• Home
• Media releases
• Transcripts
• Speeches
• Statements
• Current Minister
• Department

JIM MIDDLETON:  Foreign Minister, thanks for joining us.

STEPHEN SMITH:  It's a pleasure, Jim.

JIM MIDDLETON:  The Dutch are pulling out of Afghanistan. You made it clear that Australia cannot take the lead military role in Oruzgan. Who is going to fill the void?

STEPHEN SMITH:  In the first instance, that will be a matter for NATO and the International Security Assistance Forces.

We've worked very well with the Dutch, we've been good partners, but we've made it clear consistently that if the Dutch decided to leave then it would have to be down to a senior NATO partner to take the leadership in Oruzgan province. We're not in a position to…

JIM MIDDLETON:  Let's not mince words, would Australia accept anyone other than the British or the Americans taking over the Dutch leadership role in Oruzgan?

STEPHEN SMITH:  Well, it's a matter for NATO to have that conversation with us. We're not going to identify a particular country or countries. We've made it clear it can't be us. We believe it's appropriate that it's a senior NATO country.

It's obviously a conversation that NATO, including the United States, has to have. But there's now greater clarity so far as the Dutch situation is concerned.

There was obviously intense discussions amongst the Dutch Government as to whether they could extend their time in Oruzgan. In the event, we've seen, effectively, the collapse of the Government as a consequence.

So we now all have to proceed on the basis of a Dutch withdrawal, the cessation of the Dutch leadership from August of this year and a Dutch withdrawal by the end of the year.

NATO and the International Security Assistance Force has to now adapt and respond to that and that's been the thrust of the conversation I had this morning with my Dutch counterpart, Maxime Verhagen.

JIM MIDDLETON:  Did the Dutch express any disappointment at the course of events in that conversation?

STEPHEN SMITH:  Everyone knows it's been a difficult time for the Dutch, a three way coalition with differing views.

I put on the record Australia's very warm regard for the work we've been doing with the Dutch. It's been a long cooperation in Oruzgan province, we've worked very well together.

The Dutch have made a significant military contribution. They've also made a significant civilian or development assistance contribution.

So obviously we will regret the fact that the Dutch leave in a military sense but this is, in very many respects, not a surprise and we're not critical in any way. On the contrary, they've made a significant contribution.

JIM MIDDLETON: Did you, did your Dutch counterpart express any concern in the conversation that you had that what has happened as far as the Dutch forces are concerned and a withdrawal might lead to something of a domino effect in Europe?

STEPHEN SMITH:  No, well, on the contrary, if you have a look at the contributions that have occurred since the McChrystal Review, since the run up to the London Conference, the contributions have been the other way; a range of NATO and ISAF countries making additional contributions, either military or civilian development assistance contributions or both.

JIM MIDDLETON:  But there is the syndrome of the dam bursting and this is a very significant, more than symbolic act.

STEPHEN SMITH:  But it's not as if we're surprised by it. The Dutch Government and the Dutch Parliament made it clear some time ago that they would give up the leadership in August and they would withdraw effective from the end of this year.

What has been underway is an intense discussion amongst the Dutch Government as to whether they should change that position.

It's obviously been a very difficult conversation for them but they haven't changed that position and their Government has collapsed as a consequence.

So it's no surprise. We're well aware of the Dutch timetable, just as we are well aware of the Canadian timetable.

But since the Riedel Review, since the McChrystal Review, since the London Conference on Afghanistan, we've seen contributions going the other way. And the tone and the demeanour of the London Conference was that we had advanced in the sense that we've had a mature military strategy for some time, but we needed to complement that with a mature political and civilian capacity building strategy.

We've now got the right strategy. It's now a matter of effecting that on the ground and the starting point for that, of course, has been the security operation that we now see in Helmand Province which is, in very many respects, the heart of the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan.

