The prime minister is embarking on one of his most important diplomatic endeavours as he lands in the US.
Anthony Albanese arrived in New York City on Sunday morning, Australian time, hand-in-hand with fiancee Jodie Haydon, before a long-awaited United Nations General Assembly meeting.
The prime minister and his counterparts from the UK, Canada and France are set to officially recognise the state of Palestine, in a major departure from Australia’s historic alignment to US foreign policy.
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“In the world, Australia plays an important role,” he told reporters on the tarmac of John F Kennedy International Airport in New York.
“What we want to see is increased peace and security and stability around the world.
“We are a country that play a positive role in our region, in the Pacific, as well as of course ... our traditional allies such as our Five-Eyes partners including the United States and the United Kingdom.”
Albanese hopes to secure his first face-to-face meeting with US President Donald Trump, though talks have not yet been scheduled.
Some speculated the two leaders could hold discussions on the weekend before the UN event, but this was dispelled when the president announced he would attend the funeral of right-wing American commentator Charlie Kirk on Sunday in Arizona.
The prime minister was due to meet with the Republican in June during the G7 summit, but was left wanting when Trump departed the event early to intervene in escalating Middle East violence.
In the months since, a bilateral meeting has arguably become a lesser priority for Albanese.
The US in August spared Australian goods from a tariff hike, leaving its products at the baseline 10 per cent — which is the lowest rate levied against any American trading partner.
But that does not mean Australia is out of US sights.
A group of Republicans and allies to Trump have warned against the recognition of Palestine in an open letter addressed to Albanese, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
“Proceeding with recognition will put your country at odds with long-standing US policy and interests and may invite punitive measures in response,” the statement said.
The group, which includes former Republican presidential nominee Ted Cruz, claims the policy would undermine prospects for peace and reward terrorism.
Their letter comes days after a UN inquiry branded Israel’s offensive in Gaza as an act of genocide against Palestinians.
Australia has condemned the denial of aid and killing of civilians in the territory.
Since October 2023, Israel’s military campaign and throttling of aid has killed 65,000 Palestinians and left 641,000 people at risk of catastrophic levels of starvation, local health ministry and UN sources have found.
Israel’s recent offensive began after designated terror group Hamas killed 1,200 civilians and took about 250 more hostage.
