British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's political demise is "hard to watch", Australian politicians from the government and opposition say.
But the federal government is promising to plough on with the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal regardless of who next leads the UK.
Less than two years after ousting the Conservatives in a landslide election victory, Sir Keir announced plans to resign by September, making way for newly sworn in MP Andy Burnham to likely be Britain's next leader.
Defence Minister Richard Marles said the Labour leader had been a great friend of Australia and said the circumstances of his departure were unique to the UK.
"At a human level, it's hard to watch what occurred yesterday evening and it's another reminder of how difficult these jobs are," he said.
