Joint press conference with German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle

Subjects: Bilateral relations, CeBIT, Joint Declaration on Resources and Energy Cooperation, Afghanistan, Climate change.

Transcript, E&OE, proof only

Parliament House, Canberra

1 June 2011

KEVIN RUDD: Let me say one or two things.

Firstly, here in Parliament House in Canberra could I extend a very warm and personal welcome to my friend and colleague, the Foreign Minister of the Federal Republic of Germany, His Excellency Guido Westerwelle.

I've got to know the Foreign Minister very well in recent times. He is an excellent representative of his country and an excellent colleague to work with in dealing with so many of the challenges we face around the world.

We work very closely together on security policy questions; for example, our common work in Afghanistan where Germany has many troops committed and, like Australia, has suffered losses as well.

We work together also on the great challenges of climate change and development. And we also have been discussing our common concerns and engagement and support for the emerging democracies in the period of political transformation across the wider Middle East.

And we've also of course discussed recent developments in Syria.

I regard Germany and its Foreign Minister as great friends of Australia and I look forward very much to continuing this relationship with Guido into the future.

Yesterday in Sydney was about business and economics and CeBIT, and it was good.

It was great to see so many Australian and German companies represented. Today it's our broader relationship which we've been in discussion on.

I look forward very much, Guido, to working with you in the future.

GUIDO WESTERWELLE: Thank you so much.

First of all, Kevin, I would like to thank you for the warm welcome and for the hospitality. I would like to say that this is my first visit in Australia.

I'm absolutely fascinated and impressed about this visit.

Wonderful country, very warm and government which is really — with great hospitality. And thank you so much for the hospitality of the people.

Yesterday and today we had a number of substantial meetings with Foreign Minister Rudd, with the Prime Minister and members of the Opposition.

And those meetings, as well as the opening of CeBIT Australia, shows our excellent relations based on trust and friendship.

And I would like to add for our German journalists a few words in German, if you'll allow.

[Speaks German]

We want to deepen our relations.

In this spirit we launched a Joint Declaration on Resources and Energy Cooperation. We share the interest in free, open and transparent international markets for raw materials.

We also discussed, of course, the global situation. We will see each other probably next week again when we meet together in the Contact Group on Libya.

And we discussed of course the situation south of the Mediterranean Sea. We share the position that we want to support those countries who decide to go the way into the direction of democracy, and we want to help the civil society, that they are able to get rule of law, democracy and of course freedom and peace.

So, thank you so much. I think our bilateral relations are excellent. We really recognise the success story of Australia and we are looking forward to have a close cooperation, not only in a professional way but I have to say, and I am delighted to say, also in a very personal and very, very friendly relationship.

Thank you so much.

KEVIN RUDD: Good, thank you very much Minister.

Now, consistent with Australian convention laid down in laws 200 years ago, there will be two questions a side, two Australian and two German. But given that our German friends are the guests, why don't we throw the floor open to a German journalist first. QUESTION: Two questions. The first one in German to Minister Westerwelle, then another one in English to both of you.

[Speaks German — no translation]

And the second question: you've heard President Karzai's comments on major activities in Afghanistan following the death of yet more civilians. What do you say to that? Thank you.

GUIDO WESTERWELLE: [Speaks German]

KEVIN RUDD: On the question of Hamid Karzai — unless you wanted to interpret that for folks who are [indistinct]…

GUIDO WESTERWELLE: Yes.

TRANSLATOR: No need to say I was very impressed to witness Question Time in Parliament and to witness a different culture of parliamentary work. One could feel that Australia looks back on a very long democratic tradition, and I was impressed by the way the arguments were exchanged in Parliament.

I was also deeply touched by the way Parliament supported the women and men in the Australian army, who are in the service of the Australian people.

I think the way the Australian Parliament dealt with the fallen soldiers and the issue of the fallen soldiers was deeply touching to me, and it was exemplary.

And it just shows how much sympathy there is in all of Australia for the work of the soldiers, and I think this was a very dignified way and fashion of showing this.

And I will take this home with me; I am deeply touched, and I think we should feel and act the same way in Germany.

GUIDO WESTERWELLE: And for the Australian journalists, I want to repeat what I said yesterday.

Of course, I would like to express in the name of the German Government our sympathy and our deepest condolences to the families, of course, and to the whole people of Australia.

KEVIN RUDD: Thank you very much, Minister — which brings us to the question of Afghanistan, which our friend from the German media has just asked.

