Transcript, E & OE
Interview with Sky News, London
18 February, 2010
Subjects: Discussing the execution of three of the 'Bali Nine' in Indonesia; Japanese whaling; and Australian-UK relations.
NEWSREADER: The Foreign Minister Stephen Smith is in London for the one hundredth anniversary of Australia UK relations. He joins me now from there.
Minister thanks for your time.
STEPHEN SMITH: Pleasure John.
NEWSREADER: We'll get to what you're doing over there in just a moment but first would the Government prefer it if the Indonesian Government put off the potential executions of those three of the Bali Nine until after this year's election.
STEPHEN SMITH: Well we've never linked those two and the advice I've received from my department this morning is that in the conversation it's been referred to that linkage, that point was never made.
Our position of the three remaining members of the Bali Nine who are subject to death penalties in Indonesia is quite straightforward.
When all of their legal processes have been exhausted, because they still have appeals that they can pursue which their lawyers say they are proposing to pursue. But when all of their legal processes have been exhausted if they are still subject to a death penalty then the Australian Government will make representations on their behalf for clemency.
This is a point we've previously made to Indonesia and a point that we'll take up in the future at the appropriate time.
NEWSREADER: As you'd be aware it's been front page news over here, so let's just clarify: no government of DFAT official has made any representations to Indonesian authorities about the politically sensitive nature of this issue in this an election year.
STEPHEN SMITH: The very strong advice I have from my department, which I asked to receive this morning London time, is that the conversation which has been detailed in the Australian media and in Indonesia did not occur in the context in which it has been put.
There's no linkage made between Australian domestic political circumstances and Australian pleas for clemencies for Australians subjected to the death penalty.
And I can remember in the first meeting that the Prime Minister and I had with the President of Indonesia, with my counterpart the then Foreign Minister, we made the points that Australia's position was that once all appeal processes had been exhausted, if they were still subject to the death penalty then we would make and pursue a plea of clemency on their behalf.
That remains our position and that is the case irrespective of the domestic political cycle in Australia and the very strong advice I have from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is that the conversation as portrayed did not occur. And I accept that advice without reservation.
NEWSREADER: Okay Minister, let's move on. And terror threats have been made against Australian sporting groups in India. Why hasn't the Government increased the travel warnings for Aussies heading there?
STEPHEN SMITH: The travel warning for India is appropriate to all the circumstances. It tells people to exercise caution if and when they travel to India and for particular parts of India it has stronger advice.
When it comes to Australian sporting groups travelling and competing overseas, whether it's for the Commonwealth Games, whether it's cricket teams or cricket plays or whether it's hockey players for the Hockey World Cup, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade makes available to those sporting bodies all of the most recent travel advice and security assessments that we have. And it's then a matter for the teams and the players themselves to make such a judgement.
We've been working very closely with the Commonwealth Games Association, very closely with Hockey Australia and very closely with Cricket Australia on these matters. We continue to make our most recent assessments available to those sporting bodies for them to make their own judgements about competing overseas.
NEWSREADER: Okay, the head of the New Zealand Olympic [sic] Committee says New Zealand may pull out of the Commonwealth Games in India if the safety of the athletes can't be assured. Is Australia's presence there in doubt?
STEPHEN SMITH: Well that in the first instance is a matter for the Australian Commonwealth Games Association. It's not a matter in which the Government seeks to impose a view.
What we do is in a very orderly fashion make sure that the relevant sporting bodies have got access to our most recent travel advice, the most recent security and threat assessments and that's done very sensibly.
I've been to India last year and I was briefed on preparations for the Commonwealth Games. I was satisfied at that time that all of the necessary precautions and coordination with Commonwealth Games countries, including Australia, was taking place and that remains the case. I'm satisfied with the relationships that Australia has with India.
I've spoken to my counterpart, my Indian counterpart, External Affairs Minister Krishna, about the need for security at the Hockey World Cup and that is something that India is taking very, very seriously. So we're satisfied that all of the necessary precautions are being taken.
