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LINDA MOTTRAM: Stephen Smith, Julia Gillard says that she'll seek foreign policy advice from her Foreign Minister. So what are the priorities that you'll be suggesting to her?

STEPHEN SMITH: Our fundamentals remain the same in terms of foreign policy — our need to continue to very strongly on integrating in our own region in the Asia Pacific; our ongoing alliance with the United States, which continues to form the bedrock of our defence, security and strategic arrangements; and our engagement internationally through international institutions, but in particular through the United Nations.

So the fundamentals which have served us very well since we came to office will continue. Any Prime Minister, of course, brings different emphasis of style and nuances, so there may be changes in the future but the fundamentals, which are very important, will continue and continue very strongly.

LINDA MOTTRAM: What about the issue of an Asia Pacific community that was so dear to Mr Rudd's heart? Will you continue pursuing that?

STEPHEN SMITH: We are, we think, very close to achieving the objectives that we set when Prime Minister Rudd launched the Asia Pacific community a couple of years ago.

What we wanted to do was to ensure that our regional arrangements were correct for the Asia Pacific Century as strategic and economic influence moves in our direction — the rise of China, the rise of India, the rise of the ASEAN economies combined.

And the real breakthrough came with the recent ASEAN leaders meeting in Hanoi where leaders expressly requested the United States and Russia to become more formally integrated within the regional arrangements. And the ASEAN group is now having a conversation about whether the best way to effect that is by expanding the East Asia Summit by those two countries or having a new group called ASEAN + 8.

So when that emerges, which we're confident it will, then we'll have all of the players sitting around the table at the same place at the same time able to have a conversation not just about peace and security but also about prosperity.

So we think we are not too far away from achieving a very good practical outcome which meets our objectives.

LINDA MOTTRAM: But there was a regional discussion of some of these issues going on before and there was criticism that Kevin Rudd put the idea out there without consulting, which seems to be a bit of a theme of his prime ministership. Are you in fact overstating the importance of Australia's role?

STEPHEN SMITH: No, absolutely not. I think when Prime Minister Rudd put out his proposal, he said we need to have a conversation about where the region will be in 20 years' time, in 2020, 2025.

It was a long term view and I detected, in the course of the last nine months or so, a significant appreciation within the region that we did need to have a conversation about the so-called regional architecture.

There are a number of factors in that — the emergence of the G20 as the premier economic, international economic institution, was one factor; the overlap between the G20 and APEC; an APEC anniversary year last year where people reflected upon the emergence over less than a quarter of a century of APEC from essentially not being in existence to the premier regional economic, investment, trade and prosperity institution, and the need to concentrate on these matters.

So by the end of last year, there was very much an appreciation in the region that we had to have the conversation. And we've seen in the course of this year, particularly with the visit to Australia of the Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, other countries, Indonesia, Singapore, ASEAN countries taking up these issues, as well as, of course, the Japanese proposal for a so-called East Asia community.

LINDA MOTTRAM: Okay, turning to China, the big agenda item for everybody these days, has Australia's approach with China been a bit too personal in a sense that Kevin Rudd was expected to achieve massive things because of his diplomatic background and being a Mandarin speaker? I mean do you need to come out from under the shadow of that?

STEPHEN SMITH: I wouldn't share that analysis. We have a longstanding relationship with China and it has grown substantially over the last couple of years both in its depth and in its breadth.

Our modern relationship with China of course started with our very early recognition of China in 1972 by the Whitlam Labor Government. Our relationship originally was almost exclusively an economic relationship. But in the course of the last couple of years that has grown in its breadth. For example, I conducted with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang the first two strategic dialogues between Australia and China.

Recently, in addition to visits by Vice Premier Li and Vice President Xi, we've also seen a visit to Australia of General Guo, who is the Vice Chair of the Chinese Military Commission, having strategic and defence discussions with Defence Minister Faulkner.

So the breadth of the relationship now is comprehensive, not just economic. And of course the economic relationship has gone from strength to strength in the last couple of years.

LINDA MOTTRAM: Just turning to Afghanistan, Julia Gillard's, of course, indicated her support to the US for their strategy. But, like the US, Australia is starting to signal a likely earlier departure if all tasks are complete, so to speak.

