Michaelia Cash: Albo’s pacific stumbles leave Aussies with nothing more than excuses

Anthony Albanese promised a new era of diplomacy in the Pacific.

He promised seriousness, depth, and outcomes. What we are seeing instead is failure, drift, and humiliation.

The Albanese Government appears more focused on chasing applause at the United Nations General Assembly in New York for its stance on Palestinian statehood than on delivering outcomes in the Pacific.

That is a dereliction of priorities.

In the past fortnight, two major security agreements — first with Vanuatu, now with Papua New Guinea — have stumbled at the final hurdle.

Both were announced with great fanfare. Both were promoted as landmark achievements. And both collapsed leaving Australians with nothing more than spin and excuses.

This is not just an embarrassment for Mr Albanese. It is a setback for our nation’s credibility. And it could not come at a worse time.

For months, Australians were told a landmark security treaty with PNG would be signed during its independence celebrations.

PNG Prime Minister James Marape and his Defence Minister expected it. Mr Albanese certainly expected it. He talked it up repeatedly.

Instead of a binding treaty, Australians were left with a vague communiqué. That is not a success. It is a failure of diplomacy.

No one disputes PNG’s sovereignty. PNG is, of course, entitled to take its time with an agreement of such consequence.

But when the Albanese Government itself sets public deadlines, builds up expectations, and then fails to deliver, it is Australia’s credibility that takes the hit.

This was not just a piece of paperwork. It would have meant that if either Australia or PNG were attacked, the other would treat it as a matter of concern.

It would have underpinned our shared security, strengthened both militaries, and ensured PNG looked first to Australia — not to others — for its security.

That is why this failure is so serious. Our region is not benign. It is contested ground.

The United States has made clear that Beijing is actively working to frustrate Australia’s initiatives in the Pacific. Kurt Campbell, the former US Deputy Secretary of State, warned this week that China will try to sabotage every move we make in the region.

Every time Labor stumbles, every time a treaty fails to land, it creates a vacuum and Beijing is only too willing to fill it.

The PNG failure follows hot on the heels of another collapse: the security agreement with Vanuatu.

For months, the Albanese Government insisted it would be signed. Foreign Minister Penny Wong even promised it would happen last week. Then suddenly and without warning it fell over.

Two major agreements, with two of our closest Pacific partners, unravelled in the space of days. That is not coincidence. That is pattern.

This is a Government long on spin, short on delivery. It talks a big game about being the “partner of choice” in the Pacific. But when it comes to doing the careful, quiet, detailed diplomacy required, it simply cannot deliver.

Next week, the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Penny Wong will head to New York to give speeches at the UN. We are told they will focus on Palestine and climate change.

The uncomfortable truth is this: nothing of consequence will be altered by whatever position Australia takes on Palestine or climate change at the UN General Assembly. But our policy on PNG and our Pacific family matters profoundly.

The Prime Minister insists the PNG treaty will be signed “within weeks”. Perhaps it will. But Australians deserve answers:

Why did Mr Albanese publicly promise an outcome he could not deliver?

Why was there not deeper groundwork to build confidence among PNG’s Cabinet?

Did Beijing apply pressure to stall this treaty, and if so, how did the Albanese Government respond?

What is the Government doing now to restore trust and ensure this agreement is delivered?

PNG is not just our neighbour. It is our family in the Pacific. Its security is our security. Its choices affect our own national interest directly.

Mr Marape has called Australia PNG’s “security partner of choice”. That is a powerful statement. But words must be matched with action. If PNG is forced to shop around with others, including China, it is Australia’s failure.p

This is why the Government’s failures matter. This is why they are dangerous. They weaken trust, they cede ground, and they leave Australia exposed.

The Albanese Government must stop pretending these are minor setbacks. They are not. They go to the heart of our credibility in the Pacific.

Quiet, careful, effective diplomacy is what succeeds in our region — not press conferences, not photo ops, not spin.

Mr Albanese and Senator Wong must now do what they have failed to do so far: engage deeply, consult broadly, and deliver outcomes that strengthen Australia’s security.

Because right now, the reality is clear: under this Prime Minister and this Foreign Minister, Australia’s diplomacy in the Pacific is failing. And when we fail in the Pacific, we put our own national security at risk.

It is time for Mr Albanese to take his eye off the New York stage and refocus on the Pacific family that matters most.

Our national interest demands nothing less.

Michaelia Cash is the shadow foreign affairs minister