Doorstop interview

Subjects: Postponed cricket tour of Pakistan, extradition proceedings for Dr Jayant Patel, 60^th anniversary of Israel as a nation-state, Australian air traffic controllers in Afghanistan

STEPHEN SMITH: Well, just some remarks on Cricket Australia and the joint decision by Cricket Australia and the Pakistan Cricket Board to postpone the Australian cricket tour to Pakistan.

Firstly, the decision by Cricket Australia is one that it's made off its own back. It was assisted in that by all the information that the Australian Government could provide to it and that occurred through a range of meetings with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and they also took other advice.

I very strongly support the decision that Cricket Australia has made. From the first time I had a conversation with Cricket Australia about this matter, which was at the Perth Test in January, I was absolutely convinced that Cricket Australia had the security, safety and welfare of their players and any members of the touring party uppermost in their minds.

Of course, it's a matter of regret for cricket fans, both in Australia and in Pakistan that the tour has been postponed. But Pakistan as we know, is going through a very difficult situation. This year, we've seen the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. We've seen the election, which was much freer and fairer than our expectations. But Pakistan continues to go through a very difficult period, with risks of terrorism and extremism. The best way forward for Pakistan of course, is democracy and the rule of law. And Australia's been very supportive of Pakistan in that respect.

I have seen suggestions that somehow the decision by Cricket Australia and the Pakistan Cricket Board is related to proposed Twenty20 games in India. I absolutely reject that suggestion. On the basis of the conversations I had with Cricket Australia, what was most concerning for Cricket Australia was the safety, security and welfare of their players on any proposed tour.

I'm happy to take your questions, but I understand there is some interest in the Dr Patel matter, so I'll just make some brief remarks on that. It's of course, formally a matter for my colleague, Mr Debus, the Minister for Home Affairs, but Australia issued a arrest warrant for Dr Patel in the United States. And United States authorities, acting on the basis of that arrest warrant, arrested Dr Patel on 11 March in the United States. As a consequence, extradition proceedings are now underfoot.

We're of course, very pleased at the cooperation that we've received from the United States authorities. That extradition hearing will now be heard by the District Court of Oregon. And because it's now effectively before the court, it would of course, be inappropriate for me or any of my colleagues to make any further comment or detailed comment in that respect. But the extradition will be heard by the District Court of Oregon and we're very pleased with the cooperation that we've received so far as the United States authorities are concerned.

Happy to take your questions on the cricket.

QUESTION: As a cricket fan, are you disappointed that this sort of [indistinct] had to come to [indistinct]?

STEPHEN SMITH: Well absolutely. I mean, I think cricket fans both in Australia and in Pakistan will be deeply disappointed. Certainly the Pakistan Cricket Board will be deeply disappointed, as they've expressed. But in the end, the safety and security and welfare of the players has to be the primary and the absolute consideration.

We would wish that an Australian team and a Pakistan team could tour wherever they wanted to at any point in time. That's not the world that we live in, and there are difficulties so far as safety and security are concerned in Pakistan. There are issues of extremism and terrorism. We hope Pakistan stares those down, but I strongly support the decision of Cricket Australia in the decision that they've made.

And if you look at our own travel advice to Australians, it is to consider or reconsider your plans to travel to Pakistan generally and for some areas, is not to travel at all.

QUESTION: Geoff Lawson's been very critical of the decision. He of course as you know, is the coach of Pakistan and a former Aussie Test bowler. He's - he says sportsmen aren't targets [indistinct] terrorism.

STEPHEN SMITH: Well no-one can guarantee that. No-one can guarantee that. And in these matters, you are very, very much better proceeding on the basis of you're better being safe than sorry.

I understand Geoff's disappointment. He's a former Australian Test cricketer. He's very active in Australian cricket until he took the job as Pakistan's coach, and I can understand his disappointment at his own country's touring team not turning up. So I understand his disappointment. He just happens to have a different view, but in the end, he's responsible for coaching Pakistan.

The Australian Cricket Board, or Cricket Australia, is responsible for the welfare, safety and security of any Australian touring team.

QUESTION: You met with the Australian cricket officials in Perth...

STEPHEN SMITH: Sorry mate?

