ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: It was my great honour to be invited to have a meeting with President Biden at his Home in Wilmington. It was wonderful to be invited into his home for a one on one firstly and a bit of a look around his home, and a one-on-one chat, and then a 90-minute meeting between myself and our Delegation and President Biden, Secretary Blinken and the National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, as well as the Ambassador to Australia, Kennedy. It was a very warm and engaging discussion. It was a discussion between allies and a discussion between friends, which is what Australia are with our friends here in the United States. This, my understanding is it was the first time that a foreign leader has met him at his home. And so I feel that it was a great honour for that. We had a nice exchange of gifts, including from the President, the book on his school where he attended, where events will take place tomorrow. We gave the President a leather jacket from the Air Force with his name on it and the full bit, and he was chuffed to receive that present. President Biden is a great friend of Australia and the warmth of the discussion reflected that. Today we had the opportunity to discuss the strength of the Australia-United States alliance. We discussed AUKUS and the arrangements that have been put in place, both Pillar One and Pillar Two. And I spoke with the President about my recent opportunity to go on board a submarine that's being maintained there at the base just south of Perth. And we spoke about the progress in the AUKUS relationship, which have been very positive indeed. We went on to speak about the depth of cooperation that we have across defence and security, economic relationship, the United States is the largest investor in Australia, but also action on climate change and critical minerals in particular. We discussed regional and global strategic challenges, the state of the world. We discussed the war in Ukraine, the ongoing illegal invasion that Russia has engaged in. We discussed the Middle East as well, and the challenges of peace and security being achieved there as well. We had an extensive discussion about critical minerals and the Australia-United States Climate, Critical Minerals and Clean Energy Transformation Compact which we are hoping to finalise. It was something that we initialled on the sidelines of the last Quad Meeting and G7 Meeting that was held in Hiroshima last year. And we spoke about the importance of critical minerals and the development that we can have in cooperation, not just with Australia and the United States, but the potential that's there as well, for further work to involve other nations like Canada and other like-minded countries as well to achieve our objectives. We discussed the significant progress in export control reform, identifying opportunities for collaboration in Pillar Two of AUKUS, and the ongoing support that we've received for the removal of some restrictions which have been there for a long period of time with regard to defence and technology cooperation in that sector. As I said yesterday, stability and peace can't be taken for granted. We need to work for it, and that means working with our partners. The Quad will be held at Archmere Academy tomorrow, which is President Biden's old school and the school that his children attended. Once again, I think, a sign of how personal President Biden is taking his interest in the Quad Meetings that will take place tomorrow. Happy to take some questions.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, on the critical minerals compact. What's been the hold up in finalising that? What are the last things that need to come into place to help Australians? And the President's got, as of today, four months left in the job. Was he reflective about his time and your relationship? What did you make of that?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, it was an opportunity for me to express my support and congratulations for the role that President Biden has played. He has been a good friend of Australia, but he's also been an advocate for the rule of law, the role that he has played internationally in securing support for the people of Ukraine in the struggle that they are undertaking. The revitalisation and expansion, indeed, of NATO, is one of President Biden's achievements that he has had during his time in office. His concentration on the Quad as well, and his engagement in the Indo Pacific, measures which history will record President Biden as being a driver of a very successful period in US foreign policy, and part of that has been his engagement with Australia. He was very warm with regard to his comments about Australia. He regards Australia as being an important player in the international stage and he thanked me, but thanked through me, Australia on the role that we play as good global citizens who believe in the rule of law, who engage in international forums. On critical minerals there isn't a hold up. These are complex relationships that we are attempting to put together. We know that critical minerals and the supply chain will be really important and there are challenges which have arisen, some of which are certainly known not just in Australia, but in other countries as well. As we move forward and we look at the drivers of global growth in this century, Australia has the entire periodic table, basically, of what will be needed. And that presents an opportunity, not just to get access to those resources, but how value is added to it and the supply chain issues that are related to that. So, we had a really good discussion about progressing that, and we are hopeful that that will be finalised by the end of this year.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, President Biden has been very forthright about his concerns about American foreign policy, depending on the outcome of the November 5th Presidential election. Did he discuss any of those concerns or any potential changes in American foreign policy riding on the outcome of November 5, because presumably that would be very important to you and your Government?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we obviously, when I have one on one discussions with leaders, I don't go and do a press conference and immediately talk about all of the detail of that. President Biden and I did discuss, obviously, the state of the world and a way forward, and relationships which are there.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, did you talk at all in terms of AUKUS, how secure that is with the legislative framework, if there is a change of government direction?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, we certainly talked about AUKUS and its security and as well, of course, Secretary Blinken and the National Security Adviser, Sullivan, were present in the meeting as well. I know from my own experience, one on one discussions I've had across the Congress and across the Senate, how deep the support for AUKUS is. And there is no question in my mind that AUKUS will continue to have the support of any future US administrations.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, can you give us any more insight into the discussions you had regarding the current events in the Middle East and what Australia is considering, anything it might be able to do to help prevent further escalation?
PRIME MINISTER: Well our position, we did have, it was one of the issues that was raised and the United States is playing a role, of course. Publicly it is known, and privately as well, of calling for a de-escalation in the Middle East. Australia's position is clear. We regard the events of October 7 as abhorrent and completely unacceptable, and we unequivocally have condemned them and continue to do so. We continue to call for the release of hostages. We continue to call for a ceasefire, and we also continue to call for a long-term solution as well, which requires a two-state solution in the Middle East. But we, of course, I take the opportunity now to once again call for Australian citizens who are in Lebanon to please come home. It is a fact that this situation might become more difficult. We have been saying this for many months now, that people should take the opportunity to get on a commercial plane and to come back to Australia.