Yes, I have seen the comments by President Karzai on this question.

When I was last in Kabul, a month or two ago, that visit occurred at the time when there had just been an earlier attack which had resulted in the deaths of Afghan civilians.

I was there at a time when, obviously, political feeling in the country was running very high about those unintended civilian deaths.

And now we have this most recent report and, if I've got it correctly, involving perhaps as many as 14 civilians.

From the perspective of the Australian Government, we understand fully the deep concerns of President Karzai and his government.

We understand fully why he has expressed his outrage at these events.

Furthermore, the Australian Government, as one of the ISAF countries involved in Afghanistan, also has a deep view that every possible measure must be taken to prevent unintended civilian deaths in attacks of this nature.

The truth is we need to do better on this in the future for the simple reason that we rely upon the continued political support of the Afghan Government to conclude our mission there.

And that's why we have to be very attentive to what the Afghan Government is saying now through its President about these losses.

GUIDO WESTERWELLE: [Speaks German]

TRANSLATOR: Allow me to add this in German, because the question was also addressed to me.

We can understand — fully understand — President Karzai's concerns about the civilian citizens.

In light of the high number of casualties it is just normal that President Karzai is worried and it is also normal that he voices his concerns.

But there is no alternative to cooperation, there is no alternative but cooperation between NATO and Afghanistan.

KEVIN RUDD: Now that our German friends have had two questions, let me go to an Australian journalist.

Questions from the Australian media?

QUESTION: Mr Rudd, can I just ask you about the detail of the Joint Agreement. What will it commit the two governments to do and what would you see happening in the future in these areas?

KEVIN RUDD: There is a global concern about — let's call it the freedom and openness of resources and energy markets.

And the key challenge that we face is to make sure that those markets remain open around the world.

There is a problem if any one country seeks to, shall I say, distort global energy markets by applying non-market mechanisms to constrain supply.

So what we are talking about, as two countries who are advanced economies and both as members of G20 where these debates are very real, is working together on how this is best addressed in the international community.

Germany, obviously, has taken recent decisions concerning its own future energy needs and this obviously is going to be a challenge for our friends in Germany as they turn more and more to renewables to cover the electricity generation which will still be required in the German economy.

As I said yesterday in an interview also, we in Australia are radically accelerating our renewable energy production, consistent with our 20 per cent mandatory renewable energy target, which was enacted in the period that I was Prime Minister.

So we will be exchanging our views on this, we'll be working closely together in the forums of the world, and this memorandum, signed by not just the two foreign ministers but critically involving the Australian Resources Minister, will assist in that direction.

Unless you wish to add, Guido…

GUIDO WESTERWELLE: No, I can only agree 100 per cent.

I think this is — of course, this is the first declaration; we have to work on follow ups and to specify our collaboration.

This is of course necessary, but I think it's a very good start for our cooperation. I mean, you know that Australia is really privileged with natural resources, and we think it is very important for the economy in the world that we have, all in the world, free and fair access to raw materials.

KEVIN RUDD: Any final question before we go?

QUESTION: Mr Westerwelle, just a question on climate change. Do you…

GUIDO WESTERWELLE: About?

QUESTION: Climate change.

KEVIN RUDD: Climate change.

QUESTION: Sorry, got a bit of a frog in my throat.

Can I ask you, given we've got a big debate at the moment on carbon pricing in this country, and if we don't have a carbon price put on Australian goods and things like that — services produced here — would the European Union… how realistic is the prospect of the EU taking action against Australian companies through things like carbon tariffs and things like that?

GUIDO WESTERWELLE: I understand your question very well.

And if I would be a journalist I would ask the same question.

But if you would be a foreign minister, a guest in the country, you would know how intensive the debate was, especially yesterday.

And so I think it is only diplomatic that I will be very reluctant to give any comments to this internal debate, what you have in Australia.

I can only say we — as the Federal Republic of Germany, we think that we should open a new chapter in our energy policy. This is what we decided at the last weekend. It was prepared in the last three months. And this means we want to finish the use of nuclear energy. We do not want to substitute it with fossil energy but we want to substitute it with renewable energies.

We think Germany is a leading country regarding to the technology of renewable energies and we think this is a challenge but it's also a chance for our economy. And I only can really recognise that the Australian Government also has a clear commitment for renewable energies.

KEVIN RUDD: Colleagues, thank you very much. And the Minister will now take his leave and head back to Sydney. Thank you.

GUIDO WESTERWELLE: Thank you.

ENDS

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