From Keating to Cowards

Albanese and Ley trade Australia’s independence for Washington’s approval

Anthony Albanese, Australia’s much-maligned Prime Minister, is so for good reason. “Albo,” as he likes to be known, has never exuded the aura of power or strength of leadership former Prime Minister Paul Keating embodied.

The contrast couldn’t be more blatant. Every leader has their style, but Keating was unique - he was tough, uncompromising, visionary. He put Australia first and knew when to roll in the swill of Parliament and when to charm on the world stage. At home he stared down opponents; abroad he told the US Australia’s future was in Asia, not as a vassal of Washington.

Keating rejected America’s wars and refused to bow to demands that didn’t serve the country’s interests. He unapologetically reoriented the nation toward Asia, laying the groundwork for ASEAN engagement, and he was feared by his enemies, respected by allies, and crystal clear about whose side he was on — Australia’s.

Albanese, however, offers nothing of the sort. Where Keating made Australia independent, Albanese bends the knee. Keating confronted Washington’s arrogance, but Albanese bows, hoping for approval. Keating kept Australia out of unnecessary wars; Albanese is willing to risk entanglement rather than offend.

The problem doesn’t end with Labor. The Coalition under Sussan Ley is just as weak and just as subservient. Ley has pledged to revoke Australia’s recognition of Palestinian statehood, dragging Australia back into lockstep with Washington and Tel Aviv and at odds with the overwhelming majority of the world. That isn’t foreign policy — it’s servitude.

Keating would never have tolerated such cowardice. He knew credibility came from principle, not parroting foreign powers. Ley, like Albanese, represents leaders too timid to chart their own path, too desperate for US approval to stand up for Australia.

Between Albanese’s passivity and Ley’s servitude, both sides of politics have reduced Australia to Dickens’s Uriah Heep: timid, deferential, snivelling.

Yesterday, Trump again humiliated Albanese. It wasn’t just a personal insult but contempt for an ally that’s stood by America for generations. Predictably, Albo rolled over, refusing to defend Australia’s dignity.

Trump’s unhinged and unfit to lead the US. But the greater scandal is Albanese’s refusal to push back. Albo’s weakness is now Australia’s weakness.

Trump’s contempt is deliberate. In 2017 Trump hung up on Malcolm Turnbull and has made it clear again — he doesn’t care about Australia. His worldview leaves no space for loyalty. His philosophy is simple, allies exist to be used. Australia isn’t a partner but a pawn, a convenient military outpost.

If Albo was strong leader he would have demanded answers, called out the insult, drawn a line. But he didn’t. Instead Albanese remained silent. His deference isn’t loyalty — it’s subservience. Albo is a doormat, and Australia’s global image is in tatters.

For decades, Australia has given Washington everything: troops, bases, loyalty, cover. The “unbreakable alliance” is a one-way street. Trump’s brutality is obvious. It’s self-serving - the US takes, Australia gives and it demands, Australia complies. Respect never comes back. Albanese tolerates this imbalance, clinging to the fantasy blind loyalty strengthens security. It erodes it.

Australia can’t continue down this path of humiliation. If America under Trump can’t offer respect, Australia must chart its own course.

Albanese should be leading the shift: speaking out, not staying silent. Building ties with Indonesia, India, Japan, and the Pacific instead of clinging to a partnership that delivers only embarrassment. Trump’s behaviour has made the case for independence impossible to ignore. America under Trump is erratic, self-serving, hostile even to friends. Australia cannot stake its future on the whims of a man who treats allies as disposable.

Albo must take steps to review AUKUS and ANZUS. Freeze automatic defence pledges. Invest in domestic defence industries. Convene ASEAN talks and deepen regional integration and seek new trade and security partnerships in Asia. Above all, he must publicly rebuke Trump and on the record for the world to hear.

The rot however, is bipartisan. The Coalition has been no less pathetic. Ley’s vow to revoke recognition of Palestinian statehood would isolate Australia further and lock us tighter under Washington’s and Israel’s thumb. It is weakness dressed as policy.

Far from offering an alternative, Ley promises more subservience. Her Coalition would be worse — errand boys for Washington, proxies for Israel, trading away sovereignty for scraps of favour.

Past leaders understood the value of independence. Gough Whitlam confronted Washington when sovereignty was at stake. Paul Keating placed Asia at the centre of Australia’s future. By comparison, Albanese and Ley are shameful. Where Whitlam and Keating fought for Australia’s voice, today’s leaders have reduced it to a whisper.

For Albo, this is a defining test. And so far, he’s failing miserably. The Coalition shows even Albo’s replacement wouldn’t save Australia. Both sides are addicted to US approval, incapable of standing up for Australis. That’s the tragedy — a bipartisan consensus of weakness selling out Australia’s dignity.

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