Transcript of interview, ABC News 24

Transcript, E&OE, proof only

Subject: Japanese earthquake

13 March 2011

NEWSREADER: A massive rescue and relief operation is underway in Japan today, after the magnitude 8.9 earthquake which struck on Friday afternoon devastated a huge stretch of the country's north-east coast. Here is the latest: 686 people are now confirmed dead but 400-500 bodies have yet to be identified

The Japanese government predicts the death toll will exceed 1000 people. There are 10,000 people missing in the Japanese port town of Minamisanriku, and there are fears of a possible nuclear meltdown at Tokyo's Fukushima nuclear power plant

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has confirmed the safety of nearly 1200 Australians in Japan, but is still trying to get in touch with many more. For the latest, I'm joined now by the Foreign Affairs Minister, Kevin Rudd, in Canberra

Minister, thanks for joining us this morning. Can you give us an update on the contact made with the Australians that have been caught up in this disaster?

KEVIN RUDD: Yes, what we've had with the Department of Foreign Affairs consular crisis centre here in Canberra is so far about 5500 calls from the Australian public concerned about friends, family, loved ones in Japan. What we do with each of these cases is then corroborate them with information we have on the ground. This will take some time, given the large numbers involved

Secondly, within the disaster-affected prefectures themselves, we now have a total of 189 registered Australians. We are now working our way particularly, methodically, through those names and the locations in which they were at the time of the earthquake and tsunami

I just spoke to the ambassador in Tokyo a little while ago. Overnight we've had some seven Australians from one of the disaster-affected prefectures call into the embassy to confirm that they were okay

This will take time, and I know this is a period of great anxiety and concern for Australian families and for their loved ones as we work through as best we can, given the constraints in the disaster-affected area

NEWSREADER: As you say, there's no doubt a lot of anxiety for those Australians trying to get home. Will the government be arranging emergency flights to bring those Australians who want to come home from Japan?

KEVIN RUDD: So far our advice is that the commercial operations out of Narita Airport are working. Last night, overnight, we had all five scheduled commercial flights to Australia leave Narita and come back to Australia

We dispatched, yesterday, a consular team from the embassy in Tokyo out to Narita. That's about normally a 45 minute journey; it took the team about 7 hours to get out there. They slept there overnight in the terminal to assist Australians onto these flights

If the situation changes, in terms of the adequacy of flights out of Japan into the days ahead, of course the Government will review its position on that

Also, on the consular front, can I advise you that overnight we got in another 10 Australian consular officials - all Japanese speaking - we will use some of those Australians to go out with the search and rescue team when it arrives in Japan later tonight Australian time. And - well, later tonight Japanese time, perhaps early in the morning Australian time

That would strike us as the best way of having our consular team on the ground, in the disaster-affected areas, so that we are both assisting with search and rescue, but also our consular officers are there in the disaster-affected areas, working with Australians on the ground as well.

NEWSREADER: After what's happened in Queensland, recently in New Zealand, obviously these Australian emergency assistance crews are being stretched. Just how are they dealing - not just the consular assistants, but also the emergency teams as well - how are they dealing with this latest disaster?

KEVIN RUDD: Well, in terms of the search and rescue teams, these are highly professional individuals. They are trained for these events. You're absolutely right to say that they have been pushed to the limit in recent months because of Queensland, Christchurch and now of course, Japan

But they are highly dedicated, and we have insisted on supporting them with embedded Japanese language speakers so that when they hit the ground in Tokyo, and when they are in the field, they are able to communicate with their Japanese counterparts

I spoke with the Japanese foreign minister about this last night. He said that language skills on the ground are also doubly important in making sure that there is effective communication at a ground level

He of course - the Japanese foreign minister - was recently in Christchurch with their own search and rescue team, searching through ruins there to identify missing Japanese

NEWSREADER: And I remember in Christchurch speaking to the Japanese foreign minister, and in fact they're obviously going through an horrendous time, having just dealt with a number of Japanese language students in Christchurch losing their lives, and then what's happened now in Japan

What of the government - the Australian government's concerns about the state of the Fukushima reactor? What can you tell us about that?

