WASHINGTON: The crisis surrounding embattled National Party leader Barnaby Joyce has followed the Prime Minister all the way to Washington, where Malcolm Turnbull has stopped short of endorsing his deputy’s continued leadership.
“I’ve got nothing to add to what I’ve said already in Australia,” Mr Turnbull told reporters during a press conference outside the White House.
“Barnaby Joyce is the leader of the National Party of Australia.”
“As leader of the National Party of Australia in a Coalition government he is my Deputy Prime Minister.”
“The leadership of the National Party is a matter for the National Party.”
Victorian Nationals MP Andrew Broad last night called on Mr Joyce to resign.
"It is time he takes a step back, regains some credibility and works through some issues he needs to work through," Mr Broad said.
Mr Turnbull's visit to the United States will continue through to the weekend before the prime minister returns to Canberra for parliament on Monday, when the Nationals party room is also meeting to discuss Mr Joyce's leadership.
Today, the prime minister stopped at the Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, placing a wreath at the grave of an RAAF pilot killed in World War II.
Abbott hits back at Turnbull team
Meanwhile, comments from former prime minister Tony Abbott have further distracted from Mr Turnbull's high-profile visit to the United States and imminent meeting with Donald Trump.
The former prime minister has written a newspaper column hitting back at Turnbull Government ministers who criticised Mr Abbott for his recent comments on cutting immigration, including treasurer Scott Morrison.
“One thing I am not going to cop is gratuitous criticism from ministers who are only in government because I led them there”, Tony Abbott wrote in a comment piece published in The Australian.
“It is the prime minister’s right to choose his ministerial team and, given some of the policies of this government, I’m happy to serve on the backbench.”
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, right, with his wife Lucy Turnbull, center, lay a wreath at the gravesite of Francis D. Milne Source: AAP
Mr Abbott went on to criticise some of Mr Turnbull’s highest ranking cabinet ministers: Treasurer Scott Morrison, Trade Minister Steve Ciobo and Acting Prime Minister Mathias Cormann.
“You’d think a government that’s lost the past 27 Newspolls might be curious about how it could lift its game.”
“You’d think a government that has too few policy differences with Labor might consider a change of emphasis that would make clearer the choice of who’s really on the voters’ side.”
“But no, ministers have gone out of their way to attack a colleague who knows more about winning elections than anyone in the parliament.”
Turnbull spruiks Trump tax cuts, steers clear of US gun debate
Malcolm Turnbull has hit the ground running in Washington, enjoying a morning jog on The National Mall with wife Lucy before attending back-to-back meetings with some of the highest profile officials in the Trump administration, including Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin, Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen, Director of National Security Mike Rogers and Chair of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell.
“The United States is our most important strategic partner, it is our most important economic partner - our relationship is critically important and so we work to strengthen it and defend it”, Mr Turnbull said.
“President Trump has succeeded in making massive tax reforms here, the most significant in well over a generation and company tax has been reduced to 21 percent from 35 percent.”
“The Secretary of the Treasury, Mr Mnuchin, expects this will add nearly 1 percent to American GDP and that 70 percent of the benefit from those tax cuts for businesses will flow to workers.”
“The reality is, they’re seeing stronger economic growth because of those tax cuts.”
Mr Turnbull is lobbying the Senate to pass his government's cuts to Australia’s company tax rate from 30 percent to 25 percent by 2026.
“While we are the best of friends and the strongest of partners, the reality is that Australia and the United States are competitive locations for investment and Australian businesses and Australian investment opportunities will be at a disadvantage relative to those in the US if our tax rate is so much higher.”
Tomorrow’s one-on-one meeting in the Oval Offices comes at a time when President Trump is under increasing pressure to enhance America’s gun control laws.
“I will express to the President our deepest condolences on the latest tragic shooting in Florida,” Mr Turnbull said.
“It’s not for me to get involved in a contentious domestic political debate here, but Australia’s experience in gun law reform – of course, undertaken so courageously and effectively by John Howard more than twenty years ago – is a very powerful demonstration of the success of our policies – but we’ll leave the domestic political debate to the Americans.”
The Prime Minister and his wife were joined at Arlington National Cemetery by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford, laying wreaths at the tomb of the unknowns and the grave of RAAF Pilot Officer Francis Milne – the only Australian to be buried at the memorial site.
“It’s 100 years since Sir John Monash led Australian and American troops into battle and ever since then Australians and Americans have fought side by side to defend our freedoms, to defend our shared values.”
Every meeting I have on this visit will be reminded of and that 100 years of mateship which has given us 100 years of security and prosperity.”
Mr Turnbull has been invited to deliver the keynote address to the National Governor’s Association Winter Meeting – a forum he describes “like COAG, but without the federal government”.
“America is our largest and most important economic partner, but we want to ensure that our engagement is broader and deeper and goes beyond Washington, New York and Los Angeles and reaches into every part of the United States to create more opportunities for Australian investment in America and, of course, American investment in Australia.”
