Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Defence Minister Linda Reynolds will fly to Washington for annual talks with their US counterparts next week, forcing both frontbenchers into quarantine on their return to Australia.
Key points:
- The ABC has been told the decision to travel was “not taken lightly” by the ministers
- The US ambassador said it would be “one of the most consequential AUSMIN meetings in decades”
- Pompeo warned “if the free world doesn’t change Communist China, Communist China will change us”
It will be the first overseas visit by Morrison Government ministers since Australia shut its international borders in March.
Senator Payne and Senator Reynolds will meet US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary Mark Esper to discuss national security and coordinating government responses to the coronavirus pandemic.
But the rapid spread of COVID-19 through the United States also poses a significant risk to the delegation, with the country passing 4 million cases earlier this week.
The ABC has been told the decision to travel was “not taken lightly” by the ministers.
However, the Morrison Government has calculated that the talks will be critical to boosting security cooperation wi