Tom McIlroy

1 week ago | theguardian.com | Tom McIlroy

Australia is to hold formal negotiations on joining a new defence agreement with the European Union, with the prime minister preparing to discuss plans for enhanced security cooperation at this week’s G7 summit in Canada.

1 week ago | theguardian.com | Henry Belot |Tom McIlroy

Leading lobbyists are urging the federal government to strengthen investigative powers and penalties to crack down on rogue operators, including through new laws that would add corporate interests to a transparency register. The Greens leader, Larissa Waters, told Guardian Australia this week that the party would use its balance of power position to push for tougher rules on the cashed-up lobbying industry in the new parliament, calling current rules “really weak and effectively nonexistent”.

1 week ago | theguardian.com | Tom McIlroy

Anthony Albanese will meet US President Donald Trump face-to-face for the first time this week, using talks on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada to press the case for an exemption to trade tariffs and talk up the Aukus agreement. Touring Amazon’s headquarters in Seattle on Sunday AEST, the prime minister confirmed a meeting had been set with Trump in Kananaskis, Alberta, along with separate bilateral talks with the leaders of Canada, the UK and Germany.

2 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Tom McIlroy

Anthony Albanese will tell Donald Trump and the leaders of the world’s biggest economies that free trade can help calm rising global insecurity, as next week’s G7 summit looks set to be dominated by conflict in the Middle East. The prime minister will visit technology giant Amazon’s Seattle headquarters on Sunday, on his way to talks with world leaders in Alberta next week, a trip he hopes will include his first face-to-face meeting with the US president.

2 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Tom McIlroy

When Anthony Albanese’s official plane took off from Canberra’s Fairbairn Air Force base in the icy cold of Friday morning, the prime minister and his advisers had little idea if his looming North American visit would be a success. Despite weeks of preparation for the six-day trip to the US and the G7 summit in Canada, Albanese had yet to lock in his first meeting with Donald Trump. There were even doubts about whether Trump would show up in Kananaskis, Alberta at all.