WORLD PM rides with Trump
AS looters went on a spree and violent protesters lobbed flares into cars, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull went on a “very safe” trip through Hamburg with United States President Donald Trump.
Mr Turnbull flew to Paris last night after two days meeting with world leaders at the G20 summit.
He was set to meet French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss the $50 billion Future Submarines project, as well as trade and terror.
He told reporters in Germany that Mr Trump invited him for a ride in his “special car”. The Beast is a gleaming black Cadillac built to resist chemical warfare, bullets and the press.
It reportedly carries bottles of the President’s blood, a tear gas cannon and pump-action shotguns.
“It was very kind of him. We went from a reception to the concert theatre,” Mr Turnbull said.
“He and (Mr Trump’s wife) Melania invited Lucy and I to ride with him in the car and it was an opportunity to have a good private discussion about a number of issues.
“President Trump and I get on very well,” he said, adding that they had a number of “mutual friends”.
Tens of thousands of activists held protests throughout the G20, many of them marred by violence.
Thousands of riot police could not bring the protests under control and dozens of police were injured. Cars were set on fire and a hard core of protesters targeted moving vehicles.
Sections of the city, including the area where Mr Turnbull was staying, were forced into lockdown.
The G20 is primarily an economic forum, but this year talks focused more on the North Korean threat and terror. Australia led the charge in discussions about stopping terrorists spreading propaganda online.
Mr Turnbull said he showed drawings of his proposed Snowy Hydro 2.0 to leaders on his iPad.
Leaders debated the possibility of further sanctions on North Korea after the rogue state fired an intercontinental ballistic missile. Mr Turnbull said he discussed it with Chinese President Xi Jinping and the topic was likely to come up in a meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in.