'Terrific relationship': Trump and Turnbull meet on trade, military
US President Donald Trump has dismissed the idea of embracing Australia’s tough gun laws to stop the horrific mass shootings in American schools, preferring “strong” measures to give teachers the power to carry guns
In a policy contrast with Malcolm Turnbull, Mr Trump used a press conference with the Australian Prime Minister in the White House to advocate the “offensive capability” to take down mass shooters on school grounds.
The comments came after an American journalist asked Mr Turnbull and Mr Trump about Australia's gun laws, amid heightened US interest in the ban on automatic and semi-automatic weapons after the 1996 Port Arthur massacre.
Mr Turnbull praised his predecessor John Howard for bringing in the 1996 laws but diplomatically avoided a difference of opinion with the President.
“We are very satisfied with our laws, we maintain them, they’re well known, but we certainly don’t presume to provide policy or political advice on that matter here,” Mr Turnbull said.
“You have an amendment to your constitution which deals with gun ownership, you have a very different history.
“We’ll focus on our own political arguments and debates and wish you wise deliberation in your own.”
Malcolm Turnbull diplomatically avoided offering his opinion on US gun reforms during a joint press conference with Donald Trump.
Photo: APMr Trump said Australia and the US were “very different countries with very different sets of problems".
“But I think we’re well on the way toward solving that terrible problem that happens far too often in the United States," he said.
Mr Trump lent more weight to the idea of giving teachers the right to carry weapons, saying the “gun free zones” in American schools only attracted those who wanted to launch attacks.
“You’re not going to solve it with gun-free spaces,” he said of the problem.
Mr Trump talked of stronger background checks on gun buyers, a ban on bump stocks that increase firing rates as well as the right for staff members to carry guns in schools.
He cited the Valentine's Day shootings in Florida, where an armed guard avoided going in to protect students during the crucial opening minutes of the attack, to argue that teachers should have weapons because they cared more about the students.
The joint press conference came after Mr Trump welcomed Malcolm Turnbull and his wife Lucy to the White House and said he wants to come to Australia to cement the country’s “terrific relationship”.
President Donald Trump walked through the White House grounds with Malcolm Turnbull after an honour guard welcome.
Photo: Alex Ellinghausen“We will be there,” he said when asked if he would like to visit Australia.
Mr Trump gave Mr Turnbull a ceremonial welcome to the White House with an honour guard for the Prime Minister and his wife, Lucy. They then walked along a colonnade with the first lady, Melania.
The two leaders then spoke in the Oval Office before having a working lunch with top advisers covering action on trade and military deals.
Earlier, Mr Turnbull met with US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin backed tough new US sanctions against North Korea.
The Trump administration announced its biggest sanctions ever on Friday, aimed at punishing companies that do business with the rogue regime of Kim Jong-un. It came after North Korea refused to meet Vice President Mike Pence on the sidelines of the Winter Olympics in South Korea.
In a press briefing at the White House, Mr Mnuchin said Mr Turnbull was “very supportive” of the new actions after they discussed the issue at their meeting ahead of the formal announcement.
Australia already imposes sanctions on North Korea under the auspices of the United Nations but it may have to consider whether to join the latest US actions.
Mr Mnuchin, who has known Mr Turnbull for years because they were both partners at Goldman Sachs, said he had "a very, very productive discussion" with Mr Turnbull.
“We had a very productive discussion on North Korea, he’s very supportive and we’ve encouraged him to work with us on sanctions,” Mr Mnuchin said.
As he sat with Mr Turnbull in the Oval Office, Mr Trump said: “The relationship we have with Australia is a terrific relationship and probably stronger now than ever before."
“We’re working on trade deals, we’re working on military and protection and all of the things that you would think we would be discussing today.
“We have a big meeting set up in a little while and we have a luncheon set up also and we have all of our representatives surrounding us and a lot of good things will come out of this visit.
“So Mr Prime Minister, we very much appreciate you being here.”
Mr Turnbull emphasised the “hundred years of mateship” between Australia and the US since soldiers from both countries fought together on the western front in France in 1918.
“It’s a hundred years of mateship we’re celebrating,” he said.
“We have been fighting side by side in freedom’s cause ever since. A hundred years of mateship and a hundred more to come.”
David Crowe is the chief political correspondent for the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. He is a former political correspondent at The Australian Financial Review and The Australian.
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