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

STEPHEN SMITH: Thanks very much for turning up. The Australian Government is very pleased to announce simultaneously in Canberra, Perth and London that the 2011 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) will be held in Perth on October 28th, 29th and 30th. So Friday 28th to Sunday the 30th of October CHOGM will be held in Perth.

The dates have been set after consultation with the Commonwealth Secretary General in London, with Buckingham Palace and with other members of the Commonwealth. And I will of course be very pleased to welcome my Foreign Ministerial colleagues to Perth for CHOGM next year, as the Prime Minister will be very pleased to welcome his colleagues to Perth and to Australia.

The Commonwealth of course is a very important international institution in which Australia has traditionally played a leading role, and we're very pleased that for the third occasion Australia will host the leaders for the CHOGM meeting next year.

The Commonwealth, with its attachment to democracy and protection of human rights, is an institution that Australia has supported over the years because it reflects very much Australia's values and virtues and our traditions.

This of course will be a significant boost for Perth and for Western Australia. It will take Perth and Western Australia to the Commonwealth. After the UN General Assembly the Commonwealth competes with the African Union for the single largest gathering of leaders, some 54 member countries, and we expect to see over 50 leaders and Foreign Ministers attending CHOGM next year. So we're very pleased to make that announcement today.

Can I just make some remarks about Thailand and then I'm happy to respond to your questions.

The Australian Government continues to advise Australians not to travel to Bangkok other than to transit through Bangkok International Airport.

Whilst the largest gathering of protestors has been dispersed, the situation in Bangkok remains volatile and very tense and people should expect that incidences of violence can continue to arise.

I spoke again this morning to our Ambassador, getting an update on the situation, and whilst, as I say, the large gathering of protesters has dispersed, things remain in a very volatile situation.

Australians who remain in Bangkok should continue to avoid any sites where military cordons have gathered or any sites where protesters gather. They should follow curfew instructions. We now see a curfew in Bangkok and a range of provincial centres.

Our travel advice continues to be updated on a regular basis, giving Australians up to date factual information, but our overall advice is to not travel to Bangkok and to reconsider the need to travel to other parts of Thailand.

Our Embassy remains closed to visitors, but continues to provide service to Australians by way of telephone.

So I'm very happy to respond to your questions on the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Thailand or other matters of interest to you.

QUESTION: [Inaudible question]

STEPHEN SMITH: That will be a matter for the Thai political process. One of the good things that I have commented upon publicly recently is that the Thai military has resisted any temptation to interfere in the Government or the administrative processes.

But we continue to urge all of the players in the political process or parties to the political process to re-engage, to restart a dialogue and to renegotiate. We very much want this very difficult period in Thai political affairs to be resolved peacefully.

We regret very much the deaths that have occurred. We regret very much the violence and the injuries, and we want this matter to be resolved consistent with Thailand's democratic and parliamentary processes.

QUESTION: Given the economic importance of the country, is Australia talking to other nations or the US about ways to find a way through the impasse?

STEPHEN SMITH: In the first instance Thailand is very much a good friend of Australia, and we want to give Thailand as much support as we can, both in good times and in bad. Thailand of course is an important member of ASEAN, an important nation in our region. So Thailand's ASEAN colleagues like Australia have been urging Thailand's political processes to kick in and to resolve the matter peacefully.

I have not had discussions about Thailand with my counterpart in the United States. I have had discussions with counterparts in the region but I wouldn't be proposing to detail those.

In the end, whilst we can give Thailand as much advice as we like either publicly or privately, and I prefer to give my advice privately, it is a matter for Thailand itself to resolve these very difficult political issues.

QUESTION: [Indistinct] just slip back into more violence?

STEPHEN SMITH: As I say, the thrust of our travel advice and the thrust of my conversation with the Ambassador this morning was whilst the immediacy of the violence has abated, whilst the large gathering of protesters has dispersed, things in Bangkok remain very tense and there is a potential for violence to occur quickly and without notice, which is why we continue to urge Australians to not travel to Bangkok.

Any Australians who remain in Bangkok should avoid these areas assiduously.

QUESTION: Why was October 28th settled upon as the date? Were there any other...

STEPHEN SMITH: Traditionally the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting CHOGM is held in October, November. The last CHOGM meeting for example in the Port of Spain in Trinidad and Tobago last year was held in November. It's a matter of finding a date around that time of year which doesn't clash with other important regional or international events. And so care has been taken to ensure for example that it doesn't clash with ASEAN related meetings or with APEC or other important international meetings.

It's also because the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting is invariably attended by Her Majesty, so consultations with the Palace have also been required.

So we've struck upon those dates Friday 28th to Sunday 30th October next year in consultation with the Commonwealth itself, the Commonwealth Secretariat, Buckingham Palace and other members of the Commonwealth. And we're looking very much forward to the influx of leaders and members of the Commonwealth to Perth.

