Interview with Lyse Douchet, BBC World News

Subjects: Afghanistan, Australian Foreign Policy, Australian domestic politics

Transcript, E&OE

14 October 2010

LYSE DOUCHET: It's a month now since Australia's Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, was sworn in at the head of a shaky coalition, following a closely fought election, which produced the country's first minority government in 70 years.

The man she appointed as foreign minister is the same one she herself ousted as leader just months before, Kevin Rudd.

So how is he taking to the new job and his new boss? He joins us now from Brussels.

Kevin Rudd, you used to be on the world stage as the Prime Minister, now you're going around to world capitals as Foreign Minister. It must seem a bit odd.

KEVIN RUDD: Well you might judge it as odd, I regard it as continuing to do my job for my country and, to the extent that I can, to assist in dealing with some of the international challenges all countries face today. And that's why I'm in Brussels at the moment, attending a Friends of Democratic Pakistan meeting, which will be held here tomorrow.

LYSE DOUCHET: As Prime Minister, you very much emphasised the importance of Asia and indeed your immediate neighbourhood in Australia as the main focus of foreign policy. Are you continuing that now as Foreign Minister?

KEVIN RUDD: Well Australia is a middle power with global interests. Obviously the Asia Pacific region is core and central to our future. We look very carefully at developments in China and of course in Japan and across wider Asia and South Asia with India as well - as these directly affect our part of the world.

But we also have broader interests as well, including in Europe, and we have an expanding and broadening relationship with the European Union. Just come in fact from a discussion with the European Development Secretary on what we can do, by way of common development assistance program, be it in Africa or Asia, and also in Latin America.

So our interests are truly of a global nature as well as helping where we can to reinforce the systems of global government, whether it's the G20, the agencies of the United Nations and elsewhere, where I think we have a constructive and strong voice to bring to bear.

LYSE DOUCHET: But as you know, middle powers have limited resources, so they have to focus. The fact that you're at the Pakistan meeting and no doubt Afghanistan is coming up during those discussions, is this going to be part of one of the priorities for your country?

KEVIN RUDD: Well Australia is one of the top ten troop contributors to Afghanistan and, outside NATO, we are the largest troop contributor to Afghanistan. We're very much concentrated in Uruzgan in the south of that country. We take our responsibilities there very seriously, because we take our alliance with the United States seriously and the common purposes, which have taken us there in the first place, in embarking upon a strategy of strategic denial of Afghanistan as a future operating base for Al Qaeda, but also to help build a stable and durable government there as well.

Pakistan is equally a focus, not just because of its direct relationship with the Afghanistan challenge, but also because of its intrinsic development challenges as a massive country of 170 million people. And we're actively engaged with our friends in Islamabad as well.

LYSE DOUCHET: And do you feel that you're being given a lot of responsibility in forging the foreign policy though? Your Prime Minister of course has been quoted as saying foreign policy is not my passion. It's not what I've spent my life doing. You of course did show a certain interest and passion for this area of government policy. Is this something now you're going to be given a broad hand to conduct?

KEVIN RUDD: What Prime Minister Gillard was stating in those remarks was simply the centrality of education in the Australian national political and policy agenda. And she's absolutely right. It was equally a central passion and driving force of the government, which I led over the last three years.

As for Australia's foreign policy interests, these, as occurs in any western country - cabinet deliberations, my job as Foreign Minister is to give effect to those around the world, whether it's our policy of collaboration with the European Union on security policy, foreign policy, climate change, as well as development cooperation, but also in the councils of our own region, where the challenges are indeed very great.

And we hope to work with our friends and partners across the world in a close and collaborative way to deal with the big challenges which lie ahead of us.

LYSE DOUCHET: You're being very diplomatic. One would expect that of the country's top diplomat, but the world watched with interest when the Prime Minister, now Prime Minister pushed you aside. All is forgiven and forgotten?

KEVIN RUDD: Well I imagine the case is the same in the United Kingdom. Politics can be a bit of a rough and tumble business from time to time. The key thing however is to regard as paramount the values which bring you into the political process in the first place. And for me, they are pretty fundamental, which is as a member of a Labor party, a social democratic party, what can you do to enhance fairness in your own country? What can you do to enhance fairness and justice around the world? That's what we're committed to. That's what we intend to get on with the business of doing, whether it's in the field of climate change, whether it's in the field of development cooperation, or in some of the purity challenges in our party of the world.

That's what I intend to do to the best of my ability but also working in close partnership with my fellow foreign ministers from around the world, countries with which Australia has fashioned a (inaudible) in recent years.

LYSE DOUCHET: Well it may have been rougher than the rough and tumble you expected but thank you very much Kevin Rudd for sharing your views with us from Brussels.

KEVIN RUDD: Thank you very much.

END

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