Trump ‘not happy’ with Australia but ministers insist there’s been no new request for Hormuz help

Anthony Albanese has side-stepped questions about whether he’s sought clarification from the Trump administration about what help it wants from Australia for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, as senior ministers insist there has been no new request.

US President Donald Trump told reporters he was “not happy” with Australia because it hadn’t sent military assistance to the Middle East.

“I’m not happy with Australia because they were not there when we asked them to be there,” Mr Trump said, in response to questions about Thursday’s announcement of a $53 billion increase in Defence funding.

Asked further on what he’d wanted from Australia, he said: “They were not there having to do with Hormuz. So I’m not happy, I’m not happy with them.”

He has made similar comments multiple times since the war began six weeks ago, specifically about Australia and also other partners such as the UK and NATO countries.

The Prime Minister said questions about what America had asked for should be directed to the president.

“That’s a question for Donald Trump by definition,” he told reporters at the Geelong refinery.

“We engage with the US administration constructively, and we will continue to do that.

“I refer to my previous answers day after day after day, when I’ve been asked, they’re exactly the same. There’s been no new requests at all. And indeed, President Trump has himself said that he has ‘got this’, and he has made that position clear.”

The President’s comments about the war over the past six weeks have alternated between berating partners for not joining efforts and saying the US can do it alone.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers, in Washington for talks with international counterparts, said Mr Trump’s latest comments “were consistent with some comments that he has made in the past”.

“It’s not unusual for President Trump to call for more investment from partners and allies when it comes to defence and when it comes to the commitment in the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.

He referred to the newly announced increase in Defence funding as a very substantial step.

“We don’t see Defence as an optional extra or a nice-to-have in this quite dangerous global environment that we inhabit,” he said.

“We understand and acknowledge that some of our partners would like us to invest more, but we’re heading in the right direction.The UK and France are hosting a summit later on Friday to discuss how to keep the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route for oil and fertiliser, open once hostilities end.

Australia will join those talks.

Defence Minister Richard Marles said Australia needed the shipping channel to stay open, and suggested it would contribute to an operation to make that happen when the time was right.

“We’ve not received a specific request in relation to the Strait of Hormuz, but we’ll work with all partners, our allies, and that very much includes the US in terms of whatever needs to be done in relation to the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.