JOURNALIST: PM, can I ask, did the President give you any sort of life advice or political advice? He's been in the Senate for, sorry, he's been in Congress for 40 years and so forth, sort of might been something around that?
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah, I certainly enjoy the President's company very much. And during the one-on-one discussion, we had a very nice chat. Jill provided a very nice note for myself and for Jodie, who she gets on very well with. They developed a relationship, of course, at the State Visit that we had last year. So, we had a chat about some personal things, we did, and they'll stay personal. But it was a really warm discussion. I was, I can't have been more pleased with the very warm welcome that we received.
JOURNALIST: Just to follow up on that, you've obviously been speaking to him for quite a long time now. I wonder, is there any change in his tone or his feeling about China and its presence in the Pacific? And you've got the announcement tomorrow with the Quad on things. I just wonder, was there any discussion about whether or not the US or Australia might incentivise banks to stay in the Pacific and to keep the banking system up and strong there in the Pacific?
PRIME MINISTER: We didn't discuss specifically banking in the Pacific, but we certainly discussed the role that Australia is playing in the Pacific, and the role the United States plays in the region as well. And we did discuss, part of the context of course, is the strategic competition which is there. President Biden has a great deal of experience, and he is very thoughtful about the rise of China and what that means for the world and his considered approach. It was an opportunity as well, to not just talk, but importantly, to listen and to learn. I find these gatherings a real opportunity to listen to someone who has had extensive discussions, for example between, with himself, directly with President Xi over a long period of time, including during the period in which he was Vice President of the United States as well. So, that experience and that engagement is important.
JOURNALIST: The President obviously cancelled his trip to the last minute to Australia. Any chance you would invite him to your wedding given he might have more time on his hands?
PRIME MINISTER: I think my wedding invite list will be something I discuss with Jodie and not at a press conference.
JOURNALIST: The meeting you had today was set against a backdrop of a Presidential election marked by extraordinary people and political violence. Only last week, obviously, we saw the second assassination attempt on Donald Trump in as many months. Were these matters and the current volatile political climate here discussed in your meeting today? And I guess, more broadly, to what extent are you concerned about the kind of political violence we're seeing here, spilling out to places like Australia and other countries?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we did have a discussion about politics, including here. But can I say separately from that discussion that as an Australian Prime Minister and as a democratically elected Prime Minister, I'm very concerned about any disruption to democratic processes. Democracy is something we can't take for granted. We need to cherish it; we need to nurture it. And there's no place for violence in democratic processes, whether it be the extreme examples of assassination attempts, obviously, but other forms of violence as well. People should be able, in a democracy, to express their views and express them peacefully and respectfully to each other.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, just on that point. January 7, 2021, you said Donald Trump had encouraged the violent insurrection in Washington. Congressional reports have found that, investigations have looked into him over that. Do you still stand by that view?
PRIME MINISTER: Oh look, I said that at the time, you've quoted me. I don't intend to make any comments that can be interpreted as participating in an election that's been conducted here in the United States.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, just to pick up on Farrah's question there. This is a wonderful country, obviously. It's a great democracy. But when you think about how close Trump came to being killed, it seems like the thread that holds it together is quite fragile. I guess it extends to any democracy. But do you, how do you look at that and just how fragile sometimes democracy can be? Particularly in the face of that political violence that you spoke of?
PRIME MINISTER: Democracy needs to be nurtured and needs to be cherished. It can't be taken for granted. And it is overwhelmingly in the world's interest. I believe in democratic principles and democratic systems, but we can't take it for granted. You know, I'm concerned personally at some of the surveys that show a decline in support for democracy amongst some young people in Australia. And I'm concerned that people don't value it. And it certainly can't be taken for granted, which is why we need to uphold democratic principles.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, the Wall Street Journal today, I think, suggests that it's spoken with administration officials who are now pessimistic and openly say they don't expect to ceasefire in the Middle East in the life of the Biden Administration. That was a huge goal for this US President. As you discussed the Middle East today, did you get any sense of that pessimism? And what’s your estimation on whether a ceasefire is realistic now in weeks or even a couple of months?
PRIME MINISTER: I want to see a ceasefire. I think that every innocent life which has been lost, whether it be Israeli or Palestinian or others affected by this conflict, is a tragedy, is a human tragedy. And I want to see a de-escalation. Thanks very much.
JOURNALIST: The President's age and concerns around his capacity to do the job were in large part of the pressure that led to him withdrawing from this year's election. As one of a relatively few number of people who's had this one-on-one meeting with you, what were your personal impressions of Joe Biden in that case?
PRIME MINISTER: He's fit, he is totally on top of his brief, he is someone who it's a great privilege to spend time with. He is engaging, and he is someone who has served as Vice President of the United States for eight years and President for nearing on four. And someone who has such broad experience in the US Senate. You know, you get to the point where you continue to learn every day. I mean, I think it is in this job, my mentor was someone who was in Parliament for a long period of time, too - Tom Uren. He used to say to me, two principles. You’ve got to learn something new every day, and you got to get better as a person every day and grow. That's something I try to do myself, and it's a great opportunity, and I regard it as a privilege to be able to have a 90-minute engagement with President Biden today. I regard him as a friend and importantly, someone who I can learn from. We can all learn off each other.
JOURNALIST: What have you learnt from him?
PRIME MINISTER: His knowledge of the US system and the globe, and the way that the world has changed. And he is, the other thing about President Biden as well, is he someone who is optimistic and someone who speaks about hope. Hope's always better than fear as an emotion. And I'd rather be hopeful and optimistic, than fearful and negative. Thanks very much.