BARACK Obama's trip to Australia is going ahead but his 24-hour visit will be contained to Canberra.
The US President will address Federal Parliament on March 26 after flying from Bali the day before and dining with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd at the Lodge.
Mr Obama's shortened itinerary - which allows him to spend more time in Indonesia - will include a meeting with Governor-General Quentin Bryce and a range of events to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Australia-US alliance.
Mr Obama was forced to ditch his original plans for a family trip to Australia due to his bid to clinch a historic revamp of America's healthcare system.
Brief details were issued today by White House staff who praised the Australia-US alliance as rock solid and said Mr Obama was looking forward to renewing his friendship with Mr Rudd.
“In many ways, it's a model alliance for the United States,” the deputy national security advisor for strategic communications, Ben Rhodes, told media in a telephone briefing.
“We have very robust co-operation with the Australians on security issues, economic issues, environmental issues. They are obviously a close partner of [ours] in Afghanistan where they've been steadfast in their support.”
The NSC's senior director of Asian Affairs, Jeff Bader, added that Australia and Indonesia – where the President will spend three days before arriving in Canberra – were key participants in a shifting global governance network that was drawing more mid-ranking nations into decision-making.
“In that context there are a number of important middle powers, countries like Australia and Indonesia, who are significant players on these kinds of decisions [such as involving climate change] ...
“Australia has for quite some time punched above its weight. Indonesia was held back for years by poverty, by governance issues, by corruption and ... now in the last few years is emerging and beginning to perform in the fashion that a power of that rank deserves.”
In Parliament, Mr Obama was expected to “speak to the depth of our alliance with Australia ... and discuss several areas where we can deepen our partnership” - on security, economic and environmental matters.
The President expects to leave Washington on Sunday provided his last-ditch push for his controversial healthcare reform does not infringe further - and will stop at Guam en route to Jakarta.
The advisers said the US and Indonesia expected to sign a “comprehensive partnership” covering political security, economic and people issues.
The President would meet a range of political, civil and security personnel. There has been speculation in Washington that the US, as part of the agreement, will lift its ban on working with Kopassus, the Indonesian military unit that was accused of human rights abuses during in East Timor in the late 1990s. Australia resumed links in 2005.
In Bali, Mr Obama will host an event for south-east Asian civil rights groups to celebrate democracy in the region, before heading to Australia late on March 25.
Advisers declined to predict outcomes from the President's Australian visit, but re-iterated trade opportunities as a key focus of discussions with Mr Rudd, pointing out that talks were already underway in Melbourne regarding the expansion of the Trans Pacific Partnership to include the US and Australia, among others.
They also praised Mr Rudd for his leadership on climate issues and noted his "deep knowledge" of China.
After meeting the Governor-General, the President would hold more formal bilateral discussions with Mr Rudd, which would be followed by a joint media conference.
Email a friend
Favourites
Del.icio.us
Facebook
Digg
StumbleUpon
MySpace
Reddit
Newsvine
LinkedIn
Kwoff
Twitter