Bridget Brennan, Host: Foreign Minister Penny Wong has met with her counterparts from the US, Japan, and India at Quad talks in Washington while in the United States. Senator Wong will also make Australia's case ahead of the end of the pause on Donald Trump's trade tariffs.
James Glenday, Host: Well, let's get more on that story and bring in the Foreign Minister, Penny Wong herself. She is in Washington D.C. and joins us now. Foreign Minister, good morning.
Penny Wong, Foreign Minister: Good morning. Good to be with you, James.
Glenday: First of all, how did your meeting with the Secretary of State go and what is your relationship with Marco Rubio like?
Foreign Minister: We had a very positive discussion. Obviously, this is, I think, the third occasion we've engaged. The first being when I came here as the first foreign minister to be invited to a presidential inauguration, which was a great honour. And Secretary Rubio hosted me and the two other countries who are members of the Quad as one of his very first engagements after being sworn in. So, that was an excellent meeting, but it was a real sign of how important the partnership is and the importance that the United States places on this Quad grouping. We also had a good conversation after the G7 and I was very pleased to have a very positive discussion with him today, both in the context of the Quad, but also in our bilateral meeting.
Glenday: Did you get a request to spend more on defence? That seems to have been a bit of a consistent theme from the US lately.
Foreign Minister: Well, I know there's been a lot written about this, but I would say this to you – we did talk a lot about what we do together. Secretary Rubio didn't raise Australia's defence budget with me. What we talked about was our partnership and the ways in which we work together. We obviously talked about the AUKUS agreement and the benefits that it gives all three countries. It's a good deal for Australia, it's a good deal for the United States, and it's a good deal for the United Kingdom.
Glenday: I'm sure you delivered that message. Tariffs are a big issue at the moment as well. Did you ask whether Australia might get an exemption at some point?
Foreign Minister: I made clear what we made clear privately, that we have a free trade agreement with the United States. We continue to honour that. We enable US goods to enter our country tariff-free, and we continue to advocate for that US-Australia Free Trade Agreement to also be observed by the administration. That remains Australia's position. The Prime Minister has said that very clearly during the election campaign and since.
Glenday: Was the Secretary of State sympathetic at all to that message?
Foreign Minister: Well, I'm not going to go into all details, but I can assure you our position remains unchanged.
Glenday: Unchanged and delivered. There have been some suggestions out of Washington that things like our media bargaining code, maybe even social media bans, could lead to more tariffs, more punitive action. Were any domestic policies raised specifically with you during this talk?
Foreign Minister: Look, we understand the Trump administration's position on some of those issues and certainly they've been live issues in other negotiations. You know, we will continue to proceed and look at these issues from Australia's national interests --
Glenday: That sounds a yes. Sorry to interrupt.
Foreign Minister: — and that's how we'll approach these matters.
Glenday: Were those two things specifically raised with you? That sounds like they might have been.
Foreign Minister: Look, they're not really issues that the Secretary of State and I would be focused on, to be honest with you. The general proposition around tariffs and trade and the honouring of our free trade agreement are obviously things that the US administration is very aware of in terms of Australia's position.
Glenday: There's been a lot of discussion about a meeting between the Prime Minister and President Trump. Are we any closer to locking one of those in?
Foreign Minister: Well, Secretary Rubio again expressed regret, as he did to me when we spoke on the phone, for the rescheduling of the meeting that had to occur that was between the Prime Minister and the President as a consequence of the President leaving the G7 early. I explained to him that we understood that the President had to leave early, we understood why the meeting needed to be rescheduled, and we're both looking forward to a rescheduled meeting between our two leaders.
Glenday: Is there a space in the calendar yet?
Foreign Minister: We're working on rescheduling a meeting between the President and the Prime Minister.
Glenday: Still to come, just a couple of quick ones. Minister, before I let you go, do you know how many Australians you've got out of Iran?
Foreign Minister: Look, I haven't seen yet the update today. I know that Iran remains a very difficult location or country from which to repatriate Australians. We do have Australians at the border with Azerbaijan, Australian officials to assist people. We also had been booking whatever commercial flights started to become available, trying to book space on them, and reaching out to Australians in Iran to ascertain what assistance is required. But obviously it remains a very challenging situation, and I don't pretend that we can offer a lot of consular service in Iran given that we obviously don't have Australian-based officials on the ground.
Glenday: There are Australians charged with murder in Indonesia following this shooting in Bali. Have you made any representations to your Indonesian counterpart to try to ensure that these men avoid the firing squad?
Foreign Minister: Well, I don't think it's helpful to speculate given that these matters, as I understand it, are not yet at a trial stage. You would know that we will continue to offer consular support to Australians. And you would know, as a matter of principle, Australia always advocates against the death penalty in all circumstances for all people.
Glenday: And just finally, I'm not sure whether you'll be across this one. There are reports today that the smelter giant Nyrstar, which has a smelter in your home state of South Australia, as well as Tasmania, has some question marks over its future in Australia. Would you expect the government to intervene in this space?
Foreign Minister: I think your introduction to that really indicated that I probably wouldn't be able to answer that question. So, I'm afraid to — I'm not going to disappoint you on that front, but I'm sure that there'll be an appropriate government response to the question.
Glenday: You're very kind, Penny Wong, you do have a lot on your plate, so I do understand. Thank you very much for joining us from Washington this morning.
Foreign Minister: Good to speak with you.