Transcript, E&OE
31 May 2009
Meet the Press
Subjects: North Korea's missile tests; Schappelle Corby; the Opposition's climate change policy; Guantanomo Bay inmates; Indian students; US Ambassador to Australia; and industry's response to the emissions trading scheme.
PAUL BONGIORNO: Good morning. Welcome to Meet the Press.
North Korea's defiance of international opinion has taken another dramatic turn, raising the prospect of a world living under the threat of the mushroom cloud again. Successful test firings of missiles and a nuclear device were accompanied by threats to end the five-decade-long armistice with the South, a clear rejection of Barack Obama's olive branch.
US PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA (Monday): North Korea won't find security and respect through threats and illegal weapons, and we will work with our friends and allies to stand up to this behaviour.
STEPHEN SMITH (Wednesday): North Korea's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs are an increasing threat to regional security, Australia's national security and the wider international community.
PAUL BONGIORNO: Foreign Minister Stephen Smith is a guest today. And later, how business will deal with the changing climate - Australian Industry Group Chief Executive Heather Ridout.
And what is making news in the papers this Sunday, May 31? The 'Sun Herald' reports on the tensions over North Korea. "The world is watching you," says US Defence Secretary Gates in a warning to the pariah. "We will not stand idly by as North Korea builds the capability to reap destruction on any target in the region or on us."
The 'Sunday Telegraph' says the swine flu virus grows as the tally reaches 254, and Kevin Rudd was tested for the H1N1 virus on his return from Singapore after complaining of a sore throat.
The 'Sunday Herald Sun' has "Corby's plea for Rudd to deliver". Schapelle Corby and her family have called on the Prime Minister to honour promises he made before the election win. The family says Miss Corby's personal letters to Mr Rudd have gone unanswered.
Long-serving ministers in the Rudd Government and other MPs have had their generous superannuation entitlements preserved in the May Budget, while other Australians lost super tax concessions.
Good morning and welcome back to the program Stephen Smith.
STEPHEN SMITH: Good morning Paul.
PAUL BONGIORNO: Minister, going to Gates' warning that the US "will not stand idly by", is he really signalling there that the US would take out nuclear sites in North Korea?
STEPHEN SMITH: No, I've had a careful look at his speech. It's not a change of US policy. It just underlines the need for a very strong international community response to what North Korea has done.
It's consistent with reinforcing existing United Nations Security Council Resolution 1718. It's also consistent with the need to ensure that weapons of mass destruction don't get to North Korea, and that the United Nations Security Council resolutions effectively try to see the denuclearisation of North Korea.
The Six Party talks have also been aimed at that, so this is a very provocative act by North Korea, a threat to international security, and I welcome very much the robust response from Secretary Gates, which follows on from the robust initial response by the Security Council itself.
PAUL BONGIORNO: But, Minister, the fact that North Korea simply snubs its nose at the UN and the West and everybody, do you think it's time that China really stepped up to the plate here?
STEPHEN SMITH: We've been pleased with the response from China and Russia. They've both come out and condemned it. They've both supported the initial Security Council response. We're looking forward to a further resolution emerging from the Security Council in the near future, but one of the good things about the international community's response to North Korea has been the unified demonstration of strength.
We don't underestimate how difficult a customer North Korea can be. I've said that often they're impervious to the international community. We have to have a firm, strong response, including, in Australia's view, a look at additional sanctions coming out of the Security Council, but then a longer-term approach that brings them back to dialogue, particularly through the Six Party talks that has China, Russia and the United States and both the Republic of Korea and North Korea around the table.
PAUL BONGIORNO: The Prime Minister spoke yesterday of strengthening financial sanctions and it would seem that the dictator up there puts his money in Chinese rather than US or European banks. Unless some sort of financial sanction like that works, it's just a joke, isn't it?
STEPHEN SMITH: We have said previously, both the Prime Minister and I, that among the things the world should contemplate are tough financial sanctions against members of the regime itself. The sanctions go to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1718, which go to preventing the supply of weapons, and also go to restrictions on luxury goods, and Australia is at the outer edge of those. But we believe that financial sanctions on the regime would also send a very strong signal and that's been our expression, or our view, we put to the Security Council members in the last week.
PAUL BONGIORNO: Is there any talk of a naval blockade to stop nuclear material going in and out of North Korea and would Australia join such a blockade?