QUESTION: It wasn't considered in the spring Perth would be nice?

STEPHEN SMITH: Well maybe you're asking the wrong person, but I think Perth always looks nice, but that's just me.

It's a good time of year, there's no doubt about that, but the Commonwealth tradition is to meet in October, November, and we've stuck with that tradition but we are very much looking forward to Perth being a showcase.

We've been working very closely with the State Government. I have discussed this matter with the Premier on a number of occasions. WA is represented on the Commonwealth taskforce which is driving the organisational arrangements for the Heads of Government meeting. I've given on a regular basis the Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi the information required to put the city of Perth into a good position.

So all levels of Government - the Commonwealth, the State and local Government are working very closely together. That's a good thing.

I should of course mention, but it is in the materials you've received, that the leaders meeting itself will be conducted in the Convention Centre just behind us.

QUESTION: How advanced are security preparations?

STEPHEN SMITH: We are working very closely, all of the relevant Commonwealth agencies are working closely with the state authorities. At the actual meeting the Western Australian police will have primary organisational responsibilities for matters on the ground. But for the present all of the relevant Commonwealth agencies are working closely together, but also working closely with the state, in particular the Western Australian police.

It is a regrettable feature of the modern day that we have to be very careful and very assiduous about the preparations that we make in this area. But I'm very confident that we've got good cooperation between the Commonwealth and the state. I know that the Premier shares that view, and as we get closer to the event, some of the more public details of the security arrangements will be made clear, but obviously there's a fair bit of time to elapse before then.

QUESTION: Just in regards to [indistinct] happening over there and Australian talks with any other [indistinct].

STEPHEN SMITH: I arrived this morning from Japan where Minister Defence Minister Faulkner and I conducted with our Japanese colleagues, Australia's so-called '2+2' dialogue, which is our defence strategic and security dialogue with Japan. And so I obviously had conversations with my Japanese counterpart about the matter.

We are very concerned about reactions of North Korea in respect of this matter. When the corvette, the South Korean corvette, the Cheonan, was sunk, Australia agreed to provide expert officials to be part of the investigation team. That investigation team included officials from the Republic of Korea but also the United Kingdom, the United States and Sweden and the expert report, which was published yesterday by the Government of South Korea, is compelling in its reading. It leaves you in no doubt that a South Korean naval vessel was sunk by a North Korean torpedo, and all pieces of evidence lead to North Korea.

So that is a completely indefensible act. It's in breach of international law. It's in breach of North Korea's obligations under the 1953 armistice treaty, and it is a blow to peace and security on the Korean peninsula.

So we believe there needs to be a very strong international community response. The international community needs to let North Korea know in no uncertain terms that such conduct is completely unacceptable, and our first port of call in that respect is to immediately look to the Security Council.

We are as we speak in consultation not just with the Republic of Korea, but with Japan, the United States, and other like-minded countries as to the appropriate response.

President Lee of South Korea has made it clear that he's proposing, over the next couple of days, to make a statement giving South Korea's response, and what South Korea believes the response of the international community should be. And we're very happy on this matter to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with South Korea and work closely with South Korea, with Japan, the United States, and others to help bring about an appropriate international community response.

But we condemn this act absolutely. And we're pleased that to date we've played a small part, so far as the investigation team is concerned, in drawing together the evidence about the sinking of the Cheonan.

QUESTION: [Inaudible question]

STEPHEN SMITH: I gave a speech in Japan yesterday, at the Japanese National Press Club, where I made the point that Australia and Japan have been at the forefront of firstly, the creation of APEC - as the premier regional institution dealing with trade and investment and prosperity - and also have been instrumental in ensuring that APEC met at leaders level.

I've seen a fallacious, erroneous and baseless report to the effect that there might be a thought in the minds of Australian foreign policy officials to seek to downgrade APEC.

That report is completely baseless. There is no substance to it whatsoever.

And I made that point to the newspaper concerned yesterday, and I'm very happy to make it again today. It is a figment of the imagination of the report concerned.

QUESTION: [Inaudible question]

STEPHEN SMITH: I never talk about Cabinet decisions, but I fully support the decision that the Government made, and fully support the Budget. And I urge the Western Australian mining industry to take up the offer that the Treasurer has made, which is to engage fully with the consultative process.

I note that Rio Tinto did that yesterday, and BHP are doing it today. But they should also take up the opportunity which my colleague the Minister for Minerals and for Resources and Energy, Martin Ferguson, has made publicly, which the Treasurer himself has made publicly and privately, that they should go to the consultative group, they should go to those two Ministers and put their views.

The Government has made it quite clear that in terms of implementation, it is open to those representations, and the industry should take that up.

