Turnbull says ‘we cannot assume we can rely on America’ under Trump – as it happened​on February 20, 2025 at 6:58 am

With that, we will wrap the blog for the evening. Thanks for reading. Here were the biggest developments of the day:

• The prime minister has announced $2.4bn for the Whyalla steelworks. He told the workforce he knew that it had “been a difficult time”.

• The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has issued a rare rebuke of Donald Trump after the US president labelled the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a “dictator”. The former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull said we “cannot assume we can rely on America” under Trump.

• Australia will “watch every move” of three Chinese warships which have been detected off the country’s east coast, the defence minister has said.

• Tasmanian authorities have begun euthanising false killer whales that beached on the state’s remote north-west coast.

• The home affairs department will return to its former “super portfolio” status under a Coalition government, the shadow home affairs minister has promised.

• And Google and Meta do not meet the requirements to partner with the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, the organisation has said, after the two tech companies ended their official involvement and ditched diversity obligations in the US.

Victorian government urged to add protections for protesting to anti-vilification laws

Human rights and legal groups have urged the Victorian government to add a “public interest” defence to its anti-vilification legislation.

The Human Rights Law Centre and Federation of Community Legal Centres both issued statements on Thursday afternoon as the Victorian government continued negotiations with the Greens after an attempt to gain the Coalition’s support failed.

The government had removed the “political purpose” defence that was opposed by the Coalition and Jewish community groups in an effort to shore up support. But the Coalition has now raised concerns about the civil element of the bill, forcing the government to turn to the crossbench to negotiate.

As those negotiations continued on Thursday, the two groups said the government’s removal of the defence without any replacement was concerning.

They urged the government to add a new safeguard to protect “legitimate public protest and freedom of political communication”.

The federation said this type of defence has “clear legal precedent” and would safeguard Victorians’ right to protest.

Their chief executive, Louisa Gibbs, said:

Community legal centres have a long history of supporting local community activists standing up to injustice by leading protest movements to achieve justice and human rights. Laws that infringe on rights to protest have far-reaching implications for our democracy and particularly for people in our society who face the greatest structural barriers to justice.

Sarah Schwartz, legal director at the Human Rights Law Centre, said:

It represents a positive step that anti-vilification laws will now protect everyone from hate, no matter their race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or ethnicity. Any exceptions to these laws for the purpose of religious teaching should be extremely limited, otherwise these laws risk being selectively applied, and undermining principles of equality and non-discrimination.

Adelaide may be having driest summer in 33 years

Adelaide could be facing its driest summer in 33 years, Weatherzone reports.

The meteorology service notes Adelaide has received a total of 21.2mm of rain to date this summer, with just 6.6mm falling this year – about a third of the long-term summer average.

If no significant rain falls between now and the end of February, it would be the driest summer since 1991/92, when 17mm of rain was recorded.

Adelaide’s driest summer on record was 1905/06, when a mere 4mm of rain fell in three months.

Weatherzone:

As despairing locals will tell you, the current dry summer is a continuation of a prolonged dry spell which has now lasted for more than a year.

In 2024, Adelaide had just 346.6mm compared to the long-term average of 526mm. That was just under two-thirds of the annual average.

The early signs for next week are that Adelaide will again be sunny and warm with top temps in the 30s, while another change later in the week will again deliver minimal moisture. And that’ll just about wrap it up for a very dry summer, which ends next Friday.

H7N8 avian influenza discovered on third poultry farm in Victoria

Agriculture Victoria has confirmed H7N8 high pathogenicity avian influenza (bird flu) on a third poultry farm in Euroa. This new detection is in close proximity to the two other infected properties.

Victoria’s acting chief veterinary officer, Dr Cameron Bell, said given the close proximity of these properties, this new detection is not unexpected, and that Agriculture Victoria staff are on the ground working closely with industry to contain and eradicate the virus.

Control orders have been in place since H7 was first detected on a poultry farm on 8 February, restricting the movement of poultry, poultry products, equipment, and vehicles on or off properties in designated zones around the infected properties to prevent disease spread. H7 was found on a second farm on 13 February.

Bell said:

If you are in the control or restricted areas, you cannot move birds, products (including eggs and manure) or equipment into, out of, or within the area without permit. This includes selling or giving away eggs from your poultry – these must not leave your property.

