Interview with Kieran Gilbert, Sky News Australia

Transcript, E&OE, proof only

Subjects: Japan earthquake, Libya, domestic politics

14 March 2011

KIERAN GILBERT: Foreign Minister thank you very much for your time this morning. What's the latest advice firstly that you have on Australians in Japan and particularly in the affected area?

KEVIN RUDD: As of about 5.30 this morning Kieran we'd had about 7000 calls or just under from the Australian public. We've been able to confirm the whereabouts of just about 2000 of those, people should not be concerned by the gap, it takes us a while to work through all of these. Importantly we've also confirmed the whereabouts of 101 Australians - 102 Australians in the disaster affected areas. We also have the number registered in those areas has been 234. So we are still working our way through that. This always takes time. But that's the most recent data I have on Australians as of 5.30 this morning.

KIERAN GILBERT: We know of at least one Melbourne man missing in the area, now do you have concerns, grave concerns for him, for anyone else that you know of because of the reports from their families at the moment?

KEVIN RUDD: We're very much aware of the information concerning that man from Melbourne. The consular crisis centre team have been in touch with his family, together with a whole lot of other cases as well. What we do is work our way systematically through each case. This can be an agonising wait for families, just an agonising wait for families and I really feel for families in these circumstances. No one can imagine what they're going through. But we have to do it systematically and it's frustratingly slow sometimes but as soon as we have information to hand about each and every one of the confirmed Australians and to their whereabouts, we get straight back to the families.

KIERAN GILBERT: Okay what about the latest in terms of Australian support on search and rescue and also in terms of consular support to those that might be caught up in those areas?

KEVIN RUDD: Yeah we've flown in about an extra 10 consular officials from Australia. They arrived about 24 hours ago. They have gone in to supplement our team of existing 32 officers in the embassy itself. That's enabled us to put some officials out to the airports to assist with peoples departures. Also importantly to put consular teams into the Sendai area as well. They are now there working on the ground with the local prefectural authorities and we will dispatch more consular officials as the physical possibility arises.

The other part of your question dealt with search and rescue. I'm advised on that score that our team arrived this morning. They'll be deployed to an area called the Minamisanriku town or Sendai which is located in Miyagi prefecture which is about 210 kilometres northeast of Tokyo which is one of the hardest prefectures. They'll be working alongside the Kyoto city fire fighters.

We've also made arrangements to ensure that all their kit and equipment is being transported by - and themselves by buses and by trucks which we've hired because everything is under duress in Japan at the moment. We expect them to be on the ground during the course of today in the disaster affected area.

KIERAN GILBERT: And what about the implications of the - the safety concerns of the atomic power plants, what's the latest advice you've got on that and I suppose also for the Australian rescue workers going in, how do you ensure that they are not exposed to unsafe levels of radiation?

KEVIN RUDD: Well the first thing to say is that we respect the Japanese government's imposition of a 20 kilometre exclusion zone around Fukushima power plants and that is something we've already reflected our own travel advisories.

Secondly we of course through the Australian Radiation Protection, and Nuclear Safety Authority, ARPANSA, are working closely with both the International Atomic Energy Agency as well as with the Japanese authorities themselves.

This is the most recent update I've got on reactors and excuse me if I just refer to my notes. The ARPANSA, that's our national regulatory authority in Australia advise that unit one of the Fukushima nuclear power facility now appears to be stable and that containment is intact. This has been confirmed I'm advised by both the International Atomic Energy Agency and by the Japanese Government.

Secondly I'm advised that there are problems with the emergency cooling system at unit number three. The technicians are now using sea water to cool that reactor together with boric acid. That procedure is underway. We'll advise further on the outcome of that.

Furthermore we have advice this morning that at another nuclear power plant called the Onagawa plant, the International Atomic Energy Agency has advised as of early this morning that the lowest level of state of emergency has been declared at that power plant and the IAEA quotes information from the Japanese Government that three reactor units at the power plant are under control. But that is obviously being monitored as well.

