Richard Marles Welcomes Donald Trump's Invitation to 'Board of Peace'

From 21m ago Marles welcomes Trump invitation to Australia but no decision on joining Staying on Marles, the deputy PM says he “welcomes” the invitation from Donald Trump for Australia to join the ‘board of peace’. But over whether Australia will join that board, Marles remains a little more coy. We welcome the invitation as we do all the efforts of the Trump administration to bring about peace in the Middle East. We need to see an end to the conflict there for humanitarian assistance to flow and for that part part of the world to be rebuilt. In terms of the specific request, we will talk that through with America to understand what this means and what is involved. Marles also won’t wade into commenting on the Trump administration’s attempt to buy Greenland following its moves to tariff European nations to exert pressure. He says the future of Greenland is a “matter for Denmark and Greenland”, but that the government does not support tariffs – a similar comment his colleague and cabinet minister, Katy Gallagher, made yesterday. Marles says: They are the sovereign powers. That is who Australia recognises. That is the fundamental issue here. In terms of tariffs, we don’t support tariffs and we have been consistent in our position with the United States about opposing tariffs. We won’t get into a running commentary about the relationship between the United States and Europe. You can read more about those tariffs here: Share Updated at 15.27 EST Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Continuing his media rounds, deputy PM, Richard Marles, is pressed on the government’s response to Donald Trump’s tariffs on some European nations, in a bid to take over Greenland. Speaking on Sunrise a little earlier, Marles still won’t provide commentary on the pressure to take over Greenland, but again says that Labor does not support tariffs. Asked whether the move spells the end of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), Marles says: NATO has played a very important role and continues to be very strong. I’ve been to the last two NATO meetings representing Australia, and there is a definite sense of unity when you’re at NATO meetings. So I feel confident about the future of NATO. Share Caitlin Cassidy Leaving politics for a moment, the new Sydney Fish Market has been officially opened by the premier of New South Wales in an early morning ribbon cutting ceremony that wasn’t dampened by the rain. At 7am, the market flung open its doors, with hundreds of people filing in to explore more than 40 shiny shopfronts in the new building offering everything from seafood to flowers, juices and artisan cheese. Chris Minns said it was a “huge moment for Sydney” and the broader seafood community. This is a long time coming … And while foodies will travel far and wide I think it’s really important that … whether you’re coming here for caviar or crab sticks … this place will have something for everybody. The chief executive of the Sydney Fish Market, Daniel Jarosch, said it was a “historic day”. Seafood is an essential part of our Australian life … central to our celebrations, our summers … seafood is woven into the Australian story. Jarosch said the market “belongs to the community” and would be the best, and largest, seafood market in the world. “Welcome to the new Sydney Fish Market,” he told a crowd to cheers. Share Pathway from extreme racist bigotry to violence a ‘very short path’: Burke While the government has had to abandon anti-vilification reforms, Burke says a large number of people were calling for those reforms to be applied to a wider number of people, like the LGBTQI or disability communities. I know some people just take the freedom of speech side of the argument, but I’ve got to say, I am yet to believe that freedom of speech is about racist bigotry. Racist bigotry can be completely debilitating, and the pathway from extreme racist bigotry to violence is a very short path. On the gun reforms, which the Greens have promised to support, Burke says the government is negotiating with the states and territories over implementing buybacks. The commonwealth has said it would split costs 50/50 with the states and territories, which has been so far rejected by the Northern Territory and Tasmania. Burke told ABC AM: There’s always a negotiation with the states. I don’t doubt that the vast majority of states will have a very high level of goodwill on this, and there’ll be conversations about the breadth and the structure of the buyback. The most important thing with the gun reforms is when I’m asked the question: if these had already been in place, would the two gunmen at Bondi had been able to have the firearms that they had? The answer is no. Share Updated at 15.37 EST Hate speech laws ‘don’t deliver everything we wanted them to’: home affairs minister The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, says the hate speech laws – which the government has been forced to split – don’t do everything the government had initially intended. In splitting the bill, the government has dropped anti-vilification provisions that had no support from the Greens or the Coalition. Burke is also pushing for the Coalition to pass hate speech laws through, which he says the opposition had previously supported. He also points out that the Coalition had been pushing the government to recall parliament late last year. Certainly there’s parts of it that they had called for that they’re now not supporting. And I would find it bizarre if their original call to split the bill was so that they could oppose it twice. Like that would just be an extraordinary situation if that’s where all this goes. Everything they’ve been calling for says they should now be turning up and voting for it ... They [the bills] don’t deliver everything that we wanted them to. That’s the simple fact. That’s what happens when part of the legislation