JIM MIDDLETON:  Before we leave this subject, would Australia pull out its forces if the Government, your Government, decided that Australian troops in Oruzgan were not being adequately protected?

STEPHEN SMITH:  We've made it clear that we see our responsibility in Oruzgan to train security forces. We made a 40 per cent increase in our military contribution in March, April of last year and NATO, the United States, the ISAF countries, are very pleased with that contribution.

We are not in any fear that the question of leadership in Oruzgan province won't be solved. It is now an issue which NATO and the ISAF countries have to confront and obviously we will be very crucial and very much a part of that conversation.

So the Dutch will be replaced. It's really been the reverse, people have been waiting to see whether the Dutch might change a previous Government…

JIM MIDDLETON:  Might stay?

STEPHEN SMITH:  …yes, might change a previous Government and Parliamentary position and stay. Well, we now know the outcome of that and we respond accordingly.

JIM MIDDLETON: You met Japanese Foreign Minister, Katsuya Okada at the weekend. You warned him that Australia would take legal action to try to stop Japanese whaling in the Southern Ocean by the end of the year.

Your party made this threat at the last election, just over two years' ago, nothing's happened. Why should anyone believe that this is anything other than a hollow threat?

STEPHEN SMITH:  We've been working very hard over the last two years to see whether we can bring about a diplomatic solution, both bilaterally with Japan and through the International Whaling Commission, multilaterally. And there have been intense discussions, particularly in recent months through the International Whaling Commission.

But that's now coming to a head and, as I said to Foreign Minister Okada, time is running out. We will, in the very near future, propose to the IWC a range of suggestions for the IWC to consider, but one part of that will be a phase down of whaling in the Great Southern Ocean by Japan.

Now we've indicated that unless there is a phase down over a reasonable period of time, we reserve the right to have that issue arbitrated.

JIM MIDDLETON: No ifs, no buts this time? It will happen if the Japanese…

STEPHEN SMITH:  The Prime Minister has made it clear and I've made it clear publicly and I made it crystal clear to Foreign Minister Okada, as I have in the past to his predecessors, that we absolutely reserve the right to take legal action if we can't effect a diplomatic solution.

Time's running out and we've made it clear that unless we have a diplomatic solution which sees a phasing out of whaling in the Great Southern Oceans in advance of the next whaling season that we will go to the International Court of Justice.

JIM MIDDLETON:  One final issue and a specific issue, there seems to be something of a thaw going on in relations between Australia, New Zealand and Fiji. Wellington and Suva have agreed to boost their diplomatic representation.

Does Australia stand by its demand that the Fijian military regime set a date for return to democracy?

STEPHEN SMITH:   The date can't be 2014. We want Fiji to return to democracy and respect human rights much sooner than the date that the military regime has set.

What's been occurring is a three way conversation between Australia, New Zealand and Fiji to try and get our diplomatic representation back on to a professional basis.

At the end of last year we saw a three way expulsion of High Commissioners. Fiji and New Zealand have been having a bilateral conversation to supplement the resources in their respective missions.

This has not been a problem for Australia because our mission in Fiji is quite large. But step by step we're seeing whether it's possible to restore ourselves to professional diplomatic representation, ultimately with our respective High Commissioners reinstated or restored.

But there's a lot of water to go under the bridge, it will be a step by step process. But we had a productive and positive meeting with interim Foreign Minister Kubuabola and there's a prospect that in the near future we'll meet again to continue to pursue these matters.

But we also made it clear at the time that the great issues over which we disagree, a return to democracy, a respect for human rights, they are issues over which there are very strong disagreements. And we can't make progress on those issues, in our view, until such time as we at least restore our professional diplomatic representation and it's very much a step by step process.

JIM MIDDLETON: Foreign Minister, thanks again.

STEPHEN SMITH:  Thanks, Jim.

[END]

Media inquiries

• Minister's Office: (02) 6277 7500
• Departmental Media Liaison: (02) 6261 1555