The Greens have ramped up their rhetoric against the alliance with the United States in the wake of Donald Trump's victory, suggesting the strategic arrangement has become a "security threat to Australia".
Party leader Richard Di Natale says that President-elect Trump's high-profile views on domestic and international affairs represent "an ally's worst nightmare" and highlight a need for Australia to redefine the relationship with the US and operate more independently.
More National News Videos
- Video duration
- 01:26
Di Natale: Trump is a 'security threat' ...
Di Natale: Trump is a 'security threat' to Australia
The Greens leader has left nothing to the imagination in his opinion of Donald Trump and has some advice for the PM when it comes to the Australia-US alliance.
Up Next
Why take the International Baccalaureate?
- Video duration
- 01:24
- Video duration
- 01:24
Why take the International Baccalaureate?
Why take the International Baccalaureate?
The International Baccalaureate is positioning itself as a challenging alternative to the Australian school leaving certificates.
Up Next
The Gonski sell
- Video duration
- 01:59
- Video duration
- 01:59
The Gonski sell
The Gonski sell
Malcolm Turnbull and his education minister are on a schools funding publicity campaign, trying to sell their new plan, but not everyone is buying it.
Up Next
Cassandra Sainsbury arrested after US tip-off
- Video duration
- 00:51
- Video duration
- 00:51
Cassandra Sainsbury arrested after US ...
Cassandra Sainsbury arrested after US tip-off
US Drug Enforcement Agency reportedly tipped off Colombian authorities about an Australian woman potentially smuggling drugs out of the country.
Up Next
Ibis trade protein for carbs
- Video duration
- 01:51
- Video duration
- 01:51
Ibis trade protein for carbs
Ibis trade protein for carbs
A study from University of Sydney doctoral candidate Sean Coogan has shown that the white ibis' preference for carbs in Sydney is likely the result of adaptation to city life.
Up Next
China delegates 'disgusting' behaviour at Perth forum
- Video duration
- 01:30
- Video duration
- 01:30
China delegates 'disgusting' behaviour at ...
China delegates 'disgusting' behaviour at Perth forum
Meeting abandoned, introductions interrupted and Taiwan delegates asked to leave a Kimberley Process meeting attended by Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.
Up Next
Landry suspicious of Bell's relationship with Molan
- Video duration
- 00:42
- Video duration
- 00:42
Landry suspicious of Bell's relationship ...
Landry suspicious of Bell's relationship with Molan
Text messages read in court have revealed Kelly Landry "suspected something was going on" between her estranged husband Anthony Bell and NRL Footy Show host Erin Molan.
Up Next
Candle causes Springvale unit fire
- Video duration
- 01:35
- Video duration
- 01:35
Candle causes Springvale unit fire
Candle causes Springvale unit fire
Fire burns down a unit in Melbourne's south-east after a mother fell asleep while using a tea light candle while she waited for a power company to turn on the electricity.
Di Natale: Trump is a 'security threat' to Australia
The Greens leader has left nothing to the imagination in his opinion of Donald Trump and has some advice for the PM when it comes to the Australia-US alliance.
"In light of the threats presented by Trump's election, the Greens are intensifying our calls to undertake a fundamental reassessment of the alliance. This is something we have been talking about for a long time," Senator Di Natale said in a speech to the Australian Institute of International Affairs national conference.
The Greens leader said Mr Trump's views on climate change, refugees, defence spending, nuclear proliferation, trade and authoritarian governments make his country a "dangerous ally".
Related Content
"We need to recognise that the alliance has served us well; it's served us poorly at times, but there are grave concerns now that the alliance with the US represents a security threat to Australia," he said in response to a question about the secretive joint military facility at Pine Gap.
All US military bases on Australia - including the contingent of up to 2500 Marines in Darwin - should be put on the negotiating table, Senator Di Natale argued, to assess whether they are in Australia's national interest.
The bilateral relationship has been at the core of Australian foreign policy and defence strategy since World War II, although it has frequently been a point of contention. It has regularly divided the left and right factions of the Labor Party.
Since last year, Mr Trump has questioned whether America's allies are pulling their weight, advocated for Japan and South Korea's acquisition of nuclear weapons and proposed a wall on the US-Mexico border and a ban on Muslims entering the US.
The Greens' intervention coincides with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's visit to Lima, Peru for the APEC summit, taking in his last one-on-one meeting with President Barack Obama.
On Monday afternoon, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said Labor could not be trusted on national security partly because the party "declares its bipartisan support for the US alliance but then it crab walks away" to tap into anti-American sentiment from the left.
"Combine the lack of judgment with his weakness, the Leader of the Opposition [Bill Shorten] is a threat to Australia's national security," she said.
In an opinion piece for Fairfax Media last week, Labor's foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong said "we should not be naive" about the risks of a Trump administration, calling for a reassessment of the alliance.
In her speech to the AIIA conference on Monday, Senator Wong said the relationship "remains as central to Australia's security today as it was in John Curtin's time".
"It acts as a deterrent to potential aggressors, provides our defence forces with leading-edge technologies and opportunities for cooperation, training and intelligence sharing, and gives Australia an ability to influence the world's leading great power," she said.
"Australia must support the alliance, including through military, security and strategic contributions, while maintaining its independence as a middle power with interests of its own."
According to the Lowy Institute, 71 per cent of Australians believe the alliance is important. In 2015, however, 45 per cent said Australia should distance itself from the US if Mr Trump was elected.
In his speech on Monday, Senator Di Natale also addressed the far-reaching ramifications of climate change, asserting that "the national security, refugee and diplomatic challenges that Trump was elected to solve will amplify a hundred-fold if he blindly marches towards a four-degree temperature rise".
"Not only is global warming of profound concern in and of itself, but it acts as a threat multiplier, exacerbating drought, famine, displacement, food and water scarcity, refugees and disease," he said.
The President-elect has promised to wipe out government climate change initiatives, tear up the Paris agreement and once said global warming was a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese "to make US manufacturing non-competitive".