is withdrawn. Share Updated at 15.28 EST Marles welcomes Trump invitation to Australia but no decision on joining Staying on Marles, the deputy PM says he “welcomes” the invitation from Donald Trump for Australia to join the ‘board of peace’. But over whether Australia will join that board, Marles remains a little more coy. We welcome the invitation as we do all the efforts of the Trump administration to bring about peace in the Middle East. We need to see an end to the conflict there for humanitarian assistance to flow and for that part part of the world to be rebuilt. In terms of the specific request, we will talk that through with America to understand what this means and what is involved. Marles also won’t wade into commenting on the Trump administration’s attempt to buy Greenland following its moves to tariff European nations to exert pressure. He says the future of Greenland is a “matter for Denmark and Greenland”, but that the government does not support tariffs – a similar comment his colleague and cabinet minister, Katy Gallagher, made yesterday. Marles says: They are the sovereign powers. That is who Australia recognises. That is the fundamental issue here. In terms of tariffs, we don’t support tariffs and we have been consistent in our position with the United States about opposing tariffs. We won’t get into a running commentary about the relationship between the United States and Europe. You can read more about those tariffs here: Share Updated at 15.27 EST Coalition ‘gone missing’ over anti-vilification laws, Richard Marles says The deputy prime minister and defence minister, Richard Marles, says the Coalition has “gone missing” as the government tries to get the opposition to support its contentious hate bill (that it was forced to split over the weekend). Marles is doing the media rounds for Labor this morning and starts on ABC News Breakfast, imploring the Coalition to come to the table. What we wanted to do was to put in place the entirety of the report combating antisemitism that was done by Jillian Segal. We wanted anti-vilification laws put through the parliament. The Liberal party at that point said they supported it. The Jewish community want us to do it but when we get to the crunch, the Liberal party have gone missing. This is not politicking between Labor and Liberal, this is politicking within the Liberal party. They have to get over their division and bring bipartisanship to our nation. Asked about the Labor’s dip in the polls after the Bondi terror attack, Marles says the government isn’t focused on the polls, and that prime minister Anthony Albanese has “done an incredible job since 14 December”. Share Updated at 15.28 EST Barnaby Joyce ‘humbled’ by growing support for One Nation Barnaby Joyce says One Nation has given Australians a “licence for an alternative” after a Newspoll, published by the Australian newspaper, showed support for the minor conservative party has risen to 22%, ahead of the Coalition’s primary vote of 21%. Labor’s primary vote has also dipped to 32%, down four points since last year. Speaking on Sunrise, Joyce – who defected to the party near the end of last year – said he was “humbled” by the support, and said it wasn’t an attack on Sussan Ley’s leadership of the Coalition. It’s never been an attack on Sussan’s leadership. I think that what One Nation has done has given people licence for an alternative … And when you’ve got to make a choice between political correctness or looking after Australians, we’ll look after Australians first. Joyce was joined by cabinet minister, Murray Watt, who said the results show “why you’re seeing so much division within the Coalition … it’s what’s drifting them further and further to the right”. Share Updated at 15.13 EST Krishani Dhanji Good morning, Krishani Dhanji here with you for the first sitting day of the year, and it is going to be a big one. There will be a condolence motion for the victims, families and first responders of the Bondi terror tragedy, while the government tries to pressure the Coalition to support its split-up hate speech laws (as the Greens have promised to pass gun reforms). The Coalition will also be on alert this morning after the first Newspoll of the year paints them a bleak picture, and shows surging support for One Nation. The poll also shows a drop in popularity for the government. Stick with us! Share Australia invited to join Trump's 'board for peace' Governments have reacted cautiously to Donald Trump’s invitation to join his ‘board of peace’ initiative aimed at resolving conflicts globally, a plan that diplomats said could harm the work of the UN. Only Hungary, whose leader is a close Trump ally, gave an unequivocal acceptance in response to the invitations, which have been addressed to some 60 nations and began arriving in European capitals on Saturday, according to diplomats. The leaders of Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Hungary, Canada, the European Commission and key Middle East powers were among those invited, according to officials. As Lorenzo Tondo reports this morning, far-right ministers in Israel have attacked the White House’s picks for the panel – which includes representatives of Turkey and Qatar, both of which have been critical of Israel’s war in the strip: The board would be chaired for life by Trump and would start by addressing the Gaza conflict and then be expanded to deal with other conflicts, according to a copy of the letter and draft charter seen by Reuters. Member states would be limited to three-year terms unless they pay US$1bn each to fund the board’s activities and earn permanent membership, the letter states. A mandate for a Board of Peace was authorised by the UN security council in November, but only through 2027 and solely focused on the Gaza conflict. Russia and China, two veto wielding powers, abstained, complaining that the resolution did not give the UN a clear role in the future of Gaza. Share