Of course the people of Japan are deeply concerned about the future of these reactors and any public health implications, so is the entire international community. Not just bordering states but let's just bear in mind Kieran we've also got 11,000 Australians resident elsewhere in Japan. That's why we take our liaison with the Japanese nuclear authorities very seriously.

KIERAN GILBERT: You requested a briefing on the status of the power plants, you face some criticism for the timing of that. What's your response to that criticism?

KEVIN RUDD: I can say very clearly that if you have 11,000 Australian citizens on the ground in Japan and you're getting conflicting information on day one about the safety of these nuclear facilities, my responsibility as the Minister for Foreign Affairs is the consular wellbeing of all Australians. Therefore when we're getting conflicting information day one, it's entirely appropriate for me to raise that directly in my conversations with the Japanese Foreign Minister. And what I raised with the Japanese Foreign Minister was simply to request that that information flow to Australian and IAEA officials. That's the responsible course of action and it is the right course of action given we have so many Australians who are also contacting the Australian Embassy in Tokyo about these matters.

KIERAN GILBERT: Can I ask you about the Libya issue, you've been talking for a no-fly zone, what's the stat...the latest on that, does it look likely or is it, I mean if it is going to take so long to establish, isn't it too late then given the events are unfolding so quickly in Libya?

KEVIN RUDD: Events are unfolding rapidly in Libya and this is a disastrous humanitarian situation with the Qaddafi regime continuing to advance against opposition forces in certain parts of the country. This therefore creates a continuing humanitarian crisis. You would have seen reports as I've seen reports in the public media about the way in which the civilian population have been treated. And furthermore that units of the Libyan air force are being used to bomb and to strafe those centres in the possession or under the control of opposition forces.

The positive development in the last 24 hours or so has been that the Arab League meeting in Cairo at foreign ministers level on Saturday resolved that they were in support as an organisation of a no-fly zone. Why is that important? Well the UN Security Council makes its determination on this. They will be very mindful first and foremost about what regional countries are saying. This is a tortured diplomatic process. You're right to warn about the time lag involved in this but our principles on this is the Australian government have been consistent from the beginning.

KIERAN GILBERT: The Prime Minister though said there should be a range of options considered and she was at the United Nations, you'd think if she didn't seem to be expressing the same sort or urgency as you have been doing and she was in talks of Ban Ki-moon, you'd think if you're going to push it in the international community, that the UN is the perfect place to do it. Why that difference of tone or message there?

KEVIN RUDD: There's absolutely no distinction whatsoever between the position the Prime Minister has put and the position I've been putting. The Prime Minister reflected the position the Australian Government and her remarks to the Australian Parliament earlier this month and that has been our consistent position since then.

You referred to other options. Of course we are always looking at further humanitarian options in terms of providing food and supplies into affected areas using international agencies. That is why we as Australia have made significant contributions to the Red Cross, to the well-food program, to the High Commissioner for Refugees to assist with those things on the ground.

Other options we've also embraced are those actions we've taken in relation to the Australian oil companies importing oil from Libya. So when you say are there other options, well these things have been embraced on a continuing basis. But the continued importance of a no-fly zone remains. This is a very difficult military environment, it's a very challenging situation for civilians on the ground. Our position as a government has been consistent from the beginning.

KIERAN GILBERT: We've been talking about very serious international issues but I do want to ask you quickly if I can on the poll, you're still the preferred Labor leader according to the Nielson poll.

KEVIN RUDD: You know something Kieran, polls come and they go. And you know something, I've seen a few over the years and what I can say to you in response to your question is, it was a great honour to serve as prime minister of Australia, it's a great honour to serve as foreign minister of Australia and I have really nothing further to add.

KIERAN GILBERT: Mr Rudd thanks for your time.

KEVIN RUDD: Thank you.

END

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