Doorstop interview

STEPHEN SMITH: Thanks very much for turning up. This morning I leave for a trip to North Asia, Hong Kong, Korea and Japan.

In Hong Kong, I'll be meeting with the Chief Executive, Donald Tsang. Hong Kong, of course, is very important to Australia in business, economic and investment terms, and there's a big expatriate community in Hong Kong, and it's very important for trade, investment and general economic activity.

In Korea, I'll be meeting with the new president, President Lee, and also having a Foreign Ministers' Forum with Foreign Minister Yu. We have a new Government in Korea and a new Government in Australia, and we're very confident that we can take a very good relationship to a new level. Korea is a very important economic and trading partner, but also a very important partner for Australia in the North Asia region. So I'm very much looking forward to the first contact with the new Korean administration.

Later in the week, I'll be again in Tokyo. This follows on from my earlier trip in January of this year. Again I'll be meeting with Foreign Minister Koumura and Chief Cabinet Secretary Machimura. The purpose of the trip is to underline the very important partnership between Australia and Japan, our economic, security and strategic partnership. We'll be talking about the Two Plus Two Forum, which we're expecting to hold in the course of the year, and also the important trilateral discussion or conversation between Australia, the United States and Japan.

How are we going for background noise? That was prescient, wasn't it? [Pause in conference due to background noise.]

Just before I respond to your questions, there are three issues I'll just make some brief remarks about.

Firstly Burma. You'd be aware of the very serious cyclone that's hit Burma in the last couple of days. Burma has been the subject of significant cyclone damage. I can report that all of Australia's diplomats and officers at our mission in Rangoon are safe and have been accounted for.

We've had no reports of any Australians in difficulties. The mission has contacted a number of Australians in Rangoon, but we know that we haven't contacted all Australians who are either living or are temporarily in Burma. So we urge those Australians in Burma to make contact either with our mission or with Smartraveller or with their friends and families in Australia. But despite the very severe cyclone, I'm pleased to advise that all Australian officials are safe and well, and at this stage we haven't heard of any Australians in difficulty.

So far as Zimbabwe is concerned, I notice overnight that Mr Tsvangirai has indicated that he will return to Zimbabwe to take part in a second round run-off. Can I say that the only way, the only way that a second round run-off will in any way reflect or respect the will and the wishes of the Zimbabwe people is if it is full, free and fair election. That there's participation without intimidation by the Zimbabwe people, and the election is subject to extensive international supervision and scrutiny.

In the first instance, that will of course come from African Union and South African Development Community states. But as I've indicated in the past, Australia stands ready, willing and able to contemplate such electoral observer assistance if we're asked to help.

Finally on Fiji. Over the last few days, we saw the reprehensible conduct of the interim Fiji government so far as the newspaper publisher, Mr Hannah, was concerned. And I again condemn their conduct.

There was one point which was raised over the weekend, which was whether any Australian officials had been manhandled in the course of Mr Hannah's deportation. As I indicated previously, I'd requested a report from our officers in Fiji on that matter. I received the report yesterday evening. I can fortunately advise that no Australian official was manhandled by Fiji officials.

But it is quite clear, as I've indicated before, that the appropriate and usual consular access to Mr Hannah was denied to Australian officials, and I again condemn that conduct on the part of the Fiji Government.

I'm happy to answer your questions.

QUESTION: This is your second visit to Japan in four months. What's prompted this?

SMITH: Well, I'm in the region. North Asia is a very important region to us. I wanted to go to Korea to make contact with the new administration, and it made sense to turn that visit into a regional visit with both Hong Kong and Japan.

But my visit to Japan just underlines the importance of the economic, security and strategic partnership and relationship between Australia and Japan. I had a very successful visit earlier in the year, very good meetings with my counterpart, the Foreign Minister, with the Chief Cabinet Secretary, the Defence Minister, and also with the Prime Minister.

So it's to underline the strength of the relationship. In particular I want to talk to my counterpart about the Two Plus Two Forum, which is Australia's Foreign Affairs.

In particular, I want to talk to my counterpart, Mr Koumura, about the Two Plus Two Forum, which is Australia and Japan's Foreign Affairs and Defence Ministers getting together on an annual basis, and we're hopeful of securing a date for a Two Plus Two meeting before the end of the year.

I also want to talk to Mr Koumura about the trilateral arrangement that Australia has with Japan and the United States and a possibility of a trilateral dialogue between our three nations in the course of this year.

