Bridget Brennan, Host: Let's take you straight to a developing situation in the Middle East this morning, where Doha has been rocked by explosions after Israel launched a strike targeting Hamas officials who were in the Qatari capital.
James Glenday, Host: You're just seeing the vision of that there. It is of course a dramatic escalation of the war in Gaza, which Qatar is calling a blatant violation of international laws and norms. The Arab nation has been a key mediator in attempts to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Let's get the Australian Government's reaction now and bring in the Foreign Minister, Penny Wong, who is in Adelaide this morning. Minister, welcome back to the show.
Penny Wong, Foreign Minister: Good morning, good to be with you both.
Glenday: Did the Israeli Government give you any heads up that it was going to carry out this strike?
Foreign Minister: No, we're obviously not engaged on these issues. I would say this, the Australian Government believes this was the wrong thing to do. Qatar, as you know, has been one of the parties seeking to mediate a ceasefire. It has been working with the United States to deliver a ceasefire and the return of hostages. This is a violation of Qatar's sovereignty, it imperils that work on the ceasefire, and it risks escalation.
Glenday: Does it do more than imperil talks on a ceasefire, does it make a ceasefire extremely unlikely?
Foreign Minister: Well, I hope not, because the world needs a ceasefire, the people of Gaza need a ceasefire, and the hostages need a ceasefire and a deal to return. So I hope that's not the case. I note that the United States has made comments overnight in relation to this, and we do think it is critical that these negotiations do continue. This has obviously made it harder.
Glenday: France has condemned these attacks. So has the United Kingdom. So have a number of Arab nations. Apart from condemnation, is the Australian Government, if Israel continues to act in this way, going to do more than offer just words and maybe take some more concrete action?
Foreign Minister: Well, we have taken concrete action, and I note that what you've just put to me is not correct. We have taken concrete action. We have sanctioned Israeli Ministers and Israeli entities. We have flagged the recognition of Palestine and in our attempt to work with others to build a pathway to peace, and you've seen the reaction of Prime Minister Netanyahu and others in the Israeli Government to that. So I think it's very important to see what we have done. What we aren't able to do, and obviously we all wish we could, is we can't end the war. What we can do is support the calls for a ceasefire, and the work of the United States and Qatar and others, to try and broker a ceasefire, and we can set out the pathway to recognition and recognise the state of Palestine with others, which is all about the international community trying to build that pathway to peace.
Glenday: But just on that, I mean, your sanctions that you've done and were announced in regards to the West Bank, I just wonder, is this something that you'll have a chat with like-minded countries about? Because it doesn't appear that Israel is listening at all to countries like Australia.
Foreign Minister: Well, sorry, but we have been engaging with other countries for two years, so all of the work that we have done has been in concert with others. And you may not have noticed that the statements of the UN, the calls for ceasefire, the calls on humanitarian aid, have all been with other countries because that is how we have impact. All our sanctions have been with other countries because that is how we have impact. Obviously we're not the central player, but we can work with others to try and do what we are able to end the suffering in Gaza and to support a ceasefire and a pathway to peace – that's what the Australian Government is doing.
Glenday: Alright, no doubt there's going to be more to come on this. I did want to take you to this dispute over COP. Türkiye wants to host this, your government wants to host this in South Australia. It is a huge event this climate summit. Where are things at, do you expect to get it over the line?
Foreign Minister: Look, it's a pretty difficult negotiation. I mean, Türkiye is not backing down. They've made that clear publicly, including through the President. We obviously have been to two elections with this commitment, and the fundamental drive for our commitment is because we want to elevate Pacific voices. The Pacific is on the front line of climate change. It's why the Morrison government set Australia so far back in the Pacific by its refusal to act on climate and its denial of the reality of climate change. We want to have a Pacific Conference of the Parties to elevate the experience of Pacific peoples in the face of climate change. Now, those negotiations are continuing. As yet, Türkiye is not being prepared to step back, and obviously we want to keep pressing.
Glenday: Do you expect that you have the support of a majority of countries? I know that's not how it works, Türkiye is essentially saying, no, no, we still want to do it. But do you think that you have broad majority support to host this in Australia?
Foreign Minister: Look, we have a lot of nations who understand the importance of elevating the voices of the Pacific and backing Australia's bid to do that. Obviously, the UN processes are very difficult and very convoluted. If you and I had a lot more time, I'll take you through them. But the reality is, it isn't a simple process of negotiation. It's not a simple process of resolution. We're going to keep trying.
Glenday: Can I take you to the Pacific, this deal with Vanuatu. It was expected the Prime Minister would be able to sign it there. It's worth about half a billion dollars, do you expect that Vanuatu will sign this?
Foreign Minister: Well, ultimately, these are questions for the people of Vanuatu. We came to government, we saw what had happened over the previous decade, the neglect of previous coalition governments and the space that it had created. We lost the opportunity as a nation to be the only partner of choice. We are determined to be a partner of choice, and we know that means engaging respectfully, engaging and listening. We think that there is great benefit in closer and stronger relationships with the people of the Pacific and Pacific nations in terms of their development and their security, as well as Australia's. You've seen us engage in a number of agreements with different countries, we'll continue to put on the table the things we think are in our mutual interests.
Glenday: Okay, I wanted to take you to an issue that's been reported in a couple of newspapers. Have Indian officials raised directly with you concerns about the safety of their expats in the wake of these protests that we saw in different parts of the country?
Foreign Minister: Obviously, first, I'd say those protests didn't represent Australia. I don't think Australian values are values of division. I don't think Australian values are the values of anger and hatred. We're a country which has welcomed people from many faiths, many backgrounds, many heritages, and together we have built a stronger country, and a country which draws on that diversity and draws great strength from it. That's the first point I'd make. Secondly, I would say to you, of course, there are countries around the world who are concerned about this. India has raised these issues. We've communicated with them – not at my level, but at official level – and they've seen the very important responses from the government.
Glenday: Okay, so it wasn't at a Ministerial level. Just lastly, you do have an announcement today about young Australians partying safe overseas. What sort of advice are you giving young Australians who want to head overseas for things like schoolies, particularly to South East Asia? Of course this comes after those two tragic methanol poisoning deaths.
Foreign Minister: Yes we lost Holly and Bianca, two beautiful young Australians, to methanol poisoning in Laos, and we were determined, after obviously talking with the grieving families, that one of the things we could do is to try and make sure more young Australians were aware of the risk. We want people to protect themselves when they go overseas. We're launching the Partying Safely Hub, it's on the Smartraveller website. It has resources for parents, for teachers, for universities and for young people to look at how it is you best keep yourself safe. And so we'd encourage people to look at that
Glenday: Just before I let you go, where's this investigation into those deaths up to? We've heard from the families of those two young women today.
Foreign Minister: We share the family's frustration at the progress of these investigations, and we share the family's desire for there to be justice. We've pressed, I've pressed the Lao authorities on numerous occasions, as have others, about the need for there to be a full and thorough investigation of these tragic deaths of a number of young people but obviously relevantly for Australia, Holly and Bianca.
Glenday: Foreign Minister, Penny Wong, we got through a lot. We do appreciate your time this morning.
Foreign Minister: Thank you very much.