Interview with Lyndal Curtis, ABC News 24

Transcript, E&OE, proof only

Subjects: Japan earthquake; domestic politics; Libya

16 March 2011

LYNDAL CURTIS: Kevin Rudd, welcome to News 24.

KEVIN RUDD: Thanks for having me on the program.

LYNDAL CURTIS: You have some updated travel advice for Japan.

KEVIN RUDD: The Department of Foreign Affairs released new travel advice for Japan for the Australian travelling public about 2.30 this afternoon. Specifically what it says is that if you are in Japan right now, in both Tokyo and various prefectures, there have been real problems with - as a result of the earthquake and the tsunami in terms of power outages, water supply problems, transport infrastructure, as well as schools being closed and aftershocks as well.

So what we're saying to people who do not regard their presence as essential in Tokyo and those eight affected prefectures is that they should consider departing Japan.

LYNDAL CURTIS: Although that will be difficult in itself because travel times to airports are still quite long, aren't they?

KEVIN RUDD: Well that's true. I spoke to our Ambassador this morning. He said that yesterday the travel time from Tokyo to Narita was still about four hours, down from eight hours as it was several days ago. But given all these problems with, frankly, just basic infrastructure on the ground and water supply questions and food distribution questions that if your presence is not essential than you should consider, if you're in Tokyo or in those affected prefectures, departing those locations.

Also what we're saying is that as a result of that, and consistent with it, we're providing the same advice to the dependents of Australian officials in Tokyo as well.

LYNDAL CURTIS: And will the Australian Government be helping the dependents of officials get out if they need to?

KEVIN RUDD: The normal processes will kick in, in terms of dependents returning home. We still have a consular team also at Narita Airport which is there to assist with Australians getting onto the scheduled commercial flights which, based on my most recent advice, are operating reasonably normally.

LYNDAL CURTIS: And when you say you suggest people leave, are you talking about leaving Japan or just moving further south?

KEVIN RUDD: Well, the advice is very explicit on that. You should consider leaving Tokyo and the affected prefectures. Where people depart to is a matter for them but that's if they elect to do so because our advice, again, is that this is something they should consider if their presence in Japan, in their own judgement, is not absolutely essential.

LYNDAL CURTIS: As of this morning there were about 145 Australians who you couldn't locate, you couldn't account for. Has that number changed at all in the last couple of hours?

KEVIN RUDD: We've had a slightly better day today and we've got the number down to 112 or 113, from memory, and that's the figure as of about an hour or so ago.

Our consular teams - and I just publicly acknowledge the great work they are doing, together with the other Australians on the ground in the affected prefectures - they've been out and about.

They've been going to hospitals, they've been going to emergency shelters, they've also been going through mortuaries to make sure that Australians are not there, or whether in the case of shelters, et cetera, to identify Australians. And we've been getting out, one trickle after another, so we're down to 112.

But there's still a huge amount of work to be done in terms of getting that number down further. And, given the level of fatalities in Japan where the numbers seem to just go through the roof the more you see the footage from each of those densely populated areas up and down the coast, we want to make sure that we can get that number down by the work our teams are doing on the ground.

LYNDAL CURTIS: If we could turn now to domestic issues, the ALP National Secretary, Karl Bitar, has announced he'll be retiring on 8 April. Do you wish him well as he goes or does he bear responsibility for what happened to you and for the subsequent election campaign?

KEVIN RUDD: You know something, I don't even tend to go there on a day like this. I've been focusing explicitly on Japan and the real contingencies on the ground up there. We were meeting until late last night.

We were meeting again early this morning. I've just come from another long meeting now with the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency, all the relevant government officials, the Ministers, the Prime Minister, and others working through, frankly, the physical challenge on the ground today in so many locations in Japan.

There's another day to talk about all of that and I'm sure I'll do so, but not today.

LYNDAL CURTIS: So you don't - you haven't had any reflections in the past few months about Mr Bitar and his role?

KEVIN RUDD: I've certainly had no time for any reflection in the last several days, let me put it that way. And I'm happy to discuss these things on another occasion but, frankly, I think all hands to the pump across the government and across the community now.

And, again, I salute the work of our officials, the consular people, who often don't - who often get overlooked in the crises. The military folk, who are running the Royal Australian aircraft - Royal Australian Air Force flights are doing a terrific job, as they always do. And the search and rescue team are doing very, very upsetting work.

So let's pause for a moment and think of their work in the field. We've got 240-plus Australians up there at the moment in one capacity or another. We've got a couple of hundred down here working the phones. They've taken nearly 8000 or 9000 calls. This is a good team Australia effort but this job hasn't been done yet.

LYNDAL CURTIS: And, finally, if I can ask you a quick question about the no-fly zone in Libya. You worked hard to get that up and running. Nothing has happened. Is the rest of the world - are the countries that would enforce that, the NATO countries, being too cautious?

KEVIN RUDD: I think what we've had is a good result in the Arab League on Saturday where the - let's call it the neighbouring Arab countries said, yes, a no-fly zone for the Libyan people is the right way to go to protect the civilian population from Gaddafi using his air force to bomb, to strafe and to kill innocent civilians.

We've a report overnight that the G8 Foreign Ministers have met and they haven't got unanimity on this. Because I've been preoccupied with Japan, I haven't identified where precisely the resistance lies.

I'm disappointed by that. The Government is disappointed by that. It's too important - for the Security Council to consider this matter and our view is that the Security Council should respond positively to the call made by the Arab League. This is important stuff for the people on the ground in Libya.

LYNDAL CURTIS: Kevin Rudd, thank you very much for your time.

KEVIN RUDD: Thanks for having me on the program.

END

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