Scott Morrison is under pressure to detail what help he offered Donald Trump with his administration's investigation into the origins of a probe into Russian interference in the 2016 US election.
Mr Morrison has been dragged into an impeachment scandal unfolding in the US after the New York Times revealed Mr Trump phoned him to ask for Australia's help with the investigation aimed at discrediting the Russia probe.
The government has confirmed the phone call and added that Mr Morrison expressed Australia's "readiness" to assist in any investigation into the matter.
Labor Leader Anthony Albanese accused Mr Morrison of prioritising boosting Mr Trump's re-election chances rather than advancing Australia's interests.
"These revelations, I think, are of concern," Mr Albanese told reporters on Wednesday. "The prime minister needs to make a full statement and not say 'this is just gossip', not give one of his usual prevarications that we see from this government."
"The prime minister needs to just be straight with the Australian people about what's going on here."
Scott Morrison says it would be more surprising if Australia did not cooperate with a request from Donald Trump. Source: AAP
He stopped short of saying the prime minister should not have offered help and declined to say how he would have handled the request.
"Well, I'm not in the same position," he said.
Mr Morrison has not fronted the media since revelations of the phone call were first reported on Tuesday morning.
'Working in Australia's interests'
Foreign Minister Marise Payne on Wednesday defended Australia's support for the counter-investigation into the Mueller probe.
Ms Payne denied suggestions Australia was being caught up in a US domestic political dispute.
“I don’t see it as Australia being dragged into a US political issue," she told ABC radio.
“We’re conducting ourselves as you would expect us to do in these circumstances, we are working in Australia’s interests and we are working with our closest and most important ally."
Ms Payne would not be drawn on elaborating further when asked what support Australia will provide to comply with the request.
Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne denied Australia was being dragged into US domestic politics. Source: AAP
“In terms of material or information that would be exchanged, it is not my practice to comment on the use of intelligence, and secure material but as I said we’ll cooperate as far as we can,” she said.
Australia's former high commissioner to the UK Alexander Downer helped trigger the FBI investigation into Russian interference.
Mr Downer met with George Papadopoulos, a Trump campaign adviser, who told him about damaging Russian information about rival Hillary Clinton.
Details of the conversation were relayed to the Australian government and United States authorities.
Former Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer. Source: AAP
However, the Trump campaign aid disputes this version of events.
Foreign Minister Payne would not go into how Mr Downer could be implicated in US Attorney General William Barr's probe into the Mueller inquiry.
"I’m not going to go into the further details if we can assist appropriately we will and I don’t think Australia will be providing a running commentary on an investigation," she said.
President Trump phoned Mr Morrison in the first week of September, shortly before the Prime Minister's state visit to the United States.
"The Australian government has always been ready to assist and co-operate with efforts that help shed further light on the matters under investigation," a spokesperson for the Federal Government said.
"The PM confirmed this readiness once again in conversation with the president."
It comes as the US president faces accusations of calling Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskiy to ask for help investigating Democrat presidential hopeful Joe Biden.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald J. Trump. Source: UKRAINE PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE
Democrats have opened an impeachment inquiry into Mr Trump centring on that call.
But in the United States, Donald Trump's political allies have stood behind the President over his conversation with Scott Morrison.
"It's clear to me that liberals are starting an attack against Barr to shut him down from going to Italy, Australia, and the UK to find out if there was something wrong regarding opening up the investigation into the Trump campaign to begin with," Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said.
Mr Downer has previously confirmed his meeting with Mr Papadopoulos.
"I had a conversation with this guy and I passed on one element of the conversation to the Americans. There's just nothing more to it," Mr Downer told ABC Radio on Tuesday.
"I know nothing about conversations about that Scott Morrison has had with the Americans, including President Trump, about this."
Greens leader Richard Di Natale said Mr Morrison sacrificed Mr Downer's reputation to indulge the US president's bizarre conspiracy theory.
"It's clear that Scott Morrison's thrown Alexander under the bus, there's no question about that," he told reporters in Melbourne on Tuesday.
In a letter dated May 28, Australia's ambassador to Washington Joe Hockey wrote to US Attorney-General William Barr expressing Australia's support for an investigation into the FBI's probe into Russia.
"The Australian government will use its best endeavours to support your efforts in this matter," he said.
With AAP
