Every couple of years, for a day or two, Australians are briefly reminded that the Commonwealth does more than organise a B-list sporting event every four years.
The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), first held in its current form a touch over 50 years ago, brings together the leaders of its 56 member states for a series of meetings about their common interests.
This year’s event, held in Antigua and Barbuda, couldn’t have come at a worse time for Anthony Albanese.
With the Reserve Bank expected to raise rates on Tuesday , banks issuing warnings that house prices will continue to fall, and fears that unemployment will have to rise further, Albanese and his under-pressure Treasurer Jim Chalmers are taking fire from all sides. Now is not the time for either to be conjuring images even remotely close to a tropical island holiday.
The Coalition has been making hay with the trip for weeks, with shadow treasurer Tim Wilson suggesting the prime minister would be sipping cocktails by the pool on the visit, and foreign affairs spokesman Ted O’Brien demanding Albanese justify the trip during difficult economic times.
The opposition should know better than this as an alternative party of government.
Just as former opposition leader Tony Abbott harshly criticised Julia Gillard’s Labor seeking a position on the UN Security Council and then praised it when in office, it’s a fair bet that if or when the Coalition returns to government one day, it will reverse course and warmly embrace the chance to attend the growing number of international summits prime ministers are asked to go to at this time of year.
While in New York last month, Albanese launched Australia’s latest Security Council bid. While the competition for this position is not as fierce as previously, now is the time for Australia to keep countries on side with its middle power pitch – not snub them.
It was notable that John Howard strongly backed both The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting as an important institution, and the prime minister attending the event.
King Charles himself checked in to ensure Albanese would attend and, while the prime minister would probably rather be in Australia and dealing with matters domestic – as difficult as domestic politics is for Labor at the moment – he made the long trek to Antigua.
The prime minister’s appearances at the event will be carefully stage-managed and, for example, it was not an accident that Albanese sat out a five overs per side cricket match for CHOGM leaders held at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium. Doing so would have prompted further howls of protests back home.
Instead, in the small amount of coverage the trip will generate, Albanese will be determined to present an all-business “I’m just here for the meetings” persona. As the prime minister told colleagues before he left, “inflation won’t come down if I don’t go to CHOGM”.
During the visit, Albanese will have dinner with new UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham, hold a bilateral meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney – both of whom are attending their first CHOGM – while catching up with the leaders or deputy leaders of significant Australian partners including India, South Africa, Singapore and Malaysia.
In his meeting with Burnham, for example, Albanese will discuss reintroducing the requirement for British backpackers in Australia to work in regional Australia for some of their trip, which would be a significant boost for the regions and for farmers.
His bilateral meeting with Carney is likely to canvas a number of issues, including the growing defence co-operation between the two nations and, of course, the current occupant of the White House, who has done much damage to both the Canadian and global economies with his mercurial approach to international relations, defence alliances and orthodox economics.
While both the Commonwealth and its biannual meeting of leaders is increasingly irrelevant to ordinary Australians’ interests, there is still some value in attending the meetings, even if it is marginal compared to other leaders’ meetings such as the G20 or APEC.
Albanese will be in and out of Antigua as quickly as possible and, undoubtedly, closely monitoring the fallout of Tuesday’s interest rates decision from afar. Presumably, he will be in regular contact with his ministers, and those ministers will no doubt be able to continue work on how to slow the rise in inflation in Australia.
It might not be the best look to leave the country while the economy is struggling, but Albanese had little choice other than to attend this heads of government meeting. No doubt he’ll be in and out with a minimum of fuss.
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