Australia’s new Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, has taken a congratulatory call from US President Barack Obama today during which she pledged ongoing support for the war in Afghanistan.
Speaking at the start of her first full day as the nation’s leader, Ms Gillard said she had ensured Mr Obama that she was committed to continuing the strong relationship between the two countries.
‘‘We are close as nations, we are in an enduring strategic alliance, we are close as peoples,’’ she told reporters at her first press conference in Parliament’s prime ministerial courtyard.
‘‘We have fought together around the world and we continue to fight together in Afghanistan.
‘‘I assured President Obama we’ll continue the approach taken to date by the Australian Government. I fully support the current deployment and I indicated to President Obama that he should expect the Australian efforts in Afghanistan continuing.’’
Ms Gillard apologised for not attending the planned G20 meeting in Toronto. Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan departs for the meeting today.
She said Mr Obama expressed enthusiasm to visit Australia during their conversation, however no date had been set for that trip.
Earlier this month he was forced to postpone a trip to Australia and Indonesia for a second time due to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster.
‘‘He indicated that he would very much like to travel to Australia,’’ she said.
‘‘I would imagine a visit by President Obama would be greeted with a great deal of enthusiasm by Australians.’’
The new Prime Minister will lead her first Cabinet meeting this morning, with ministers still in the roles they held under former prime minister Kevin Rudd.
Ms Gillard also met with Wayne Swan and Resources Minister Martin Ferguson to discuss the government’s strategy with the mining industry after her appeal yesterday for negotiations on the contentious super profits tax.
Following her dramatic ascension yesterday, Ms Gillard today is also expected to speak to the leaders of Indonesia, Malaysia, Canada and Britain, after yesterday speaking to New Zealand Prime Minister John Key.
While Ms Gillard had not yet decided on the make-up of her cabinet, she vowed to run her Government as a team, as opposed to to the centralised decision-making of her predecessor Kevin Rudd.
She is yet to have discussions with Mr Rudd about his future role in the government.
‘‘I trust ministers to get on with the job in their portfolio,’’ she said, adding that she would work with them ‘‘side by side’’ on strategic questions.
‘‘I believe that you get the best from people if you have them work as a team.’’
Ms Gillard admitted the swiftness of yesterday’s events had left little time to process the enormity of it.
Celebrations were muted, with Ms Gillard participating in a series of media interviews in Parliament House late into last night, ‘‘ending with an interview with a very famous redhead, Kerry O’Brien’’.
‘‘I then went home and ate some takeaway food with my partner Tim [Mathieson] and a few friends who were in Canberra,’’ she said.
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