Scott Morrison congratulates Biden on US win while Malcolm Turnbull declares 'what a relief'
Australia’s current and former prime minister respond to the US election result declared early Sunday morning
The Australian prime minister, Scott Morrison, has congratulated Joe Biden on his victory in the US presidential election, while his predecessor, Malcolm Turnbull, succinctly said “what a relief”.
Morrison on Sunday morning local time said he looked forward to coordinating with the new Biden administration on Covid-19 and on technologies to reduce “global” emissions.
Donald Trump, who was on the golf course when the news broke that he was to be a one-term president, has not yet conceded defeat and is continuing to make unsubstantiated claims casting doubt over the legitimacy of the process.
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But world leaders, including Morrison, have lined up to congratulate the president-elect and his running mate, Kamala Harris.
The Australian prime minister said: “Today, the world faces many challenges, including managing the Covid-19 pandemic, on both a health and economic front, ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific region, and peace and stability.”
“American leadership is indispensable to meeting these challenges and upholding the rules, norms and standards of our international community,” Morrison said in a statement.
“We also look forward to working with president-elect Biden and his administration to continue to fight the Covid-19 global pandemic and recession, to develop a vaccine, drive a global economic recovery, and develop new technologies to reduce global emissions as we practically confront the challenge of climate change.
“We welcome the president-elect’s commitment to multilateral institutions and strengthening democracies.”
Congratulations to @joebiden and @kamalaharris - Australia wishes you every success in office. The Australia-US Alliance is deep and enduring, and built on shared values. I look forward to working with you closely as we face the world’s many challenges together.
— Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) November 7, 2020
With Biden’s victory projected, Turnbull, the former Australian prime minister, kept his reaction on Twitter succinct.
Congratulations Joe Biden and Kamala Harris! What a relief that you won. 🙏🙏🙏
— Malcolm Turnbull (@TurnbullMalcolm) November 7, 2020
He later told ABC TV that Biden’s win would mean a return to “normal transmission” with the US administration no longer making decisions by “wild tweets” in the early hours of the morning.
Biden has pledged that America will rejoin the Paris agreement and will reach net zero emissions by 2050. The incoming president is also signalling he will take steps to reinvigorate global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions – a development that is expected to ratchet up diplomatic pressure on Australia.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/nov/08/scott-morrison-congratulates-biden-on-us-win-while-malcolm-turnbull-declares-what-a-relief