Emma Rebellato, Host: Okay, let's return to the fragile ceasefire in the Middle East now. And for the latest Australian reaction, we are joined from Canberra by the Foreign Minister, Penny Wong. Senator, thanks very much for joining us this morning.
Penny Wong, Foreign Minister: Good to be with you.
Rebellato: Let's talk about what's happened overnight. We've seen Israel launch deadly strikes on Lebanon. We've had reports that the Strait of Hormuz may be closed by Iran, maybe not. What was your reaction when you woke up to all this news this morning?
Foreign Minister: First, overnight, the Prime Minister and I said very clearly we support the ceasefire. We want it to hold. As I said on 730, the ceasefire is fragile, but the world needs it to hold. In relation to Lebanon, we've said the ceasefire should be respected by both Israel and Hizballah. There is a risk that continued conflict in Lebanon will risk the ceasefire itself across the region. On the Strait of Hormuz you asked about, obviously, what Australia wants, what the world wants, is for the Strait to be open for shipping, to have the confidence to deliver fuel to the nations of the world.
Rebellato: Given what has been going on the past few hours, and we've just mentioned, as you mentioned, this ceasefire is fragile. Has that diminished your hopes that a lasting agreement can be reached?
Foreign Minister: We all know the ceasefire is fragile and that there is a long way to go in these negotiations. But we know it is necessary. We've seen the impact on global markets. We see it on the news. But most importantly, we see it every time we go to the petrol station to fill up. We see it in the supplies of fertiliser that are coming into Australia. We see it in the cost that Australian motorists are paying, which is why the Government has been so focused on securing more supply, on trying to assure supply. Whether it's through our engagement with international partners, the Prime Minister is in Singapore today, which is our largest supplier of petrol. But also ensuring that we can support the private sector in obtaining more supply through Export Finance Australia providing additional finance.
Rebellato: Senator, we know you've had talks with some of your counterparts in Asia. Can you give us the latest update on that? Have you had any agreements locked in?
Foreign Minister: We already have an arrangement, we already have a statement that has been put out a couple of weeks ago by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong of Singapore and Prime Minister Albanese. Our partners want to supply us, but we all know what they need is more supply coming through the Middle East, and from elsewhere. So, we continue to work with them on how we can mutually assure each other's supplies. But ultimately what we need is the ceasefire to hold and the Strait to be open to traffic, with the free flow of shipping, including particularly oil and fertiliser.
Rebellato: The Prime Minister is heading to Singapore for talks. But what specifically is the aim? Should we expect a concrete deal to secure more fuel supplies?
Foreign Minister: What we should expect is our continued work to be reliable partners to each other. We are a reliable energy supplier into Asia and we seek from our partners reliability from them. I think the will is there and we need to keep working together to secure continued supply. I would say even if the ceasefire does continue to hold, and we all hope it will, we know that global markets and fuel, particularly energy supply, will continue to be disrupted for some time. We have both a gap in supply as a consequence of the conflict, but also a lot of infrastructure has been destroyed. So, that means we still have to navigate a challenging path in the weeks and months ahead. But the Government is very focused on doing everything we can to assure additional supply to Australia.
Rebellato: Given the two-week ceasefire, and we know that it is very fragile at this stage, what's the advice for Australians in the region? Will you be continuing to monitor it? Can we expect any changes in the advice?
Foreign Minister: We're very careful with our travel advice. As you know, much of the region has been 'do not travel'. We would say to Australians continue to observe the travel advice. We work very hard to try and provide the best, most up-to-date and accurate advice to Australians when it comes to travel.
Rebellato: Senator, just returning to the latest developments overnight with what we've seen in Lebanon. The death toll, more than 250 from what we have been told, can I get your reaction to that and also the humanitarian situation in Lebanon?
Foreign Minister: The humanitarian situation is deeply concerning. Overnight I arranged with other countries to issue a further statement, and the group of countries were those who have been involved in the Declaration for the Protection of Humanitarian Personnel. We've seen Indonesian peacekeepers killed in the conflict in Lebanon and it's extremely important that the international community speaks with one voice about international humanitarian law being observed by all parties.
Rebellato: Senator Penny Wong. We appreciate your time. Thank you.
Foreign Minister: Good to be with you.