But is this not now really a matter of the Taliban just waiting for the date to tick over when everybody pulls out and they move back in? I mean is this not a mire out of which you really should get now?

STEPHEN SMITH: We haven't set a timetable and we won't set a timetable. And our comments on that matter, as have been the United States' and President Obama's comments, as have, for example, been new United Kingdom Prime Minister Cameron, have been conditions based.

We need to achieve our objectives in Afghanistan. Our objective in Uruzgan Province is to train and mentor the Afghan National Army so that Afghan forces, both army and police, are in a position to effect necessary security arrangements in Uruzgan Province.

Our overall objective in Afghanistan is to ensure that Afghanistan doesn't again become a breeding ground for international terrorists, of which Australia has been, tragically and regrettably, on the receiving end on more than one occasion.

We are very strongly committed to the Obama strategy which is not just a military, security or enforcement strategy but also a civilian reconstruction, rebuilding and political strategy.

This is an effort that won't be won by military force alone. It does require civilian assistance; it does require a political outcome. And that's why, in recent times, we've also enhanced and expanded our civilian and diplomatic presence in Afghanistan and Uruzgan Province.

LINDA MOTTRAM: You've already got a massive portfolio. You've just had trade added to it. Simon Crean, your colleague, is a tireless advocate of Australia's free trade agenda. Are you going to have time to be as vociferous as he has been?

STEPHEN SMITH: Well there is a good symmetry and a good complementarity and I've been left a good shop by Simon who was inexhaustible in his efforts on the Doha Round, trying to bring a multilateral trade agreement to conclusion.

And we welcome very much that the G20 meeting over the weekend has tried to breathe new life back into getting a positive outcome so far as Doha is concerned, but also on the regional front, bringing to a conclusion the Australia, New Zealand, ASEAN Free Trade Agreement, working very hard on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and also on the individual bilateral free trade agreements and negotiations.

So I've been left a good shop but there's a good complementarity. The two Ministers in the past have been served by one department. Now one Minister will be served by one department. And Simon and I, over the last two and a half years, of course there's been a complementary nature about the issues we've raised in our representation.

In the past, as Foreign Minister, generally you see trade agreements, whether they're individual bilateral trade agreements with one country or regional or multilateral, you see them strategically. Now of course I'll have to immerse myself in the detail, but I'm looking forward very much to that. But it's a good fit in our view and I'm looking very much forward to it.

LINDA MOTTRAM: Just a few questions on the Pacific. Julia Gillard has chosen not to reappoint a Parliamentary Secretary for the Pacific which has been vacant for many months now. Why is that?

STEPHEN SMITH: We're well-served, in our view, by Bob McMullan who does the development assistance work, but also assists me in the trade area. We also have the Parliamentary Secretary for Trade, Anthony Byrne, so we believe the disposition is right.

But irrespective of individual personalities, what can't be taken away is the Government, from the Prime Minister down, the Government's absolute commitment to continued very strong engagement with the Asia Pacific, and that includes, of course, the Pacific itself.

So we've worked very closely with our Pacific colleagues. We currently chair the Pacific Islands Forum and we've worked very hard to establish our Development Assistance Partnerships with a range of Pacific countries, our Pacific Partnerships for development, and reflecting the importance both on the foreign policy and trade and development assistance front of our relationship in the Pacific.

The first Trade Minister I'll meet with formally will be New Zealand Trade Minister Tim Groser, and I'll do that this evening in Sydney.

LINDA MOTTRAM: Given the likelihood of the election timetable in Australia, it looks like Julia Gillard may not be able to make it to the Pacific Islands Forum. Does that matter?

STEPHEN SMITH: No one knows when the election will be held. We'll have to wait and see whether the calling and the holding of an election campaign and the election itself prevents the Prime Minister from travelling overseas.

But we currently chair the Pacific Islands Forum and in the normal course of events the Prime Minister would be there to do the formal handover to Vanuatu.

We'll take these things step by step. We have to have an election in the course of this year. When the election is called it will necessarily disturb some previously planned arrangements.

All of our friends and neighbours and partners in the international community understand that because to very many of them the same consequences occur when they have their own election.

LINDA MOTTRAM: Just a couple of specific issues in the region. Fiji's Media Decree demands that 90 per cent of ownership of the media be in local hands in a very short period of time. The Fiji Times is one of those owned by the Murdoch News Limited Group and they're very angry about this. What are you doing to try to reverse or change Fiji's position on this?