STEPHEN SMITH: Not so much a blockade, but under Security Council Resolution 1540, there is an initiative, the Proliferation Security Initiative, supported now by over 90 nations, and Australia is a part of that.
It has, under UN authority, the responsibility of trying to ensure that nuclear weapons materials don't get to emerging nuclear weapon states, and the Republic of Korea joining the Proliferation Security Initiative in the course of this week was one of the reasons North Korea said it would walk away from the 1953 armistice.
There is of course no justification in that, but Australia, together with now 90-odd nations around the world, is a strong supporter, but that is also authorised by the Security Council. And this has been one of the strong messages of the North Korea nuclear tests that the whole world has looked to the Security Council and the authority of the Security Council to offset these very clear threats to international peace and security.
PAUL BONGIORNO: Minister, one of our viewers is concerned about the plight of Schapelle Corby.
STEPHEN SMITH: Well, the Australian Government are doing two things. Firstly, we're providing her and her family with all the consular assistance we can, including making sure there's provision for medical and other assistance to meet her needs.
But questions of clemency or getting her out of prison are a matter in the first instance for her and her legal advisers. If she and her legal advisers decide to take a plea of clemency, the Australian Government would, at the time, as appropriate, give consideration to supporting it.
The other thing we're doing more generally is continuing to work on an International Transfer of Prisoners Agreement with Indonesia, as we do with a range of other countries, and those negotiations, led by the Minister for Home Affairs, are ongoing.
PAUL BONGIORNO: They've been ongoing for about five years, haven't they?
STEPHEN SMITH: Well, Indonesia doesn't have an International Transfer of Prisoners arrangement with any other country. We would be the first they would have one with. I'm not suggesting or pretending that there isn't a fair way to go on this, but to have an International Transfer of Prisoners Agreement with Indonesia would be a good thing and we will continue to pursue it.
PAUL BONGIORNO: Time for a break. When we return with the panel, what happened to Washington's ambassador to Canberra?
PAUL BONGIORNO: You're on Meet the Press, with Foreign Minister Stephen Smith. And welcome to our panel, Fran Kelly from ABC Radio National Breakfast and from the 'Sydney Morning Herald', Phillip Coorey.
On Tuesday, the Opposition unveiled its latest climate change strategy. Malcolm Turnbull is willing to sign up to the Government's emissions cut targets but is refusing to support legislation setting up a carbon pollution reduction scheme before the December conference in Copenhagen or before the United States' Congress votes.
OPPOSITION LEADER MALCOLM TURNBULL (Tuesday): I know that Mr Rudd, in his vanity, wants to go to Copenhagen with his own legislation. And he no doubt believes that the rest of the world will be so taken with his cleverness that they will all line up and copy what he's done in Australia.
PHILLIP COOREY: Minister, the reality is you have bipartisan support now for the emissions targets. That's there, that's all you need going to Copenhagen. People around the table won't be worried about the detail of any plan we've legislated, will they?
STEPHEN SMITH: We worry very much the Opposition is capable of changing its mind on the matter as it has in the past. There are two good reasons why getting legislation through the Parliament on carbon reduction and emissions trading is very important.
Firstly, we want to give certainty to our domestic industry and we want to go to Copenhagen with a good Australian position where we can say we have legislated for minimum reductions. But if we get a good outcome here, we will go as high as 25%, so there are good domestic and international reasons why the legislation is important. Our worry is the Opposition changes its mind, effectively, on a weekly or monthly basis.
PHILLIP COOREY: Mr Smith, on a separate matter, Guantanamo Bay and President Obama's request that we take a handful of ethnic Chinese. What Malcolm Turnbull said yesterday was if they're not dangerous, why can't they walk the streets of American cities rather than Australian? What is your understanding as to why they want us to take them and they won't themselves?
STEPHEN SMITH: Rather than dealing with it in that way, let's make clear the process. We of course received a request from the previous Administration to consider taking into Australia a small number of Guantanamo Bay inmates of Uighur background. We assessed them on a case-by-case basis in accordance with immigration and national security requirements and came to the conclusion it wasn't appropriate to allow entry.
We were asked about a week ago at official level to consider a smaller number, up to about 10, and because it's a request from our ally, we have a good relationship with the United States, we have said we will consider them on a case-by-case basis. Within the same framework, which is…
PHILLIP COOREY: Is it appropriate within our immigration and national security criteria that they be allowed entry?
