Sovereignty or Subservience? Malcolm Turnbull’s Wake Up Call for Australia

Australia has always had a complicated relationship with power. We punch above our weight, but we’ve long relied on bigger players on the other side of the world to throw the heaviest punches. Chief among them, of course, has been the US. For generations, we’ve leaned into the alliance - militarily, diplomatically, even emotionally. Because we believed the US would always be there when it counted. But that belief is now dangerously outdated.

Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has just written a searing and clear-eyed article in Foreign Policy that should be required reading for every Australian - especially our policymakers, defence planners and politicians. The title says it all: “America’s Allies Must Save Themselves.” Turnbull pulls no punches in his assessment of Donald Trump’s second presidency and what it means for the world order, and Australia.

Turnbull isn’t an outsider or angry activist. He’s a former Prime Minister - wealthy, influential and from the establishment. As PM, he negotiated directly with Trump. He helped salvage the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) after Trump tore it up. And now he’s telling a truth that our government and it’s officials won’t say out loud: The US is no longer the reliable partner we once believed it to be. And it may never be again!

“Australia has become more dependent on the United States even as the United States has become less dependable.”

That’s not a critique of Donald Trump. It’s a critique of us.

AUKUS: Dependency Dressed as Sovereignty

Nowhere is this more obvious than in AUKUS. At face value, the trilateral agreement between Australia, the UK, and the US is about bolstering our national security with nuclear-powered submarines. But we should have known better, because it was made up in secret by Scott Morrison!

Turnbull lays bare the dangerous trade-off. He quotes France’s foreign minister who said: “Australia has sacrificed sovereignty for the sake of security. It is likely to lose both.”

A less nuanced assessment I saw on social media was “AUKUS will FUKUS”.

And then there’s climate change which is the defining security threat of our time. Trump is using that as a political wrecking ball. By turning his back on the Paris Agreement and overtly undermining climate science and action, he’s leaving countries like Australia and billions of people across the world more exposed.

A Call for Sovereign Autonomy

What Turnbull is advocating, and what we should be demanding from our government, is sovereign autonomy. Not isolationism. Not rejection of alliances. But the ability to stand on our own two feet and work with others on our own terms.

That means investing in Australian defence industry, not just US-made weapons with secret kill-switches that can be applied from Washington. It means forging deeper security and climate partnerships with countries like Japan, South Korea, India, Indonesia, and the EU. And it means preparing for the real possibility that the next conflict in our region - over Taiwan or in the South China Sea - might not see US troops arrive at all.

Trade, Trust, and Trump’s Tailspin

Turnbull is just as blunt about trade. Trump’s MAGA reindustrialisation agenda is not about “fair trade” but dominance through tariffs and deals for his oligarch mates. Supposed allies like Australia are collateral damage - even though we run a huge trade surplus in America’s favour.

Australia’s spent years negotiating trade deals with other parts of the world. Now is the time to double down on those regional and multilateral efforts and expand them beyond trade - without the US at the centre. Leadership doesn’t have to come from Washington.

A Final Warning

Turnbull ends his essay with a stark but necessary truth:

“If the light on the hill shines only for Americans, Trump will have ushered in a darker world for everybody else.”

He’s right. But that’s not the end of the story.

Australian can choose another path. We can invest in our own capabilities, deepen our ties with neighbours and like-minded countries. We can pursue defence, climate leadership, diplomacy, and trade partnerships that reflect our interests and values - not someone else’s tantrums. We can stop waiting for the US to rescue us - and start preparing to help rescue the world from the US.

Add your thoughts in the comments section below, and please share this post if you agree Australia needs to grow up.