Well, that went well! After all the predictions of disaster and doom, the much-anticipated White House meeting between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese went off without a major hitch.

This, naturally, was bad news for those people in politics or in the media willing Albanese to fail, or hoping for one of the spectacular Oval Office blow-ups we have become accustomed to this year.

As our US correspondent Michael Koziol reported this week, the government was delighted by the meeting after Trump instructed the Pentagon to move “full steam ahead” with the AUKUS defence pact , praised the nation as an “amazing ally” and embraced Albanese as a friend.

The share prices of Australian critical minerals companies also surged after the announcement of major joint i

See Full Page