Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has emerged from his first post-election conversation with Donald Trump to reassure Australians that the rogue Republican's record as an entrepreneur means he will be more interested in closing deals than hardline ideology.
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The assertion came as Canberra scrambles to reconfigure for the President-elect's still unknown and unpredictable administration.
After a telephone discussion between Mr Turnbull and Mr Trump on Thursday morning – which covered the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the continued presence of the US in the Asia-Pacific region and the fight against ISIS – Mr Turnbull attempted to brush off the billionaire property tycoon's many extreme pre-election statements on abandoning trade and defence treaty obligations, as campaign hyperbole.
"He is a businessman, a deal maker, and he will, I have no doubt, view the world in a very practical and pragmatic way," he said.
But despite Mr Turnbull's attempts to minimise what foreign and strategic policy experts fear could be a major global realignment, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten used a statement to Parliament to strike a different tone.
He declined to repeat his description of Mr Trump as "barking mad", but said the bilateral relationship was always bigger than individuals, and thus could withstand criticism of the President-elect's recent behaviour.
"It is never acceptable to mock people for their disability," he said, referring to one of the former Republican candidate's more notorious incidents.
"It is never acceptable to ridicule prisoners of war for their service. When this Parliament sees women being disrespected, we have an obligation to speak up. When this Parliament sees people being discriminated against because of the colour of their skin or their religion, we have an obligation to speak up.
"The US alliance does not mean trading away our shared values – it means standing up for them."
Mr Turnbull's assurance – one of several such contributions from him and Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop in the 36 hours after the shock result – came as the Australian government ratified the Paris climate accord with representatives of 200 countries at a Marrakesh summit.
It commits countries to ensuring global temperature rises do not rise more than 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels.
Mr Trump, who will take over as president on January 20, is a known climate change sceptic and isolationist.
Mr Turnbull's was one of numerous calls coming in from world leaders congratulating Mr Trump after his shock victory over the more fancied Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton.
The morning after the US election, shocked Democratic supporters flooded the streets in several cities, aggrieved that Hillary Clinton had been defeated, even though she secured more of the popular vote in counting so far, according to unofficial results tallied by the Associated Press.
Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg, who appeared with Mr Turnbull to announce the climate ratification, conceded he had been wrong to call Mr Trump a "dropkick" during the presidential campaign.
"In the lead-up to the vote, I think the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister hit the right note," he said. "I concede I probably should have followed their lead."
In their telephone discussion, Mr Trump and Mr Turnbull agreed to a face-to-face meeting next year and emphasised the close historical ties between Australia and the US, noting a 98-year history of joint military operations.
They also agreed to continue to build on the alliance after Mr Trump takes office.
"It was a very warm discussion," Mr Turnbull said. "I suppose us both being businessmen who found our way into politics somewhat later in life, we come to the problems of our own nations and indeed world problems with a pragmatic approach."
Security and trade in the Asia-Pacific region was also discussed. The pair agreed that a continued US presence in the region was important to international security, and spoke about the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement.
The TPP deal is probably dead, despite support from President Barack Obama and the Australian government.
"Most importantly, we absolutely agreed on the vital importance of our strong alliance," Mr Turnbull said.
"Mr Trump recognises the solidarity that Australia has shown the United States and the United States has shown Australia over 98 years, during which we have fought side-by-side with the United States in every major conflict."
Mr Turnbull and Mr Trump noted the shared role of Australia and the US in the fight against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, and Mr Trump said he would welcome more talks about the battle against international terrorism and other issues in the relationship.
Pauline Hanson's One Nation party has taken great encouragement from the Trump victory, predicting a similar mood will propel it into government before long.
In Queensland, where the next election is due to be held in early 2018, but is expected in the second half of next year, both major parties have privately expressed concern over a growing One Nation vote, as the state struggles with one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation.
In 1998, One Nation won 23 per cent of the vote, which gave it take 11 seats in the unicameral parliament.
In recent months, both the LNP opposition and the Labor government have begun spending time in the regions considered most vulnerable to One Nation's message – central and north Queensland. Now that presence is likely to increase.