KEVIN RUDD: I spoke to this again specifically with the Japanese foreign minister on the phone last night, and said that we and the rest of the international community need urgent briefings on the precise status of these reactors

The circumstances pertaining to each unit within the two nuclear power plants that we are concerned about - in the Fukushima area, I should say, is something which we, through the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Authority (ARPANSA), are working our way through, methodically

We're also seeking to do so with professional experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency. These experts between them are producing detailed modelling as to the impact of the explosion at one of the units in one of the reactors which occurred, I think, at about 5.30 p.m. yesterday afternoon

We are seeking further corroboration of the technical and safety impacts of this from the Japanese government. That's what I raised with him last night

You will note, and it may have been reported already, that the Japanese government have now extended the exclusion zone from around that particular reactor from 10 kilometres to 20 kilometres, and again within the Australian travel advisory we'll be making that point clear to any Australians living in that part of Japan, in and around Fukushima.

NEWSREADER: So is it your understanding that the threat is only localised at the moment?

KEVIN RUDD: I can only respond to what we've been advised by the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Standards Authority. As I said, they are now currently engaged with counterparts from around the world, through the International Atomic Energy Agency and others. We're seeking further information directly from the Japanese government on this.

If further information comes to hand, we'll of course make that public. That is what we're working our way though now.

NEWSREADER: Are there any plans to set up Australian military field hospitals, or send any assistance in terms of disaster victim identification teams?

KEVIN RUDD: In my conversation with the Japanese foreign minister last night, of course I indicated that the hearts and souls of the Australian people are with the people of Japan at this time of terrible shock and tragedy and devastation

At a practical level I informed him of the arrival later tonight, now, of the Australian search and rescue team. I also said there were other capabilities we could deploy if they wanted it. We have multiple - or a number of - field hospitals, which can be established, which are entirely self-contained

On top of that I indicated that we also had, through the Australian Federal Police, a number of trained personnel who can assist with disaster victim identification. This is very important at a time like this, when you have so many people that have been killed and traumatised, loved ones wanting to know the identity of those that have been killed

Thirdly, I also recommended to the Japanese that they consider the possibility of experts from the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Standards Authority working with Japanese colleagues on the ground, in Japan

He is considering each of those offers. If any of them are to be taken up, it will be communicated through our embassies during the course of the next day or so.

NEWSREADER: Turning to Libya now. Mr Rudd, nine of the 11 Arab ministers voted for a no-fly zone - you'll have heard in news reports and no doubt through your contacts there. Does this open the way now for the international community to back a no-fly zone? Are you disappointed that hasn't happened?

KEVIN RUDD: The next step in the tortuous diplomatic trail leading to a no-fly zone for Libya was this critical meeting of the Arab League scheduled for Cairo on Saturday.

I discussed this prior to the meeting with the Secretary-General of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, and with the various other Arab foreign ministers, including those from the Gulf.

The six Gulf states, of course, were strong in their support for a no-fly zone, and the official statement, as I'm advised from the Arab League from that meeting on Saturday, supports a no-fly zone. When it comes to the UN Security Council, one of the first things they look at is what is the attitude of regional organisations and institutions. This is a critical, necessary precursor to the UN Security Council taking this next step

There is of course some disquiet on the part of various members of the United Nations Security Council, but let me tell you, had the Arab League not formed a view on this, and reflected it through their meeting on Saturday, it would have been a major problem for the UN Security Council. We still have differences to deal with there. We believe, of course, as the Australian Government, that this is what the UN Security Council must consider next.

NEWSREADER: Kevin Rudd, thank for very much for joining us this morning from Canberra.

KEVIN RUDD: Thank you very much for having me on the program.

ENDS

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