CODEL HOYER MEETS WITH PRIME MINISTER RUDD

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CANBERRA 000008

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/01/2018
TAGS: AF AS CH IZ MOPS PREL SENV
SUBJECT: CODEL HOYER MEETS WITH PRIME MINISTER RUDD


Classified By: Charge Daniel A. Clune. Reason: 1.4 (C)


1. Summary: (C/NF) On January 6, a 13-member Congressional
delegation led by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD)
and Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO) had an extraordinarily
friendly and wide-ranging discussion with Prime Minister Rudd
at his Sydney residence, Kirribilli House. Topics included
the need to engage the Europeans more in the war in
Afghanistan, the Prime Minister's views on China, the
importance of the U.S.- Australia alliance, strategies for
addressing climate change and key issues in the recent
Australian election. End Summary.

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AFGHANISTAN
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2. (C/NF) Majority Leader Hoyer told the Prime Minister
that there was a consensus in the Congress on the war in
Afghanistan, but that, in his view, the Europeans were not
doing what they needed to do. The Prime Minister, who had
visited Kabul two weeks previously, said that he had
supported the war "from day one," but confided that
"Afghanistan scares the hell out of me." Across our European
allies, he explained, there was no common strategy for
winning the war or winning the peace. In the southeastern
part of the country, the Americans, Canadians, British,
Australians and the Dutch were doing the "hard stuff," while,
in the relatively peaceful Northwest, the Germans and the
French were "organizing folk dance festivals." The PM noted
that Australian Defense Minister Fitzgibbon and Defense
Secretary Gates left the Edinburgh conference with similar

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views on the need to develop a comprehensive strategy before
the April Heads of Government meeting in Bucharest, which he
might attend. He concluded by noting that the national
security establishment in Australia was very pessimistic
about the long-term prognosis for Afghanistan.

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CHINA
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3. (SBU/NF) In response to Hoyer,s inquiry regarding his
views on China, Rudd began by noting that the great foreign
policy challenge for Australia in the twenty-first century
would be "how to wrestle with this giant." He told the
delegation that "this isn't going to be easy" and he didn't
approach the problem with "rose-colored glasses."
Nonetheless, he said, he was, on balance, an optimist -- not
because he believes the regime will democratize, but rather
because he's hopeful that the effort to convince the Chinese
that it is in their national interest to become a responsible
stakeholder in the rules-based global system will be
successful.

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ALLIANCE
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4. (C/NF) Both members of the delegation and the Prime
Minister stressed the continuing strength and importance of
the U.S.- Australian alliance. Majority Leader Hoyer told
the Prime Minister that Australia was one of the U.S.,s
"best friends in the world." Representative Ray LaHood
(R-IL),who serves on the Select Intelligence Oversight Panel
of the Appropriations Committee, said the U.S. has no better
friend on intelligence issues than Australia and hoped the
relationship would continue to thrive. The Prime Minister
told the delegation that maintaining a strong Alliance with
the United States was the number one foreign policy principle
for Australia for both Labor and Coalition governments. He
Qfor Australia for both Labor and Coalition governments. He
noted that the alliance was forged in his home state,
Queensland, where General MacArthur established his
headquarters in the early days of the war during the
administration of Labor Prime Minister Curtin. He told
Representative LaHood that one of the pillars of the U.S.-
Australia relationship was the 1947 UK-U.S.- Australia
intelligence agreement, which had been a great success, and
assured him that intelligence cooperation, which greatly
benefits both countries, would continue.

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CLIMATE CHANGE
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5. (SBU/NF) Representative Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) noted
that he had not seen any nuclear power plants in the country
and asked the Prime Minister about his strategy for dealing

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with climate change and meeting Australia's energy needs.
Rudd explained that his government was committed to a cap and
trade system and would set emissions targets in six months
and have a system up and running by late 2009 or early 2010.
The government has set a target of using renewable energy for
20 percent of its energy needs by 2020. Both initiatives
will increase the price of energy, but economists estimate
that, as a result, GDP growth would decrease by less than
one-half of one percent. He stressed the importance of clean
coal technology to the global effort and the special
responsibility of Australia, the world's largest coal
exporter, to develop and share those technologies with
countries that depend on coal for a substantial part of their
energy needs, such as China and India. He would prefer to
concentrate on "getting coal right" instead of developing a
nuclear power industry. The Prime Minister told the
delegation that, in his view, one missing element in the
global effort to cope with climate change was U.S.
leadership. He hoped the U.S. would commit itself to
achievable emissions targets, and thereby prevent China and
India from citing lack of U.S. participation as an excuse for
refusing to make commitments in a post-Kyoto agreement.

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THE ELECTION
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6. (C/NF) The Prime Minister told the delegation that
Labor Party polling indicated that there had been three
important issues for voters in the November 24 election. The
first was a perception that the Coalition government had lost
touch with the voters and had enacted industrial relations
legislation that adversely affected their interests. The
second was climate change and the third was the war in Iraq,
which unlike the war in Afghanistan, never had a domestic
constituency. Despite the unpopularity of the war, he
assured the delegation, he would not "pull a Zapatero," and,
while Australia's Overwatch Battle Group would be withdrawn
by mid-August, he was leaving the forces embedded in the
command structure in place.

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COMMENT
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7. (U/NF) All members of the delegation, Republican and
Democrat, left the meeting deeply impressed with the new
Prime Minister's grasp of the issues and interpersonal
skills. Majority Leader Hoyer remarked that, although Rudd
had not begun his career as a politician, he had become an
exceptionally good one. The meeting, which was preceded by a
short photo opportunity, received widespread and favorable
coverage in the press.


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