Australia has been invited to join United States President Donald Trump’s so-called “Board of Peace”, but the prime minister says he’ll need to review it further before making a decision on whether or not to accept.
The ambitious proposal — part of the US’ 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza — has the initial aim of overseeing the governance and reconstruction of the Palestinian enclave after two years of Israel’s military offensive left much of it in ruins.
But according to a copy of the draft charter seen by the Reuters news agency, it would then expand to resolve other world conflicts. Trump would be the chair of the board.
A limited mandate for the board was authorised by the United Nations Security Council in November last year, but it focused solely on the Gaza conflict, and only until 2027.
The exact number of countries invited to participate remains uncertain, although it is believed that approximately 60 world leaders have received invitations.
Those include Canada’s Mark Carney, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, India’s Narendra Modi, Türkiye’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Argentina’s Javier Milei and Jordan’s King Abdullah II.
Leaders have so far reacted cautiously to the invitation. Only Hungary’s Viktor Orbán — a close Trump ally — gave an unequivocal acceptance, saying in a post on X: “We have, of course, accepted this honourable invitation.”
Albanese said on Monday that correspondence from the Trump administration had arrived overnight, but he hadn’t had a chance to review it.
“That’s something we haven’t had time to consider,” Albanese told ABC radio.
“We’ll consider all of these approaches respectfully and through our proper processes.”
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said the government “welcome[s] the invitation as we do all the efforts of the Trump administration to bring about peace in the Middle East”.
“We need to see an end to the conflict there, for humanitarian assistance to flow and for that part of the world to be rebuilt,” Marles told ABC radio.
“In terms of the specific request, we will talk that through with America to understand what this means and what is involved.”
Other countries’ governments have appeared reluctant to make public statements, leaving officials to express concerns anonymously about the impact on the work of the UN.
Carney expressed his preliminary support for the board, noting that specific details are still being worked out.
The White House did not detail the responsibilities of each member of the board. The names do not include any Palestinians. The White House said more members will be announced over the coming weeks.
If Australia were to accept the invitation, Albanese would represent the country on the board for a three-year term.
Beyond three years, member states would be required to pay US$1 billion ($1.5 billion) each for permanent membership.
Certain human rights experts and advocates have raised concerns, suggesting that Trump’s involvement in leading a board to oversee the governance of a foreign territory could be reminiscent of a colonial framework.
What would the Board of Peace’s structure look like?
The Board of Peace would also have an executive board attached that includes former UK prime minister Tony Blair, US secretary of state Marco Rubio and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, as well as officials from Türkiye and Qatar. Former UN official Nickolay Mladenov would be tasked with the role of High Representative for Gaza.
Another executive board — formed to support Mladenov’s work and that of an interim government made up of Palestinian technocrats called the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza — would also be established.
That would be called the “Gaza Executive Board” and would also include Blair, Kushner and US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, along with representatives from Türkiye and Qatar, Cypriot-Israeli businessman Yakir Gabay, and the UN’s special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Sigrid Kaag.
Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas have signed off on Trump’s plan for a Palestinian technocratic administration that would be overseen by an international board, which will supervise Gaza’s governance for a transitional period.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the composition of the executive board announced on the weekend had not been coordinated with Israel and contradicted its policy.
— With additional reporting by Reuters.
