PM Confirms Invitation to Gaza Peace Board, Decision Pending

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the proposal will be considered through proper government processes.

U.S. President Donald Trump greets Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the White House on Oct. 20, 2025. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed Australia received an invitation to join a new U.S.-led international body aimed at advancing a ceasefire in Gaza, but said the government has yet to decide whether it will participate.

The invitation relates to a proposed “Board of Peace” initiative announced by President Donald Trump as part of the second phase of a U.S.-backed ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

Albanese said the invitation arrived overnight and would be assessed through formal government processes.

“I haven’t looked in detail yet … Something has come in, my understanding is overnight. And I’ll have a look at that when I’m in the office this morning. But I’m not going to respond to something that I haven’t had the opportunity to give proper consideration to,” he told ABC Radio.

Invitation Under Review

Trump announced the formation of the Gaza “Board of Peace” on Jan. 15, describing it as a mechanism to oversee governance and reconstruction arrangements in Gaza following the ceasefire.

“It is my Great Honor to announce that THE BOARD OF PEACE has been formed,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

Under the proposal, the board—chaired by Trump—would supervise a Palestinian technocratic committee responsible for administering the Gaza Strip during a transition period as the Israel-Hamas ceasefire entered its second phase.

A joint statement from mediators from Egypt, Qatar and Turkey said the committee would be headed by Ali Abdel Hamid Shaath, a former Palestinian Authority deputy minister.

Several world leaders received formal letters inviting them to join what diplomats described as a U.S.-led initiative initially focused on Gaza, with ambitions to expand its scope to other conflicts.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to take a role on the Board, along with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, billionaire and U.S. businessman Marc Rowan, president of the World Bank Group Ajay Banga, and U.S. national security adviser Robert Gabriel.

Domestic Political Divide

The proposal has drawn mixed reactions within Australia’s political landscape.

Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Michaelia Cash said the Labor government should approach the invitation cautiously.

“The Coalition looks forward to understanding more about the objectives, structure, membership and implications of this proposal before Australia commits to any engagement,” she said, as reported by The Guardian.

“It is important for all nations to work together to rebuild Gaza and ensure that it is no longer under the control of the Hamas terrorists.”

Meanwhile, Greens defence spokesperson David Shoebridge criticised the initiative, accusing the Trump administration of exploiting the conflict.

“Trump is trying to sell Palestinian sovereignty for $1 billion per seat while Palestinians are still being bombed and starved under the so-called ‘ceasefire,’” he wrote on social media, alluding to a supposed funding contribution request from Trump for each country.

“This isn’t diplomacy, it’s profiteering off genocide. Australia better not touch this with a 10-foot pole,” he said.