3 days Ago By Andrew Brown
Donald Trump's comeback election victory is an indication voters want to see governments tackle cost-of-living issues, the health minister says. Issues surrounding the economy and high inflation led Mr Trump back to the White House at the US election, becoming the first president in more than 130 years to win non-consecutive terms in office. With Australia's federal election due to be held by May, Mark Butler says while there are differences in political systems, there are takeaways before voters head to the polls.
"If you do take a lesson from the US election last week, it is the same lesson we take from other elections we've seen over the last 12 or 24 months, and that is voters want to see their governments focused overwhelmingly on cost of living," he told Sky News on Sunday. "Households (are) expressing a very clear view that they want their governments focused on them, they want their governments doing everything they responsibly can to help them through this cost-of-living crisis." The incoming president has been invited to the White House to meet with Joe Biden on Wednesday, US time, with the incumbent promising a peaceful transition of power.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will meet with the outgoing US president at the G20 and APEC summits in South America later in the week. Mr Butler says the relationship between Australia and the US will endure, regardless of the who is in the White House. However, he said Australia's economy might be impacted by Mr Trump's plans to impose tariffs.
While Australian goods coming to the US may not be affected, tariffs applied to products from other countries could have flow-on effects. "The greater concern that we have about any impact of that sort of change on Australia's economic interests is a more indirect impact about what it might do to global growth, to slow global growth even further, potentially to lift inflationary pressures in the global economy," Mr Butler said. "That would have more a knock-on effect on Australia, rather than a direct change to the US-Australia trading arrangements.
" Opposition housing spokesman Michael Sukkar says the US election result has sent a clear message to the government. "If we look at the electorate in the United States and the cost-of-living issues that they were dealing with, it's pretty clear that Australians are dealing with it at a much worse level," he told Sky News. "It sends a very strong message to this government.
This government has been very distracted." While past comments from the prime minister that were critical of Mr Trump emerged following the US election, Mr Sukkar said he hoped the relationship between the two countries would strengthen. "The United States and Australia alliance transcends leaders, it transcends political parties," he said.
"We wish the prime minister best and hope that he can do a little bit better than he's done in the past.".
