Trump, subs and the Iran war: Australia’s replacement for Rudd has arrived in DC

Australia’s new ambassador to the United States, Greg Moriarty, says every American official he has spoken with about AUKUS has assured him of their strong support for the deal, rejecting claims that US commitment to the pact was shaky or that Australia needed a back-up plan.

The Albanese government is also enlisting corporate Australia to help prove the country’s bona fides against forced labour, after the Trump administration threatened to increase tariffs on Australia for allegedly failing to prevent imports of goods made under slave conditions overseas.

Moriarty told this masthead he had raised the issue in all of his introductory calls with US officials and vowed Australia would “robustly but respectfully” push back against the proposed new tariffs, which were unjustified and inconsistent with the long-standing US-Australia free trade agreement.

Moriarty took over from former prime minister Kevin Rudd as ambassador in April and formally presented his credentials to US President Donald Trump at the White House late last month.

Moriarty said he was struck by the warmth of the greeting from Trump, who told him Australia was one of his “favourite countries”, and described Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as his “good friend”.

Trump did not raise the issue of Australia’s participation in the war in Iran or the Strait of Hormuz - something he has repeatedly complained about to journalists. “He said Australia has been a very good partner,” Moriarty said.

Rudd, in a recent exit interview with this masthead, said AUKUS – under which Australia is due to buy at least three nuclear-powered Virginia-class submarines from the US – had “zero possibility” of coming unstuck, despite ongoing doubts about the production capacity of American naval shipyards.

The US has now confirmed that all three boats will be in-service (or second-hand), closing the possibility that one vessel would be brand new.

Former ambassador to the US, Joe Hockey, now a Washington-based lobbyist with widespread connections in the Trump administration, recently told the National Press Club he was “a little nervous” about the Virginias for the first time after speaking with people on Capitol Hill.

Asked who was correct between Rudd and Hockey, Moriarty – who was previously head of the Defence Department – said he did not think it was a binary, and noted AUKUS was “an enormously challenging endeavour”.

“One of the things I’ve been struck by since I’ve been here is just how strong the US commitment to AUKUS is,” he said. “I’ve met a number of figures in the administration ... all of the pe