QUESTION: Do you think it'll be many months before the Australian side...

STEPHEN SMITH: Well neither the - neither Cricket Australia nor the Pakistan Cricket Board are putting a timetable on that. As I understand it, the chairman of Cricket Australia and the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board are meeting in Dubai next week or in the next week or so, so that'll be a matter for the two boards to determine.

QUESTION: You met with cricket officials during the Perth Test. Did you yourself specifically say, don't go and hook it on the advice...

STEPHEN SMITH: No, no. We - what we said to Cricket Australia, the Prime Minister had conversations with Cricket Australia at either the Melbourne or the Sydney Test or both. I had conversations with Cricket Australia at the Perth Test in early January, and we made a couple of points to them.

The first point we made to them was that it was their own decision to make. It was the decision first and foremost for Cricket Australia, and they were very strongly of that view; very strongly of that view that this was a decision they had to take themselves.

But secondly, we made it clear that at every point in the process, we would make available to Cricket Australia all of the information and advice and assessments that we had to help them form their own judgement. So you would have seen on a number of occasions that Cricket Australia came to Canberra, met with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and its officials to go through those various assessments. Those assessments are what forms the basis of our general travel advisories to Australians who travel. But obviously it was given to them in much more detail than you'd find on the summaries or the conclusions on the website.

So we made two points clear to them: one, it was their own decision, that was their starting point and their finishing point; and secondly, we would give them whatever information we had to enable them to make their decision. They of course, took other advice from other counsel as well, and in the end, made the joint decision with the Pakistan Cricket Board yesterday to postpone the tour.

QUESTION: Minister, can I just ask you one question about the motion of support of the 60th anniversary of Israel? Are you surprised that Mr Rudd had to defend Labor's support of that motion today from [indistinct] criticism from [indistinct].

STEPHEN SMITH: Well, there was one question in the caucus yesterday and the motion which we're - which the Parliament will consider today, which the Prime Minister will speak to and the Leader of the Opposition will speak to, is marking the fact that the state of Israel is now 60 years old.

And Australia as a nation, had a very prominent role, a very prominent role in helping to bring about the formation of Israel as a nation state. And that's been a bipartisan position in Australia for a very long period of time, and that's what the motion today will reflect.

Obviously in general terms, people are very concerned about what occurs in the Middle East, which is why the Australian Government very strongly supports efforts to ensure that the Annapolis peace process continues and why we always express our concern when there are innocent victims who suffer injury or who are fatalities in incidents and conflict in the Middle East.

So Australia played a very prominent role before the Security Council and in the United Nations to bring about the state of Israel. That's a longstanding Australian Government, Australian nation, Australian people position and view, that we respect the right of Israel to exist as a nation state just as there's a bipartisan approach that we also believe that the solution to the Middle East is a two-nation state solution; a nation state for the Palestinians and a nation state for Israel. But it marks Australia's historic contribution to the state of Israel.

QUESTION: What about some of the contributions though? Today an ad in the national broadsheet, in The Australian, supported by the CFMEU and others, that basically is very critical of the state of Israel...

STEPHEN SMITH: There are strong views firmly held about the Middle East. The Australian Government's very strong view is that a solution in the Middle East is a two-nation state solution, respecting the right of Israel to exist as a nation state, having a nation state for the Palestinian people and processing or progressing that through the peace talks, the Annapolis peace talks which we very strongly support.

QUESTION: Minister, Australian air traffic controllers in Afghanistan [indistinct] with the CIA [indistinct]. When you said guarantees from the American Government that we aren't [indistinct] for that program?

STEPHEN SMITH: Well as I understand it, all the air traffic controllers do is control the airport. They have no knowledge of or say in what the particular flights might be doing. It's the equivalent of saying that air traffic controllers at a domestic airport are responsible for anyone who might be smuggling drugs. So all they do is control the airport. We've made it clear that we don't support the notion of rendition. I think that's a separate point from the control of the airport.

QUESTION: So is it a don't ask, don't tell?

STEPHEN SMITH: It's not a matter of don't ask and don't tell. The only responsibility they have is to actually control the air traffic so far as the airport is concerned.

Okay, cheers. Thanks.

Ends

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