Transcript of interview with Cameron Williams and Leila McKinnon, Today on Saturday

Transcript, E&OE, proof only

Subjects: Japanese earthquake and Pacific tsunami

12 March 2011

CAMERON WILLIAMS: The Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd is at the airport right now, so he's been very generous with his time this morning. Thank you for joining us, Kevin. What is Australia's official reaction to this Japanese tragedy? What are we doing about it?

KEVIN RUDD: Well, let me just go through what the Ambassador - Australian Ambassador in Tokyo has just told me about five or 10 minutes ago. I've just been on the phone to him about the situation on the ground.

The core problem that we face is that so many areas are affected by this that we have to work our way methodically through Australians. As you probably know already, there's about 11,000 registered Australians living in Tokyo, there's about 225,000 Australians who visit Tokyo each year. So that's the dimensions of the task we have.

Secondly, what he tells me also is that apart from the areas affected with the major activity yesterday, there have been a subsequent series of earthquakes or aftershocks in excess of six on the Richter scale in a new set of areas, including in what he advises me are some of the ski resorts as well.

The embassy has now been in contact with each of the prefectural governments and each of their emergency centres in order to establish contact, in order to work on the identification of any foreigners who are affected by this and, of course, Australians as a result of that. We can't get through to Miyagi prefecture, which is where the damage has been most severe.

These are the things we're doing now, and the embassy is working around the clock with its own crisis centre in Tokyo.

CAMERON WILLIAMS: Mr Rudd, the - we just spoke to the national broadcaster, NHK, and they're saying that the death toll there is being reported now as at 400 and expected to climb very steeply today as the day grows longer in Japan. And it would seem inevitable that, given the number of Australians, as you've mentioned, that are in Japan, that there may be Australians amongst them.

So much anxiety at the moment, so little communication - what can Australians here who are worried about their loved ones in Japan do right at this moment?

KEVIN RUDD: It's a really good question, and I understand the anxieties which parents and family feel at times like this.

First thing to do is to try and establish mobile contact with your family and your friends and your loved ones to see that they're okay. If you can't get through, that is not of itself a bad sign, because the Ambassador told me that his mobile phone only came back on about half an hour ago and it's been coming in and out a bit over the course of the last 10 to 12 hours.

Secondly, try and contact them by land line. If you cannot succeed on either of those two fronts, then the next course of action is to ring the DFAT Consular Emergency Centre, and I'm sure you're already showing that number up on your screen this morning.

CAMERON WILLIAMS: We are.

KEVIN RUDD: Those are the two steps. Try making first contact by either of those means, then secondly onto the crisis centre. It's fully staffed, we got it up and running last night as soon as this thing hit, and we've got staff working around the clock in Tokyo as well.

One other thing in terms of assistance to the Japanese Government, the Ambassador advises me that they have made a request of us for specialist teams, including sniffer dogs. That has been conveyed to the relevant emergency authorities here within our country, and I'm sure every effort will be made to get those and anything else the Japanese need up there quick smart.

The Ambassador also tells me that we have one functioning airport at the moment at Haneda, even though the other airports have been affected by what has occurred, and therefore we're confident that we can get through not just our emergency assistance of the type which the Japanese have requested, but also additional consular staff into Japan from surrounding Australian posts in Korea, China and elsewhere to boost up our Australian presence.

CAMERON WILLIAMS: Kevin, what has been your personal reaction to seeing these pictures now? I mean, I'm seeing these pictures sometimes for the tenth time and I'm still shaking my head. To watch a disaster unfold like this - it's just an incredibly emotional situation to watch this happen and feel defenceless and unable to help in the first instance.

KEVIN RUDD: It's horrific, it's just horrific. It's frightening. It makes you cry, because when you see all those cars being swept away you know that there's people affected by this. And, look, all of our hearts just go out to the good people of Japan and, frankly, all those, whether they be Japanese or not, in the affected areas.

We'll be throwing everything we can at this, as the Australian Government, looking after our own people, and I'm confident we'll be throwing every asset at this the Japanese want.

There will be a meeting of the National Security Committee of the Cabinet in Canberra this morning, and we'll work on further measures there.

CAMERON WILLIAMS: All right, well I know you're very busy this morning, Mr Rudd. Thank you very much for your time, and we wish you well on your journey.

The Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd there saying that the first place to go is your mobile phone, then a landline, then DFAT, the number we've been giving you this morning, and then specialist teams, of course, that are able to help in later instances as time develops.

END

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