President is poised and Parliament on standby

AS POSTED HERE ---> President is poised and Parliament on standby

THE federal government has no idea when the US President, Barack Obama, will arrive, or whether a recall of parliament costing hundreds of thousands of dollars to hear him speak is yet a certainty.

''If it's going to happen, it will happen at the end of next week. All MPs have to do is get on a plane and keep their diaries open,'' said a spokesman for the Leader of the House, Anthony Albanese.

The US embassy's spokeswoman in Canberra says she has ''no dates, just a ballpark'' and is watching the White House website - and Twitter account.

The Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, meanwhile, is ''pretty relaxed'' about the situation. Asked where the possibility of Mr Obama not turning up at all next week would leave the Australia-US relationship, he said: ''I catch up with the President quite regularly, certainly on the phone, and we are meeting constantly at international conferences.''

The US ambassador, Jeffrey Bleich, has said the timing of Mr Obama's first visit to Australia remains ''in flux'', although the President ''wants to come out very badly''.

Mr Bleich's comments follow Mr Obama's top strategist David Axelrod refusing to answer a question on NBC television's Meet the Press hours earlier on whether all travel would be cancelled if a landmark healthcare reform bill does not pass the US Congress this week.

On Saturday, the White House said the trip to Australia and Indonesia would be cut short. Michelle Obama and daughters Sasha and Malia weren't coming. Sydney was off the agenda.

Recalling both houses of parliament will cost several hundred thousand dollars in air fares, accommodation and staffing costs, based on estimates by the Black Rod's Office that show a Senate recall alone costs $115,000.

Two additional sitting days next Monday and Tuesday, originally scheduled to allow Mr Obama to address parliament, have been cancelled. However our politicians are on standby to return to Canberra later in the week, once Mr Obama's departure from Washington is confirmed. ''MPs have been put on notice,'' said Mr Albanese's spokesman.

The uncertainty is creating headaches for visit organisers. The Attorney-General's department is reworking security arrangements with ASIO and the Australian Federal Police for Mr Obama's visit ''whenever he arrives''. A department spokesman said a security working group was also still waiting for the date to be formalised.

However, the government says, the uncertainty is more of a headache for the Americans.

The US embassy is continuing to put together a new program based on ''the original plan plus a few days'', a spokeswoman said, with advance groups of Secret Service personnel due to arrive.

However this all hinges on an official announcement of the visit, which is yet to come from the White House.

A spokeswoman for Mr Rudd said: ''The government is advised the President still plans to travel to Australia and will depart on his overseas trip on the morning of Sunday, March 21, and return to Washington late on March 26.''

The spokeswoman said Mr Obama will still address Parliament, ''although on a later date''.

US embassy staff say that as with any presidential visit, until the man is on the ground, nothing is 100 per cent certain. A visit by the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, was cancelled in January as a result of the Haiti disaster.

Mr Bleich told Channel Nine yesterday: ''In the absence of something unforeseen, he's coming.''

Mr Rudd said: ''He's a welcome guest in Australia, whenever he can get here and for how long.''