Transcript E&OE
13 October 2009
Doorstop interview, cricket ground, New Delhi
Subjects: Cricket, Australian tour; Commonwealth Games.
Journalist: Minister, you are here for the cricket…
Minister: I am on a four-day visit to India but it is always good to grab 10 minutes at cricket if you can. And of course Simon Katich who captains the Blues is Western Australian, so I am supporting him.
Journalist: You need to remind him about that at some time...
Minister: I do, constantly.
Journalist: There is an element of pride when you are visiting a foreign nation when our team is doing well.
Minister: New South Wales is doing well, and Victoria is doing well. Adam Gilchrist and Justin Langer also are all playing well. One of the special aspects of the relationship between Australia and India is of course sport and cricket. Reinforcing those people-to-people contacts, reinforcing things that we have in common is also part of my business. So it is a good thing to get out and about, good thing to reinforce with the Indians.
Journalist: It's great that this tournament has gone ahead. Security was a concern last year, it was cancelled…are you satisfied with the authorities?
Minister: We have been in regular contact with the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) over security matters and the International Cricket Council is also these days much more conscious of security arrangements. It is much more a part of the modern world. There was a time before the attack on the Sri Lankan team when people thought that may be cricket was somehow immune; it is not and you have to be conscious and careful. We always make sure that the ACB has access to all the advice and information we have and that is a good thing.
Journalist: ... is part of the trip also checking out security for the Australian tour that is coming up in a couple of weeks, is that accurate?
Minister: One of the things I will be talking about is the Commonwealth Games. So I will be meeting with the Home Affairs Minister and am having a conversation about the Commonwealth Games and, obviously, security is a part of that. We have been in very close contact with the Indian authorities about that as have other Commonwealth countries.
Whether it is the Commonwealth Games, whether its test match or a 20-20 tournament, these days, regrettably, we have to be very conscious of security arrangements. We are satisfied that the Indian government, the Indian authorities and the ACB always ensure that safety and security of the players is upmost on their minds.
Journalist: Are you confident that security is on the right track for the Commonwealth Games?
Minister: So far our briefings indicate that that is the case but obviously it needs to be closely monitored all they way through. We have been in very close contact with the Indian authorities and that will continue to be as other Commonwealth countries.
Question: inaudible
Minister: I will wear the Steven Smith shirt but I think I will need to be careful where I wear it.
[END]
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