Both sides of federal politics stand by the Alliance and Orcus.
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marless was standing by the US Australian Alliance after Western Australian Prime Minister Roger Cook made public about US Vice President JD Vance at an event in Perth.
The Labour Premier Cuku, facing Western Australians in a March 8 poll, elicited laughter from the audience during the campaign event, calling Vance “Knobs.”
In response, Federal Defense Minister Marless said he “does not use that language” to explain the vice president.
“But, look, we’re working very closely on building relationships with the new administration in Washington, and that’s clearly not the language I use in terms of describing the vice president of America.”
To put it in context, during the event, Cook was asked to complete the following sentence: “JD Vance…” he replied, “Knob,” drawing laughs and applause from the audience.
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However, Cook was later forced to apologize at a press conference held in Pinjara on March 4th, where he admitted that it may not have been an expert.
The Deputy Australian Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Richard Marless will speak at a bilateral meeting with the US Secretary of Defense held at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia on February 7, 2025. Alex Wong/Getty Images
“It was a light moment and perhaps a professional moment at the beginning of today’s event, Cook told reporters.
“Let’s observe that there was a lot of applause around the room when you made a comment. So maybe some people enjoyed the fun that comes with it. Others may have been offended.”
Cook’s comments came days after Vance, US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Voldimia Zelenkie made a fiery exchange at the White House.
Western Australian Prime Minister Roger Cook will speak to the media at a press conference at Dumas House in Perth, Australia on May 31, 2023. Matt Jelonek/Getty Images
Trump read the letter in his speech to Congress the evening of March 4th.
Relationship with the new administration: “Going smoothly”
The man also spoke about the relationship between the Australian government and the new administration.
“When I see the speed at which I met my counterpart in Washington, I was the first of his international counterparts to which anyone in the world had met.”
Marless pointed out that Foreign Minister Penny Wong was the second foreign minister to meet Secretary Marco Rubio.
“From the perspective of foreign ministers around the world. There have been two debates between the Prime Minister and the President. You know, there is the real courtesy and respect that is given to us by the Trump administration, and we are grateful for that,” he added.
In another interview, Marless also expressed confidence in the upcoming Audit Defense Agreement and noted that he recently met with the US Secretary of Defense.
Orcas is a trilateral defense and technology security partnership between Australia, the UK and the US, involving nuclear submarines in Australia.
United States “Major Allies”: Dutton
Opposition leader Peter Dutton also spoke about the importance of the United States as an ally.
He said that whatever happened in the future, Australia’s interests were best served by strong relations with India with the US, the UK, the other five eye partners and allies.
