Transcript of interview with The Grill Team, Triple M radio

Subjects: New Zealand mine rescue

Transcript, E&OE

23 November 2010

STUART MACGILL: We are joined now just after 8:30 on Tripe M by the Foreign Affairs Minister Kevin Rudd. Mr Rudd good morning.

KEVIN RUDD: Good morning.

STUART MACGILL: The efforts that have been put in by the international community and Australia, what's the latest there?

KEVIN RUDD: I spoke to our High Commissioner in New Zealand this morning and his advice is — well I picked up earlier from the New Zealand mines minister and others that everything that can be done is being done right now. The challenge of course and dilemma faced by the rescuers is not to compound the situation by what they now confront in terms of gas in the mine and the risk of making things worse rather than better. And on the other hand you have the very human dimension experienced by the families with whom I've spoken of them wanting to know sooner rather than later the wellbeing of their love ones.

GUS WORLAND: Now you spoke about the human dimension Mr Rudd and we spoke to the Mayor of Greymouth this morning and we had a crack about you know, brothers in arms because we're normally fighting over cricket or the Bledisloe Cup or the rugby league Four Nations, this is when the Aussies and the Kiwis stick together isn't it? It can be a wonderful story of us above ground doing our absolute darnedest to get these boys back safe.

KEVIN RUDD: Well I think it's right. All the stuff we go on about each other, that's just all sport and laughter. The bottom line is Kiwis are our mates and therefore when mates are in trouble, mates help each other out, that's what we're doing.

And I've and others have been on the phone to the New Zealand Government from the very beginning of this to make sure that anything that they physically need by way of equipment, by way of staff, by way of personnel, expertise, they know that they just have to pick up the phone, that's why we put in place in New Zealand from — I think the first day, representatives of Emergency Management Australia to be a very quick conduit through to all the assets available in Australia to get there and we've already got as you know, a number of teams on the ground, both in Greymouth and in Christchurch.

MARK GEYER: You said you've spoken to the families?

KEVIN RUDD: Yes.

MARK GEYER: What was that conversation?

KEVIN RUDD: I spoke to the families yesterday morning. Our responsibility as a government is two-fold. Firstly what we've got to make sure is that families who are deeply concerned about the wellbeing of their love ones are properly supported by Australian Government representatives overseas. So what we've been doing is working with the families to make sure that love ones get quick access to passports, visas, if that's necessary and travel, communications to get folk to the area as quickly as possible and to support them on the ground.

Our Consul-General from the High Commission in Wellington has been there from day one at my direction just to provide practical support, if things crop up which they need, then to the extent that we can then we help.

The other responsibility we've got is the one we're just talking about before. That is to make sure we've got the expertise in place to rapidly deploy any assets, any expertise, any people that the New Zealand Search and Rescue authorities may need. So that's what we've been, head down tail up on this since the beginning.

MARK GEYER: Well done.

GUS WORLAND: Well good on you I'm glad you've done that. Thanks a lot for coming on The Grill Team Mr Rudd, we appreciate it, keep up the good work champ. Foreign Affairs Minister, it is twenty-five to nine.

END

Media enquiries