Australia’s power struggle with China in the Pacific

In a busy week for the prime minister, Anthony Albanese will meet with the leaders of Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Tonga and India. On Monday he signed a new defence alliance with Fiji, advancing the government’s strategy to limit China’s influence in the Pacific. Later this week Albanese will also host the leaders of PNG and Tonga at the State of Origin in Brisbane. Meanwhile, back home, Albanese’s team are dealing with criticism of the PM for comments he made about Kylie Minogue on a popular podcast. Nour Haydar speaks to the political editor, Tom McIlroy, about the PM’s strategy to bolster Australia’s ties in the region, what he hopes to achieve with rugby diplomacy and whether comments made on a podcast could overshadow international relations