QUESTION: Are you compensating for the lack of interest that Kevin Rudd showed in Japan during his international tour?

SMITH: Well, I wouldn't agree with that analysis. The Prime Minister always made it clear that he'd be making two trips to Japan this year, one associated with the G8 and one a bilateral trip, and his trip to Japan, his first trip to Japan, is in the middle of June, and I'm very confident that'll be a successful and productive trip by the Prime Minister to Japan. And I expect that in the course of my conversations, preliminary discussion about the Prime Minister's trip will also emerge.

QUESTION: And will whaling be on the agenda during the visit?

SMITH: Well, I'm sure in the course of conversations, whaling will come up. And I'll again be putting the view of the Australian Government and the Australian people to my counterpart, and I expect that again it'll be an issue in respect of which we agree to disagree.

QUESTION: There was an [indistinct] a couple of days ago with regards to Amrozi, one of the Bali bombers, apparently he was allowed to get married whilst in prison. Have you got any views on that?

SMITH: Oh no, well, that's a matter for the Indonesian authorities, and I'm happy to leave it entirely to them.

QUESTION: Has Kevin Rudd spoken to the Japanese Prime Minister since his last visit?

SMITH: Well, I'm not aware whether he's spoken to him personally, but the key point is that Mr Rudd always made it clear that he would have two trips to Japan this year, one coming up in the middle of June in less than a month, or in a month's time, and one associated with the G8, which is the first time, to my knowledge, that an Australian Prime Minister has been invited to attend a G8 as an observer country.

QUESTION: Australia has also been criticised for having a very close relationship with China. Is this visit also to re-emphasise the fact that we're interested in other Asian countries?

SMITH: Well, Australia has a close relationship with the United States; we have a close relationship with Japan; we have a close relationship with Korea; we have a close relationship with China; and we have a close relationship with India. All of these are important bilateral relationships and they can all be productive without that being at the expense of any of the others. It's not a zero-sum game. It's win-win all round. And just as we want to have a good relationship with Korea, with China, with Japan, so we want those nations to have good relations with each other.

QUESTION: Just with Burma, have you had any official death toll or information like that?

SMITH: No, I tried on a couple of occasions last night to make personal contact with our mission in Rangoon, but communications is very difficult. In the course of the day yesterday, officials were in contact with the Department in Canberra to relay the advice that I had given you earlier.

But our own officers are staying inside, given the conditions. We're also urging Australians to remain inside and to not travel locally. So I suspect given those difficulties and the communications difficulties, it'll take some time before an accurate head count or an accurate toll is assessed.

And in that context, can I just say, whilst of course Australia is very careful about its development assistance to Burma, given the presence of the regime there, we have continued over time to contribute by way of humanitarian assistance to the people of Burma, and we will obviously be giving consideration to what, if any, humanitarian assistance we can bring to the people themselves as a result of damage done by the cyclone.

QUESTION: It's also the Burmese election next weekend. During the election campaign, the Labor Party promised to take their junta leaders to the International Criminal Court. Has there been any progress on that?

SMITH: Well, I'm not sure that's right, I'm not sure that's right.

QUESTION: Well, it's something that McClelland said during the campaign and...

SMITH: I don't think Robert Mc...

QUESTION: ...Rudd's also put it in writing.

SMITH: I don't think Robert McClelland said that in respect of Burma. We've made it absolutely crystal clear that we believe Burma should move to a democratic state where human rights are respected. It's quite clear that the current referendum process, which the Burmese have in train, is nothing more, nothing less than a complete sham. I've made that point before and I'm very happy to make it again.

It may well be that as a result of the cyclone that voting in the referendum is deferred or delayed. To me, that won't account for anything in the overall context because that referendum is nothing more, nothing less than a fraud designed to perpetuate the regime, the military regime in Burma.

QUESTION: So you won't be taking them to the International Court then?

SMITH: Well, I think if you check the record you'll find that you're mistaken in your assumption there.

QUESTION: One other quick subject. Have you seen The Age online is reporting there's been restrictions placed on women travelling out of Malaysia?

SMITH: No, I haven't seen that, I'm sorry, no.

QUESTION: You haven't heard that at all?

SMITH: No. I'll have to take that one on notice. Okay? All right, thanks everyone. Cheers, thanks.

[Ends]

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