‘Momentous’: Australia made history when invoking ANZUS for the first time

News24 host Caleb Bond reflects on Australia’s decision to invoke the ANZUS Treaty after the September 11 attacks, signalling support for the United States in its fight against terrorism. “Tomorrow will mark 25 years since the September 11th terror attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people and sparked the beginning of the war on terror,” Mr Bond said. “In the wake of the attacks, the government here in Australia invoked the ANZUS treaty for the first and only time since it was signed, to signal support for the United States. “Then Prime Minister John Howard credited his Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer with hatching the idea to activate the agreement. “To evoke ANZUS was a momentous thing to do.”