With the confirmation of H7N8 on a third property, a housing requirement remains in place for properties with 50 or more poultry in the restricted area. This includes Euroa and extends approximately 5km from the affected properties in all directions.

Pivoting back to Trump, Turnbull says other world leaders are ‘scared’ of the US president

Turnbull continues in his critique of Trump, describing him as “transactional” and “totally focused on American self-interest”.

Trump and Turnbull had a famously frosty relationship when the US president was last in office. He described his first exchange with Australia’s former prime minister as “his worst call so far”. Turnbull later wrote in his memoir that “you don’t suck up to bullies”.

We cannot assume that America has any altruistic regard for Australia … we have got to be prepared to stand up for ourselves. I stood up to Trump, I stood up to Obama, for that matter, less colourfully or notoriously, but the reality is our leaders have got to stand up for Australia and we’ve got to have the ability to defend ourselves.

Pointing to concern from leaders about undermining their alliance with the US by going too hard on Trump, Turnbull says it’s not a question of the alliance.

They are scared of Trump, they are scared he will impose tariffs. So, in other words, they doing exactly what a bully wants you to do, which is knuckle under. It’s just timidity and fear. That’s all. The reality is the alliance is different because the United States has changed, not us. So we have got to be able to appeal to American self-interest, but at the end of the day we have to be able to defend ourselves.

Aukus arrangements ‘not fit for purpose any longer’, says Turnbull

Turnbull criticises the former Morrison government’s Aukus submarine deal, backed in by Albanese, describing it as a “massive mistake” that sacrificed Australia’s sovereignty and made us more reliant on the United States.

The timing was exquisitely bad, because we are now more reliant on America than ever [before] at a time when America is less reliable than ever … We’ve got to ask ourselves, are our current arrangements working? And I would say they are not fit for purpose any longer.

We have to spend more money on our own defence … we have to focus on our own sovereignty and defending ourselves and not just assuming we will always be part of some coalition with the Americans. We cannot rely on the new America in the way we have in the past.

He says it’s unlikely we will even get the promised submarines, due in the late 2030s, in the first place.

We know that it is most unlikely that we will ever get any American submarines because their navy will not be able to spare them. They will put the interests of their own Navy first. We know that the British submarine industrial base is shambolic … we know that Britain is going to have to focus on Europe.

Turnbull says Trump is “in the business” of breaking the international rules-based order that has broadly been in place since the conclusion of the second world war. That means we “cannot assume we can rely on America” as Australia has done in the past.

Look at the way he has sought to bully Denmark or Canada or other countries. So the big question is what does Australia do about it? Well, obviously, firstly our leaders should say, regarding his recent statements, that they are wrong and … stand up for Ukraine.

But Trump would say, what are you going to do about it, Australia? I don’t see any Australian troops on the battlefield in Ukraine. I mean, the Australian government isn’t even prepared to have its embassy based in Kyiv, so we don’t have a lot of bragging rights or influence there.

Asked if our leaders have gone far enough in their condemnation of Trump’s comments, Turnbull says “you can go as far as you like” but the vast majority of the world should be saying he was not only wrong factually, but wrong morally.

He appears to be at the point of facilitating a victory for Vladimir Putin over Ukraine. Now, just contemplate that. It is mind-blowing … we have to recognise the world has changed, America has changed. And we cannot assume that we can rely on America in the way we have in the past.

Trump ‘running Vladimir Putin’s lines’, says Turnbull

The former prime minister Malcom Turnbull is appearing on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing now after Donald Trump’s extraordinary remarks on Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, including falsely calling him a “dictator without elections”.

Turnbull went viral in the United States for warning about Trumps admiration for Vladimir Putin prior to their election.

He says now in office, Trump is “running Vladimir Putin’s lines”.

We have the shocking, appalling, but, regrettably, somewhat predictable and predicted situation where the president of the United States is siding with a dictator – a murderous dictator who has invaded a sovereign democracy, Ukraine, and siding with the invader, not Ukraine.

So, it is mind-blowing, but that is the world we live in. Trump is not an aberration. When he got elected the first time a lot of people felt it was a fluke, the Republican party, many of them, perhaps most of them were very ambivalent about it. This time, he is in total command of the Republican party and he won that election … so this is the new world. The new world of disorder.

