But Hill quickly hit back at Thompson. “Look, I know poor old Phil’s got his talking points. But if you don’t believe me, let me read… a quote from The Australian this morning. ‘This is a humiliation to the Coalition. The Albanese-Trump personal concord has left the Coalition discredited and outsmarted, having badly misread the dynamics of the alliance, having underestimated Albanese and Rudd, and having conducted shrill warnings for nine months about the multiple dangers and allegations about a precarious US-Australia relationship.’
Assistant Minister for Citizenship, Customs and Multicultural Affairs Julian Hill with the prime minister.Credit: AAPIMAGE
“They’ve been howling at the moon, shrieking to anyone who listened, that the ‘world’s going to end. The US alliance is over. The economy is collapsing’. Turns out they have no judgement,” Hill continued.
“The prime minister, I’ve known him for almost 30 years. I’ve said repeatedly, he’s calm, he’s strategic, he’s tough, he’s experienced, he’s caring, he’s insanely hard-working, and he has judgement honed over years. He’s leading a government that is operating in the national interest.”
Hill also took the opportunity to lambast the internal division that has plagued the Coalition in recent weeks.
“I’d also point out that the Coalition is so myopic, so blinded by their own internal divisions and hatreds for each other, they actually voted against the production tax credits, which have been critical to turbocharging and getting industry ready for this deal, which has now landed. I’ve said before, hey, but I’ll just say it one more time: we have a good government. We need a functioning opposition, and we don’t have one,” he said.
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