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The Western Australian premier, Roger Cook, has apologised after calling the US vice-president, JD Vance, a “knob” at a pre-election event in Perth.
At the West Australian’s Leadership Matters event on Tuesday morning, at which Cook was the guest speaker, a journalist asked the premier to finish the sentence: “JD Vance is a …” Cook replied: “Knob.”
Cook then said: “You’ve got to have one unprofessional moment, don’t you? That was it.”
His description won him laughs and a round of applause from the audience.
Cook is vying for a third Labor term in office, with the state to go to the polls on Saturday.
Cook later said he was just having fun, telling reporters at a press conference after the function: “It was a light-hearted, non-professional moment and I didn’t mean any offence.”
“When I made the comments there was a lot of applause around the room so perhaps some people enjoyed the fun that came with it.
“Other people might have been offended and I apologise.”
WA is at the epicentre of the Aukus agreement, with ships from the US and UK arriving from 2027. The US Virginia-class submarines will be based in the state from the early 2030s.
Its base, HMAS Stirling, south of Perth, will receive up to $8bn from the federal government to support infrastructure needed for the incoming nuclear-powered submarines.
Asked by a reporter whether his comment could derail the Aukus deal, which is expected to create thousands of jobs in WA, Cook said: “I don’t think the people in the Oval Office are listening to a sub-jurisdictional [chief executive] in Western Australia”.
At Tuesday’s event, Cook was asked whether the Trump administration represents “a dark road” for the world. Cook responded that the new US president does bring uncertainty.
“Well, I certainly think he represents an uncertain one, so again let me just say in times of uncertainty you need a steady hand, experienced hand at the wheel.”
The federal treasurer, Jim Chalmers, was asked to respond to Cook’s comments, and said he would have chosen “different words”.
“It’s up to Roger Cook to choose his own words,” he told reporters in Brisbane. “I would [have] chose different words … I’m not making any judgments about the words that Roger chose.”
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The Nationals leader, David Littleproud, told ABC’s Afternoon Briefing he thought the comments were not “helpful”.
“While I don’t agree with what transpired in the Oval Office, I respect the sovereignty of the United States, I understand the frustration in spending a lot of money in Ukraine and they want to see peace.”
He added it was “not how Australia or our government would undertake a diplomatic meeting or press conference”.
State Liberal leader Libby Mettam said Cook should focus on the WA people, not international affairs.
“He’s just illustrated he’s out of his depth, and they are foolish comments from a premier who has got his priorities wrong,” Mettam told reporters on Tuesday. “There’s no bipartisanship on this … The United States is an important security and trading partner.”
Mettam said the incumbent Labor government should prioritise “fixing the broken health system, addressing law and order issues, building more homes and restoring regional services”.
Experts are tipping a comfortable win for Labor in next Saturday’s contest. The party holds 53 of 59 seats in the lower house after an unprecedented landslide victory in 2021.
Vance has faced public criticism in the US after his meeting alongside Donald Trump with Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday which displayed a combative tone towards Ukraine’s president.
The Trump administration announced on Tuesday it would pause aid to Ukraine following the controversial meeting.
