News live: PM says Australia-US relationship has ‘never been stronger’ as US defence secretary accuses China of ‘bullying’

PM says Australia-US relationship has ‘never been stronger’

Daniel Hurst

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has declared that the relationship between Australia and the US “has never been stronger”, and flagged plans to visit the US “shortly”.

Albanese spoke briefly to reporters ahead of a lunch in Brisbane with the visiting US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, and the defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, along with the Australian defence minister, Richard Marles, and the foreign…