The regrettable fact of modern life of course is that whenever people gather there are risks of terrorism and that point is made in our travel advice. India is very conscious of that and we are working very closely with them on these matters.
NEWSREADER: The Japanese Foreign Minister will be in Australia over the coming days. Will you make it clear to him that Australia will take legal action of whaling unless there is some progress made at the next International Whaling Commission? I believe that meeting's in the middle of this year.
STEPHEN SMITH: I'm very pleased that my counterpart Foreign Minister Okada is coming to Australia over the forthcoming weekend. I'll be meeting with him. It's the first visit to Australia of a Minister from the new Japanese Government and we welcome it very much.
We have a very strong relationship with Japan. We have a comprehensive economic and security and strategic relationship. So we will discuss the array of issues touching upon that relationship and as I've done in the part with Foreign Minister Okada I'll make the point that Australia wants Japan to cease whaling in the Great Southern Oceans.
We are working as hard as we can both bilaterally and through the International Whaling Commission for a diplomatic solution. But if we can't reach a diplomatic solution then we have made it clear to Japan in the past and I'll make it clear to Foreign Minister Okada when I see him over the weekend, that we reserve the right to take action before the International Court of Justice or the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.
But this is an issue where there's clearly a strong disagreement between Australia and Japan but neither of us will let it get in the way of the strength of what is a fundamentally important relationship between Australia and Japan, not just economically but in a strategic and a security sense as well.
NEWSREADER: Just picking up on that point where you say you make take action before the meeting, does the Government have a deadline at all? When are you going to say that enough is enough and accept that diplomacy's not working?
STEPHEN SMITH: Well we continue to pursue our diplomatic efforts with Japan, both bilaterally and through the IWC, the International Whaling Commission. If and when we come to a conclusion that those efforts have failed then as I say we have consistently indicated we reserve the right to take legal action.
But for the present we continue to take and make our diplomatic efforts and Foreign Minister Okada's visit to Australia presents that opportunity again for Australia and Japan to have a conversation to seek to come to a satisfactory outcome. But this will be one of any number of conversations I've had with Japan on this particular issue.
NEWSREADER: Okay, the United States seems to be going cold on setting up a cap and trade scheme to tackle climate change. Is there any point in Australia now setting up this ETS that you'd like if the US doesn't?
STEPHEN SMITH: We have always made the point that we believe that an emissions trading system, a carbon pollution reduction scheme is the way forward for Australia. That makes a substantial contribution to climate change not just domestically but internationally. I wouldn't be counting out the United States or any other country in terms of emissions trading scheme.
As you know we've had great difficulty getting support on our legislation before the Parliament, before the Senate, but we will continue to pursue that when the Parliament reconvenes next week and in the following weeks. So we remain committed to making both a domestic and an international contribution to climate change and our resolve has not wavered in this respect.
NEWSREADER: Minister, let's get to the point of why you're there. We're celebrating a hundred years of Australia UK relations, what's going on?
STEPHEN SMITH: It's the centenary of diplomatic repetition by Australia in the United Kingdom. A hundred years ago our first High Commissioner arrived at pretty much this time and so it's a very significant reflection of the warmth and the strength of the relationship between Australia and the United Kingdom.
My counterpart Foreign Secretary Miliband and I will speak tonight at a reception which Her Majesty the Queen will attend. So it's a very significant event both for Australia and for the United Kingdom. But it also underpins the strength of the relationship in the modern day.
It's not just an historical relationship. We have a very strong relationship economically, both trade and investment, and also in a security and strategic sense with the United Kingdom. In addition to the United States, United Kingdom is one of the countries that we work very closely with on all of the key peace and security issues and Afghanistan is but one example of that very close cooperation on the security and strategic front.
NEWSREADER: Foreign Minister Stephen Smith we thank you very much for your time, enjoy your stay there.
STEPHEN SMITH: Thanks John, thanks very much.
ENDS
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