STEPHEN SMITH: That's the framework we're dealing with, and my own view is that people should simply wait until that process has completed. We went through that process previously and they were rejected and we will go through exactly the same process on this occasion at the request of the United States Administration. It's not an unreasonable request.
PHILLIP COOREY: In the background checks, did you turn up any security concerns about these people?
STEPHEN SMITH: Well, I don't go into the detail either of security arrangements or security advice in respect to particular individuals. But suffice it to say that we will consider these individuals on a case-by-case basis in accordance with our immigration law, and in accordance with our domestic and international immigration obligations. But obviously we will also, as we do, in immigration matters, where it is appropriate, take into account security advice and considerations. We will do that and then we'll make our decision known to the United States and you can expect that will be made public. We did on the last occasion. You can expect it on this occasion.
PHILLIP COOREY: Will you take into account the sensitivities of Beijing, who made it clear in January they didn't want anyone to take them? They wanted these people brought back to China. Are they pressuring you again over this?
STEPHEN SMITH: In these cases, we have to make sure very carefully, as a matter of law, we deal with individual immigration requirements. So frankly, from my point of view, we put to one side any hypothetical view that a different or third nation state might have. It's important in law and policy to deal with the individual applications at the request of the United States and that is what we will do. We did it very rigorously on the last occasion where about 17 were rejected. It's a smaller number now and we will deal with those precisely the same way.
FRAN KELLY: Minister, talking about foreign sensitivities there's increased concern about the number of violent attacks against Indian students in Melbourne and Sydney. Our Ambassador in Delhi was called in. The Indian Government is distressed. It has a name - the so-called "curry bashings". Any plans for the Government to do anything. Can it do anything?
STEPHEN SMITH: Absolutely. We understand completely the sensitivities in India about this. We've got between 90,000 and 95,000 Indian students in Australia. We are a very popular destination for Indian students.
I've spoken to my new Indian counterpart, the External Affairs Minister, and I did that on Friday and assured him that anything and everything Australia could do, particularly at the State level, Victoria and NSW, we would ensure we would do. Firstly to make sure that the perpetrators were brought to justice, but secondly to make sure that Indian students and indeed students from any other nationality were assured that they were coming to a safe environment.
Of course it's not just Indian students. We are an attractive destination for students throughout the world. We pride ourselves on that. We have a particular current problem with Indian students and the Prime Minister has spoken to Prime Minister Singh. I've spoken to my counterpart, and we've been in very close contact with the Indian High Commissioner here, and also with the State Governments. I've previously drawn this problem to attention. It's an issue we're well aware of and are working closely with the relevant authorities as a consequence. So it's a real issue.
FRAN KELLY: You have a concern that something is happening here particularly with Indian students. Do you have any understanding at any level of what is fuelling this, where it comes from?
STEPHEN SMITH: I don't want to prejudge any of what are obviously both individual and higher-level police investigations and inquiries. But we are proceeding on the basis of doing two things: to help make sure that not just Indian mothers and fathers, but the mothers and fathers of all students who come to Australia, that Australia is a safe location, that our general crime and violence rates are very low by international standards.
But where we have particular problems, we need to respond quickly. That's what we've done. We're doing everything we can, with the Indian community in Australia and India itself, through the Government of India overseas, but also through their High Commissioner of Australia, and also working closely with the relevant state authorities.
PAUL BONGIORNO: Before we go, Australia missed out on the first batch of new US ambassadors. It took 18 months for us to get one last time. Does our major ally take us for granted?
STEPHEN SMITH: No, absolutely not. And I'm not in the least concerned about this process. I think President Obama has somewhere between 150 and 180 ambassadors to appoint.
We've started our relationship with the Obama Administration very well. The President has met Prime Minister Rudd on a number of occasions. I've spoken to Secretary of State Clinton, and Joel Fitzgibbon and I went to Washington a couple of months ago for the former AUSMIN talks. We're pleased with the day-to-day operations with the Obama Administration that we have at a professional and personal level.
They will make an appointment, they have very many appointments, but we're not in the slightest concerned about that. We have a very good relationship with the Obama Administration. That's a very good thing.
PAUL BONGIORNO: Thank you, Stephen Smith.
[ENDS]
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