Anthony Albanese may be taking some time off but there is one destination he won’t be visiting anytime soon, according to one of his closest colleagues.
The Prime Minister last week announced he was taking a week of leave to “have a bit of a rest” leaving the country under the watchful eye of Richard Marles and Penny Wong.
Speaking with Nine, the Foreign Minister joked that she pushed him to take a vacation.
“He didn’t take any leave over Christmas. So, you know, It’s about time. I said to him, ‘you need to go have a break. You’ll drive us all crazy,’” Senator Wong said.
But unlike his predecessor, who infamously jetted off to Hawaii during the black summer bushfires, Mr Albanese would be travelling to a secret location in Australia.
“He’s not going to Hawaii, is he?” Today host Karl Stefanovic joked.
“I think that might be off the holiday list for a little while,” Senator Wong teased back.
While she did confirm Mr Albanese won’t be attending a luau in the near future, the Foreign Minister refused to say if he’ll attend a NATO summit later this year.
“I will leave the … Prime Minister’s diary to him,” Senator Wong told Nine.
Mr Albanese was invited to attend the summit in Lithuania in July alongside leaders from Japan, Korea and New Zealand, amid fears over China’s growing alignment with Russia.
It is just the second time the grouping, known as the AP4, has been invited to the trans-Atlantic bloc’s annual gathering.
But he’s knocked back the invitation, according to the Nine Newspapers.
When asked about the Prime Minister’s travel plans, his office referred back to Senator Wong’s comments.
Mr Albanese attended the summit for the first time last year in Madrid, Spain, shortly after his Labor’s election.
The opposition’s foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said the snub was not in Australia’s best interest.
“Prime Minister Albanese should be attending the NATO summit to demonstrate Australia’s 100 per cent commitment to the rules-based order, our democratic partners and the defence of Ukraine,” he said in a statement.
He said recent remarks from French President Emmanuel Macron, who warned Europe against following the US into a future conflict with China over Taiwan, underscored its importance.
“NATO has shown its ambition to strengthen ties with the AP4 and it is unquestionably in Australia’s interests to turn their ambition into an enduring reality,” Senator Birmingham added.
“The commentary from President Macron’s visit to China reinforces why it’s so important to seize security oriented opportunities to maintain European understanding of the strategic challenges in our region.”