And I think it's also important for the industry generally to proceed on the basis of a sensible and calm approach. You know, fear mongering, scare mongering, making assertions about investment decisions when everyone knows that whether investment decisions are made or not are sophisticated and contemplative matters.

They should just get down to the business of a sensible dialogue and work closely with the Treasurer and the Minister for Energy and Resources and put their views forward.

QUESTION: [Inaudible question]

STEPHEN SMITH: I'm very sure that he has the contact numbers for the Treasurer. And I know he has the contact numbers for the Minister for Resources and Energy. He should take up the public offer that's been made by both those Ministers to engage in a consultation, and in these matters my own advice is always pretty straightforward - consultation is best done direct, not through the media, with the greatest of respect to all concerned.

QUESTION: [Inaudible question]

STEPHEN SMITH: Look, this is a policy decision which is comparable to the policy decision that the previous Labor Government made in respect of petroleum resources. We're effectively dealing here with a mineral resources rent tax, as we did over 20 years ago with the petroleum resources rent tax. The petroleum resources rent tax has not seen the death of the petroleum resources industry.

On the contrary, last time I looked, the single largest, biggest petroleum contract entered into by an Australian company, the Gorgon project, is subject to that tax.

So what we are trying to do here is to apply a taxation regime to minerals resources which is similarly profit based and not a tax which is a tax on volume. And what has not been the subject of enough consideration, in my view, either by the mine industry or generally, are the very substantial credits that are proposing the tax for state-based mining of royalties.

We saw Mr Barnett's Budget yesterday. I got off a plane this morning, so I haven't had the chance of going through it line by line, but what is very clear from the State Budget is that the state is proceeding on the basis of very large increases in mining royalties, driven by an increase potentially in iron ore prices and volumes.

And so the state is taking the benefit of a royalties regime.

All of it, the longstanding experienced policy practitioners in this area, including Ross Garnaut, say that the best taxation regime for a resources project is a profit-based regime.

You don't pay the tax unless you're making a profit and you get substantial and considerable credits for state-based royalties. The regime is actually in my view advantageous for the smaller and medium-sized producers who won't, under this regime - under the Government's proposed regime - have to pay taxes until they start making a profit.

So I think a bit of calm, a bit of less hysteria in the media, and sitting down, having a sensible conversation with the Treasurer and the Minister for Minerals and Energy might just help. A bit of focus on the fact that there are substantial credits for state-based royalties will also help. And the fact that you have the State Government putting out its Budget yesterday with forecasts into the future of substantial royalties, substantial increase in royalties, tells you that the State Government itself believes that the minerals resources industry in Western Australia will continue to be handsomely productive.

QUESTION: [Inaudible question]

STEPHEN SMITH: I think that issue was resolved a long time ago by our predecessors and I'm entirely happy with our current constitutional arrangements.

QUESTION: [Inaudible question]

STEPHEN SMITH: If the Premier wants to revert back 100 years in the Western Australian constitutional history, it is entirely a matter for him.

QUESTION: [Inaudible question]

STEPHEN SMITH: The only knowledge I have of that matter was five minutes ago when someone indicated to me that I might get such a question. So I flicked onto the web and saw a story from South Australia about a police raid on such a matter. That is as much as I know.

I recently had a conversation with my colleague, the Foreign Minister from Vanuatu, Joe Natuman. Australia currently of course is the chair of the Pacific Islands Forum. We finish up in August this year. The next forum leaders meeting is in Vanuatu, who take over the chair.

So Joe and I had a very good discussion about Pacific matters and a very good discussion about the Pacific Islands Forum. But we certainly didn't have a conversation about that matter, and it would have surprised me if we had.

QUESTION: [Inaudible question]

STEPHEN SMITH: The only thing I'm aware of is what I read on the web as a result of your enquiry on five minutes notice. And I'm not sure what additional edification I'd be able to bring if I had more notice.

QUESTION: [Inaudible question]

STEPHEN SMITH: I was in Shanghai during the week for Expo 2010 and I had lunch with Australian Chinese business representatives. One of the business representatives raised it with me.

Well that was no surprise. It's a business person I've known for a long period of time who happens to be in the minerals industry and happens to work for Rio Tinto. So that was no surprise.

I wasn't surprised that I received no representations in Shanghai, because my colleague, the Trade Minister, Simon Crean, this week is conducting a formal economic dialogue at ministerial level in Beijing with the chair of the Chinese National Economic Development Commission.

And Simon Crean made the point in the course of those discussions when the matter was raised that not only do we include the Western Australian mining industry, or the Australian mining industry, or Australian mining companies, within our view, of the consultative process, but we also include any company from overseas who has or wants to invest in Australia.

So that invitation to be part of the consultative process has been made in respect of Chinese interested companies as well.

In Japan, it wasn't raised with me other than a question at the National Press Club.

Okay, thanks very much. Thank you.

Media inquiries

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