Crucial face-to-face with Donald Trump

Anthony Albanese has pointed to a Quad leaders meeting that could be months away for his possible first face-to-face meeting with Donald Trump, as former foreign minister Julie Bishop cast doubt on how long Australian ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd will last.

As concerns grow that the Prime Minister has not moved fast enough to develop a connection with the incoming US president, former ambassador Joe Hockey said Mr Albanese and Peter Dutton should consider offering Mr Trump a state visit to Australia.

While Mr Trump prefers bilateral meetings over multilateral forums, Mr Albanese referred to the Quad leaders summit this year between Australia, the US, India and Japan when asked when he anticipated his first face-to-face meeting with the president-elect and whether there was an upcoming summit he might attend.

No date has been locked in for this year’s Quad summit, after US President Joe Biden hosted the leaders in Delaware in September.

Mr Hockey, who was ambassador in Washington DC during Mr Trump’s first three years as president and who will attend his inauguration next week, noted Australia was one of just two countries to be given a state visit during Mr Trump’s first term.