“I, Anthony Norman Albanese do solemnly and sincerely affirm and declare that I will well and truly serve the Commonwealth of Australia, her land, and her people in the office of prime minister.” According to the ABC, this is what Albanese said today that’s allowed him to take up the mantle of being Australia’s next leader.
But Albanese wasn’t the only minister that’s gotten sworn in. Jim Chalmers has become our next Treasurer, while Katy Gallagher has become our next Finance Minister. Moreover, Penny Wong was sworn in as our next Minister for Foreign Affairs. She’s the first-ever Minister for Foreign Affairs that was born outside of Australia. Wong was born in Malaysia and then grew up over here.
The rest of the ministry doesn’t need to fret, as they’re getting sworn in next Wednesday. “We just had an informal meeting of this group,” noted Albanese. He also said, “We will have a meeting of the ministry next Wednesday, along with meetings of the appropriate cabinet committees.”
So, what’s next for Albanese? Well, today, he’ll be flying out to Japan with Wong for top-level talks with the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue. Albanese will specifically be meeting with the leaders of America, India, and Japan. Wong said that Australia will be discussing increasing their foreign aid spending, doing more to prevent the climate crisis, and improving diplomatic ties. The Financial Review expressed that these actions would be taken in order to weaken China’s influence on the world stage.
Wong noted, “Travelling to the Quad meeting in week one signifies how important we believe this partnership is for our security.” She additionally stated, “Our Quad partners are counting on us to play our part to help make our region more stable, prosperous, and secure.” It’s only a matter of time before the Labor party finds out how successful these first meetings turn out to be.
Affirmation Update
While you’re still here, the Daily Mail noticed something pretty interesting about how Albanese was sworn in. This man didn’t swear on either God or the Queen, meaning that he took a civil affirmation instead of a religious pledge. Previously, Albanese has described himself as a non-practicing Catholic.
The differences between Albanese’s affirmation and Scott Morrison’s pledge are rather stark when placed next to each other. Morrison said when he was being sworn in, “I’ll be faithful and be true allegiance to her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, so help me God.”
It’s also worth noting that Wong and Chalmers both made religious pledges during Albanese’s ceremony. If you have 16 minutes to kill, then the ABC has published Labor’s swearing-in shebang for your enjoyment.