STEPHEN SMITH: I think News Limited are entitled to be angry. This is very much a deleterious and backward step. When the draft decree was published we made very strong representations to the Fiji interim government, to Fiji officials. It's regrettably a consistent course of conduct.

We've seen over the recent period from the interim administration impositions on freedom of speech, freedom of expression and effective censorship on media outlets. But the additional difficulty with the decree is that we worry very much that this will see an adverse consequence as far as investment in Fiji is concerned. This will have serious economic implications as well.

One of the regrettable features of Fiji since the coup, since Commodore Bainimarama came to power, has been the continual declining economic circumstances and the deleterious adverse consequences for the people of Fiji.

So this is a very bad outcome. News Limited are entitled to be upset. They've been an investor and a publisher in Fiji for a very long period of time. But we worry very much that this will have wider adverse consequences for the people of Fiji.

LINDA MOTTRAM: Indeed, News Limited's John Hartigan is being very critical of both the Rudd Government and the previous Howard Government for not doing enough to get Fiji…

STEPHEN SMITH: I've seen those comments. Frankly I was surprised by them. I understand his disappointment, but Australia, both under the Howard, the Rudd and the Gillard Governments, has been at the forefront of seeking to put regional and international community pressure on Fiji to return to democracy.

We've been at the forefront of efforts to see Fiji's suspension from the Commonwealth, from the Pacific Islands Forum itself. But equally we have been at the forefront of work through the Fiji Ministerial Contact Group to try and persuade Fiji to enter into a dialogue and to return to democracy.

So I understand Mr Hartigan's distress and disappointment, but I don't think that is a fair reflection of the efforts that Australia has made over the years, and that applies to Governments of both political persuasions.

We know seeking to persuade Fiji to return to democracy is difficult. We know that there is no magic solution. We know that there is no outcome which will magically occur tomorrow. But we continue, both bilaterally and through the Pacific Islands Forum and through the Ministerial Contact Group, to make the point to Fiji that they have to enter into a genuine dialogue. We have to find a way back to democracy for them.

LINDA MOTTRAM: Meanwhile Frank Bainimarama continues to try to build his support base amongst Melanesian countries in the Pacific. Are you concerned that there's potentially a spread of the Fiji disease, so to speak?

STEPHEN SMITH: There is unanimous support in the Pacific Islands Forum for Fiji's suspension. There is a unanimous view in the Pacific Islands Forum that Fiji needs to return to democracy.

Fiji of course is a member of the sub-regional group, the Melanesian Spearhead Group. Of course the Melanesian Spearhead Group is perfectly entitled to meet on a regular basis, as it does.

But we make the point to all of our colleagues in the Pacific that Fiji should not be allowed to do things which undermine the Pacific Islands Forum and which seek to undermine the unanimity of the Pacific in its very strong view that Fiji has to return to democracy.

Fiji returning to democracy is not just in Fiji's democratic interest; it's also in its social and economic interest. But it's also very important to the region. Fiji should be a premier economy, a leading economic nation in the Pacific. As a result of the military intervention, it is not in that position, with very clear warning signs and dangers that its position will decline even further.

LINDA MOTTRAM: Just finally on Papua New Guinea, yesterday we saw a very confused situation, I think you could say at best, over the re-election of the Governor- General.

There's been question marks about the operation of Papua New Guinea's democracy for some time. What's your take on the situation there?

STEPHEN SMITH: It's one of those matters where I wouldn't be reflecting publicly on internal Papua New Guinea arrangements. I'm looking forward to visiting Papua New Guinea in the very near future. Obviously I'll have conversations about the breadth of the Australia-Papua New Guinea relationship, which is a very close relationship.

We're very pleased that that relationship is effectively being repaired following a breakdown in relations under the Howard Government. But it's not for me to reflect publicly on internal domestic political matters in Papua New Guinea.

We continue to want to work very closely with Papua New Guinea and whatever Government the processes of Papua New Guinea see emerge on general bilateral matters, but also on Papua New Guinea's economic and social development, through our development assistance program, which as you know is one of our largest.

LINDA MOTTRAM: Stephen Smith, thanks for your time.

STEPHEN SMITH: Thanks very much.

Media inquiries

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