Australia’s ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd says he is “ready” to work with the new Trump administration, in his first comments since controversy over his deleted tweets.

Rudd gave brief pre-recorded video remarks to a United States Study Centre forum on Wednesday, speaking publicly for the first time since the US election.

Rudd has been a fierce critic of Trump, labelling him the most destructive president in US history and accusing him of abusing Christianity for political gain.

He has also scrubbed his timeline of criticism following the Republican’s re-election in early November.

On Wednesday, Rudd said in the video that he was ready to work with the incoming administration.

“Here at the embassy we’ve been working hard through the course of the last year to ensure that we were well prepared for this moment” he said.

“The bottom line is we are ready. The team here at the embassy and the government of Australia are ready to work closely with the new Trump administration to continue to realise the benefits of what is a strong economic and security partnership.”

Rudd said the election of the US president was “an important moment for the world. It’s important for our region. It’s important for Australia”.

The nine-minute speech also reflected on the AUKUS pact between Australia, the US and Britain.

However, Rudd did not address the controversial tweets he has since deleted that were critical of Trump.

Rudd has come under fire for previously vocalising his thoughts on Trump.

However, the Coalition’s foreign spokesman Senator Simon Birmingham last week said that “hopefully” Trump would forgive Rudd for his past attacks.

Birmingham pointed to Trump’s pick for secretary of state being Marco Rubio – despite the Florida senator having “had some pretty sharp things to say about him”.

Senior Trump adviser Dan Scavino last week posted a GIF of sand falling through an hourglass in response to Rudd’s statement on X congratulating the president-elect on his win.

“Hopefully … the type of forgiveness that has been demonstrated to those members of the new administration will be extended in this case as well,” Birmingham said.

“Now, Ambassador Rudd and the Prime Minister are the ones who are in the box seat to best make the assessment in coming weeks or months about how effectively he is going to be able to continue to have the influence and get the outcomes that Australia needs.”

-with AAP