BoM issues strong wind warnings for parts of Queensland

The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) has released tomorrow’s national weather forecast, with a “settled end to the working week” across much of the nation.

Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania are in for a warm day after a string of cool weather as a high pressure system builds in the south-east, reaching 31 in Melbourne and 36 in Mildura.

As the pressure system pushes south-easterly winds along the east coast, showers are expected for large parts of New South Wales and Queensland.

A strong wind warning is current between Noosa and Cooktown.

The BoM is also keeping an eye on two tropical lows in northern Australia, which could develop into tropical cyclones over the weekend. Neither pose an immediate threat to Australia.

Cash reward leads to arrest in Coffs Harbour murder investigation

A man has been charged with murdering a beloved father of five with a metal pole after a $500,000 reward triggered a breakthrough in the case just a day later, AAP reports.

Mark Andrew Nolan faced court for the first time on Thursday, accused of killing Duncan Campbell, who was last seen at Coffs Harbour on the New South Wales north coast on 4 February 2024.

Authorities announced a $500,000 reward for information to help solve the murder on Tuesday.

By early Wednesday afternoon, police had received tip-offs from the public and had a man in handcuffs.

Nolan appeared at Coffs Harbour local court on Thursday and did not apply for bail. He will remain behind bars until at least April, when he will be back in court.

Bail laws will be a major focus for Victoria’s new top cop as the state faces a continued battle with youth crime, AAP reports.

The acting police chief commissioner, Rick Nugent, fronted the media on Thursday after Shane Patton quit days earlier after a damning no-confidence vote.

“It’s clear bail laws need to be strengthened,” Nugent told reporters.

I have met with (the Victorian police minister, Anthony Carbines) yesterday, who confirmed they are undertaking a review and will make some changes to bail laws to better support community safety in this state.

We also have an organisational review under way … the proposal is nearly finalised, which will be presented to me to then consider before we look at approving that and any implementation on any changes.

Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, ordered a fresh review of Victoria’s bail laws earlier in February, saying it was “clear to me that we need to go further.”

These changes would follow statistics in December revealing crimes by children aged 10 to 17 have reached their highest levels in Victoria since 2009.

Many thanks for joining me on the blog today, Caitlin Cassidy will take you through the rest of our rolling coverage. Take care.

Hot conditions to return to south-east this weekend after mild weather

The Bureau of Meteorology says hot, dry and windy conditions will return to south-east Australia at the weekend, after a mild week.

Extreme fire dangers are forecast in parts of South Australia and Victoria.

About 120 bus trips cut in Brisbane bus strike: union

Queensland’s Rail Tram and Bus Union claims at least 120 Brisbane “bus trips” were cut as a result of industrial action this morning.

Hundreds of members walked off the job early on Thursday, striking as part of EBA negotiations.

The Brisbane lord mayor, Adrian Schrinner, claimed on 4BC radio that “the vast majority” of services turned up, with 80% of bus journeys going ahead. But in a statement, the union claims the action forced the council to cut between 120 and 150 “bus trips” with another 200 routes “affected by the knock-on effect”.

We are under instructions from our members to further escalate our actions if a deal is not reached this week.

Negotiations are expected to continue today with both sides saying they’re hopeful of a swift resolution to the dispute.

The industrial action only affected buses in the Brisbane city council area, not other services in south-east Queensland.

Refugee Council welcomes integration and settlement pilot being made permanent

The Refugee Council of Australia welcomes the government’s decision to make the Community Refugee Integration and Settlement Pilot permanent, which will offer 200 community sponsored places to refugees to Australia from mid 2026, but warns the government against them taking away from existing government supported places.

The council said:

The Refugee Council calls on the government to ensure any places granted through private sponsorship are additional to the humanitarian program and do not take places away from government supported places.

If the community is willing to step in and fundraise to bring people here and help them settle, these places must add to global protection, not supplant refugee resettlement places the government was already planning to fund.

We know from community feedback that more Australians will be motivated to become involved in community sponsorship if their financial and practical contributions add to Australia’s collective support of people who have been forcibly displaced by persecution and conflict.