Of course it is lost on you, because that's not what he's doing.
Kerry's actually trying to appeal to Americans living in Australia who might vote absentee.
Alright, let's assume that's true.
Can't you possibly see how very IRRESPONSIBLE it is for someone from the Kerry campaign to be making remarks like this? At the very least, it's an insult to our current allies in the Australian government. At worst, like Mike proposes, it will discourage other nations, should Kerry wins, from allying with us in the future.
You have to step back and look at the big picture and realize that, pandering to expatriate American votes or not, these remarks may do more harm than good.