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New York: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will urge world leaders to join Australia’s crackdown on children’s access to social media after meeting US President Donald Trump for the first time and locking in a prized White House visit next month.
Albanese will travel to Washington, DC, for a formal meeting on October 20, an encounter he will use to press Australia’s case on issues including AUKUS and trade, and address increasing criticism over his failure this year to secure face time with the president.
Prime Minister Antony Albanese’s selfie with US President Donald Trump at US welcome reception.Credit: @albomp
Albanese and Trump spoke in person for the first time in a friendly exchange at a cocktail party in New York on Wednesday, Australian time, and said they looked forward to their upcoming bilateral meeting.
The prime minister on Wednesday afternoon uploaded a selfie he took with Trump at the welcome dinner, with the caption: “Good to chat with President Donald Trump at US welcome reception for world leaders attending United Nations General Assembly hosted by @potus and @flotus”.
“We have a good relationship. We’ve had respectful calls. Australia and the United States are great partners. I expect it to be very constructive,” Albanese told reporters.
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Other world leaders have had a mixed reception at the White House, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was berated during his first visit before a more positive return, and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. More conservative leaders such as Italy’s Giorgia Meloni have had friendly meetings.
Underlining Albanese’s stark policy differences with Trump, who described climate change as a “con job” in his address to the United Nations General Assembly this week, the prime minister will promote the government’s new emissions reduction targets and emphasise the economic potential of green energy in New York.
“If we act now, if we move with common purpose and shared resolve, then we can do more than just guard against the very worst,” Albanese will tell an event at United Nations headquarters as he details the government’s commitment to reduce emissions by 62 to 70 per cent by 2035.
Trump also criticised other countries, including Australia, for recognising Palestine this week, blasting it as a reward for terror group Hamas’s shock massacre on October 7, 2023.
At a separate event set to be attended by other world leaders on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in Manhattan, Albanese will spruik Australia’s world-first policy to ban children aged under 16 from using social media accounts from December 10.
“As social media evolves, and as the tug-of-war between real life and endless scrolling grows ever more uneven, the load is not one that should be borne by kids and their parents alone,” Albanese will say, according to speech notes provided by his office.
“With this law, we are saying: You don’t have to.”
Saying he has been deeply moved by stories of young children who have died by suicide after unhealthy social media use, Albanese will tell the event: “We want children to … be off their phones and on the sporting field, or playing music, or hanging out with friends.”
Around five world leaders are expected to attend the function including European Union President Ursula Von der Leyen, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela.
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“We know the world will be watching, and we are glad to have you with us,” Albanese will say.
American social scientist Jonathan Haidt, who wrote The Anxious Generation, an influential book on the societal impacts of mobile phone use, will appear at the event alongside sexual consent activist Chanel Contos and Emma Mason, whose 15-year-old daughter Tilly died by suicide after being bullied on social media.
Albanese will also deliver his official address to the General Assembly and a separate speech on climate action on his final day in New York before departing for London.
After confirming that Trump would not meet Albanese during his New York visit, the White House revealed that the prime minister had been invited to travel to Washington for a standalone meeting on October 20.
Australian ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd, who had faced questions about his level of White House access, said he was “utterly optimistic about how we navigate the future of the Australia-US relationship”.
Liberal senator Andrew Bragg said on Tuesday that Australia had been treated like a “piece of dirt” by the Trump administration, blaming Rudd’s past criticisms of Trump for the “very embarrassing” failure to secure a meeting.
The pair have spoken four times by phone since Trump was elected last year but had not meet in person until the cocktail reception hosted by Trump.
Trump decried the decision by Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada and others to recognise Palestine, saying it would embolden Hamas.
“Instead of giving in to Hamas’s ransom demands, those who want peace should be united with one message: release the hostages now,” he said.
Justin Bassi, the executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, welcomed confirmation of the meeting, saying: “The world’s in a difficult place with authoritarian regimes working more closely together and seeking to undermine our societies, so a critical relationship like ours should be prioritised by both sides because that’s the best way to deter aggression.”
with Michael Koziol
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