Peter Stefanovic, Host: Well, it's been a night of major developments in the Middle East as a ceasefire stands on the brink of collapse. There is conjecture over the Strait of Hormuz and a ten-point plan and Lebanon's part in that plan. Joining us live this morning is the Foreign Minister, Penny Wong. Minister, thanks for your time this morning. So, how shaky is this ceasefire in your view?
Penny Wong, Foreign Minister:Good morning, good to be with you. There's no doubt the ceasefire is fragile. There's also no doubt that the world needs it to hold. And we want to see the ceasefire hold and we want to see the Strait of Hormuz open so that Australians, and the world can see lower prices for fuel in the weeks and months ahead. So, we want the ceasefire to hold. You mentioned Lebanon. We have called early and we continue to call, with others, for the ceasefire to apply to Lebanon to both Hizballah and to Israel. If fighting continues in, in Lebanon, the ceasefire is at risk.
Stefanovic: Okay, so I did want to ask you about that. So, you believe Lebanon should be part of the deal which the US and Israel says it shouldn't be. Why have you come to that decision?
Foreign Minister: For the reason I just outlined that if fighting continues in Lebanon, the ceasefire is at risk. And we see that already overnight. And the statement I made last night has been also echoed or reinforced by many other countries in the hours since saying the same thing. We've seen the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan and many others issue a joint statement overnight which said very clearly, both that the ceasefire must hold and that it should also apply to Lebanon.
Stefanovic: Okay so what if Hizballah were to break that deal?
Foreign Minister: I've just said both Hizballah and Israel must observe the ceasefire.
Stefanovic: Okay Iran will continue to have effective control over the Strait of Hormuz. Ships will likely have to pay steep taxes to the IRGC. So, oil that we buy would then go to a listed terror group. How comfortable would you be with that going forward?
Foreign Minister: Pete, the status of the Strait, and free passage for the Strait, is central to the negotiations which are underway between Iran and the United States. The position Australia has, as so many other countries have, is that there needs to be freedom of navigation through the Strait. We need to ensure that commercial shipping has the confidence to move through the Strait and that is the way that we stabilise what is happening on global energy markets.
Stefanovic: Are you expecting ships to have to pay increased taxes, though, to get through?
Foreign Minister: We want freedom of navigation in the Strait and this is one of the issues. Well, this was the issue that I joined in conversation, a discussion with 42 other countries, I think Thursday, just before Easter. Where we discussed what efforts we would make, diplomatic efforts to support a ceasefire if it were achieved, and principally how we would work to ensure that the Strait of Hormuz is open.
Stefanovic: Have there been any developments on that, by the way? I did want you to ask about that. This 40-nation coalition, since those initial talks, have there been any firm commitments from us?
Foreign Minister: We haven't been asked for any further commitments, but what we have said with other countries, that we will work together internationally to support the Strait being opened.
Stefanovic: Okay, so that's part of the coalition. What about for the US? Have they asked us for, I know that there's us coming to the defence of the UAE, but has the US asked us anything more? Any help in the region?
Foreign Minister: Look, we have responded to any request that has been made and we've been public about our response to the UAE and other regional partners for defensive capability. What we have now is a ceasefire and our focus is on supporting that ceasefire and most importantly, assuring more fuel supply for Australia. I mean, this has been a very challenging time for Australians. We've seen very steep prices at the petrol bowser. Australians have felt this in their hip pocket. We need to keep working to assure fuel supply in the weeks and months ahead and to stabilise prices. That's why the Prime Minister is in Singapore today.
Stefanovic: Sure, but, but has the US asked anything more of us?
Foreign Minister: Not at this point. The US clearly is focused on the ceasefire and we've responded to any requests as appropriate.
Stefanovic. So, when the President criticises us, what's he on about?
Foreign Minister: I'm not going to get into commentary about this. We've, we've responded to all requests that have been made. Our focus now is to work with others to support this ceasefire and our primary focus is to assure more fuel for Australia. That's what the Prime Minister is doing. That's what I've been doing.
Stefanovic: How is our relationship at the moment between us and the US?
Foreign Minister: Well, Pete, you know, the US remains our most important strategic partner. What I would say is, you know, we know President Trump envisages a very different role for America in the world. We also know this is a much more unpredictable United States. I've been upfront with Australians about that and that is why we continue to work with the US, we also have been working very hard to diversify our relationships. We've been working with regional partners over these last years. We've been working with other partners and you've seen us working closely with the countries of Southeast Asia, with the countries of the Pacific, with Japan, and of course with the European Union and Canada. So, we are working to diversify our relationships to assure Australia's place in a world that is more unpredictable.
Stefanovic: If the Strait reopens, when is it likely that prices would go down for us here at the bowser?
Foreign Minister: I don't want to over promise because I know that we've got a long way to go, to first, assure commercial shipping of safe passage so that the fuel can flow. But secondly, we've got continued disruptions as a consequence of the gap in supply that we have seen over these last weeks. And we also know that infrastructure in the region associated with hydrocarbon, the hydrocarbon industries has been damaged. So, it'll take some time, even if the ceasefire can hold and we want it to, for supply to return to normal. So, we know there's, there's some, there's challenges ahead. We're very focused on doing everything we can to assure the supply of petrol, diesel and fertiliser into Australia.
Stefanovic: So, I mean, hard, hard to put a figure on it, I suppose, but is it months? Can we expect these high prices for months?
Foreign Minister: I think, as you said in your intro Pete, we saw a lot of events overnight. Things are moving very quickly. What I can say to Australians is two things. One, we know how difficult this has been. This has really hit family budgets. It's hit the hip pocket every time we've gone to, people have gone to the petrol station. Second, that we are doing everything we can to assure supply. That's why the Prime Minister's in Singapore, that's why I've been engaging with other partners and that's why we've enabled financing from government to assist the private sector in assuring more supply.
Stefanovic: Just a final point here. I mean, you've touched on this as well. But if we have learned anything from this war, it's that fuel security can't be taken for granted anymore. So, how do you adjust your settings from a renewable focus to oil and fuel security now?
Foreign Minister: Well, our focus is getting more fuel into Australia. That's the primary focus now. We do know that we've had four out of six refineries in this country close under the previous government. And as the Prime Minister has said, our Future Made in Australia approach is all about sovereign capability. It's all about making sure we're resilient and that we are able to do more things here so that we are, we have resilience in the face of unpredictable events in the global economy.
Stefanovic: But personally would you be more open now to drilling for oil and having more refineries onshore?
Foreign Minister: We want more fuel in Australia and we want more capability in Australia and that's what we're focused on. We reform the Environment Protection Act, the approvals process so that it is more streamlined and if commercial projects stack-up they have a much more streamlined approach under this government.
Stefanovic: Alright, Foreign Minister Penny Wong, thank you for your time as always. Appreciate it.