Penny Wong, Foreign Minister: We have seen in Nepal and Tibet horrific images that Australians have seen overnight. And as I said this morning, the loss of life and the scale of the destruction is devastating. I wanted to say first, our thoughts and condolences are with those who have lost loved ones and those whose loved ones are missing and to all affected by this disaster. I wanted to give an update which confirms what the Prime Minister has said. We to date understand that at least 34 Australians are amongst those missing. We understand these Australians are part of separate pilgrimage and tour groups. I'm not in a position to provide any further details about them at this stage. The Government's priority is to confirm the whereabouts and welfare of these Australians, and DFAT officials in Nepal and also China are seeking to do that. Obviously, the situation is a difficult one. I've spoken this morning to the Ambassador for Australia to Nepal, Simon Ernst, and I have also spoken to Scott Dewar, our Ambassador in Beijing. I've conveyed to them our support, my request that they do everything they are able to ascertain the whereabouts and welfare of any Australians and invited them to contact me if they need further assistance. We are currently deploying further DFAT personnel including crisis response experts to the region. I've asked DFAT to ensure that we do provide the support needed to these posts, particularly our post in Nepal. The Department will continue to engage with local authorities and tour operators. I would say this, I'm sure there are many Australians who are very concerned about friends or family who may be in this region. I would say to you at this stage access and information are very limited given the scale of disaster. We will do our best to ascertain whatever information we can. We are urgently seeking to confirm the welfare and whereabouts of Australians, and we will be in touch with their loved ones as soon as we have any confirmed information that we can share. We are coordinating with the Nepalese Government, the UN, the Red Cross and other organisations on the humanitarian response, and I will have more to say about that in the coming days.
First to Australians in the area, if you are in the area, can I ask you to follow the advice of local authorities and monitor media. Australians in Nepal and China, please subscribe to Smartraveller. Australians in need of consular assistance should contact our 24-hour consular emergency centre, 1300 555 135 or +61 2 6261 3305 if calling from overseas. If there are Australians in Australia who have friends or family who they believe are in the region, you can provide that information also to those numbers that I have outlined today, they are the Consular Emergency Centre numbers. Our travel advice has obviously been updated to reflect the disaster and I will continue to provide updates to the Australian community through the media, including when we have more information about the Australians who are unaccounted for. I would say to those friends and families, all Australians are thinking of you at this time as I know this is a very worrying situation for you all. We are also thinking of the people of Nepal and of China and the diaspora communities in Australia. This is a very distressing time for those community members, particularly those who have family members in the area. I know that the Government is in contact with leaders in those communities and we will continue to update them as directly as we are able when we know more. Obviously, I don't have as much detail as I would like at this stage, but we will update when we can. Happy to take questions now.
Journalist: Have all the families of the missing Australians been notified?
Foreign Minister: I have asked that DFAT engage, as far as we are able, with the next of kin, but obviously we are still working through that detail.
Journalist: This is an unfolding emergency, obviously, but do we expect the amount [inaudible] especially Australians to rise?
Foreign Minister: I can only outline the numbers that we are aware of to date. Obviously, the numbers of foreign nationals are higher, as yet we don't have any further information about if there are any more of those who are Australian. But I would say the number is at least 34. Those numbers have been provided, as you have seen in the media through tour operators. We will continue to try and ascertain if there are any other Australians who are not accounted for, over and above the 34 that we are aware of.
Journalist: Is the Government planning to provide any aid?
Foreign Minister: That was what I was referencing in the opening. Obviously, this is an awful situation. We'll certainly look at what we can do and we'll liaise with other multilateral organisations such as the Red Cross when we consider that.
Journalist: Senator, you mentioned the crisis personnel that have been sent over there. Do you have some more details on who has been sent over there?
Foreign Minister: No, I don't at this point. I just asked DFAT this morning to ensure we dispatch additional personnel to the region.
Journalist: Are you aware of the last known location of those Australians within that disaster area?
Foreign Minister: I'm not in a position to share any of those details.
Journalist: Were they there visiting some of the significant religious sites?
Foreign Minister: Well, I think it is well known that people are not only going there for trekking but also for spiritual reasons, so you would anticipate that the foreign nationals who were in the region would have been there for a variety of those reasons.
Journalist: How many calls has DFAT switchboard received?
Foreign Minister: I don't have the number to date, but I would anticipate obviously people who have family or friends in the region will be wanting to contact us. And, I have asked that that be enabled and information be gained so that we have not only the information coming in from Nepal, but also from Australia about who's in the region.
Journalist: Is there a breakdown at all from whereabouts in Australia these people are from?
Foreign Minister: I don't have that at this stage and I wouldn't want to do that until we have a bit more information about their whereabouts and their wellbeing.
Journalist: Are there any discussions about the Australian Army being deployed?
Foreign Minister: I think the focus at the moment is to support local authorities. Obviously, this is over this is on the border region, and when I spoke to my ambassador in China, I know the Chinese authorities will be deploying resources. It is quite a remote part of the region. Obviously, a long way from Beijing and obviously Nepal is a very mountainous country.
Journalist: So, has Nepal made any requests?
Foreign Minister: Not at this stage, but I would anticipate that support will be needed if you look at the footage and the destruction and we know this is a country that may not have the resources that will be needed to deal with the recovery by themselves, so they're likely to need a helping hand.
Journalist: Obviously the footage is disturbing, but how worried are you about the wellbeing of the missing Australians?
Foreign Minister: I think I'll worry, like everybody else, about all of them until we know if they're okay.
Journalist: Sorry, can you just clarify the advice to Australians in Nepal is that to contact with the embassy in Kathmandu?
Foreign Minister: The advice to Australians in Nepal is to make sure they subscribe to Smartraveller. If they are in need of consular assistance, they can speak to the Consular Emergency Centre, and obviously to follow the advice of local authorities.
Journalist: The ages. There have been reports of the youngest, of the Australians missing, being eleven years old. Can you confirm that?
Foreign Minister: I won't be confirming details of any Australians until we have both ascertained them and also engaged with next of kin.
Journalist: If Australians want to donate financially, is there a way they can do that through a safe --
Foreign Minister: Look, I don't have any detail to date, but I would say there is often through the Red Cross or one of the other multilateral organisations where there is a disaster of this kind, you often will see an appeal. But that's a matter for the multinational entities. We'll certainly engage with them about that. But I think the first point for us is to try and ascertain Australians' whereabouts and wellbeing. And secondly, we will look at what government-to-government assistance we can provide in the near future.
Journalist: For those that aren't missing but are Australian are you going to help them, those that are stranded over there, get back to Australia?
Foreign Minister: I think at this stage my focus is on those who are missing. At this stage I think there are still commercial flights available but obviously the primary focus is we want to try and make sure we know who is in the region and who is not yet accounted for and we want to try and ensure we can confirm their welfare and their location.
Journalist: Are you able to provide an update on the security treaty with Solomon Islands?
Foreign Minister: The Prime Minister has tasked foreign ministers to engage in discussion about the way forward with Solomon Islands, and we'll do that.
Journalist: Is the Government cutting the refugee intake [inaudible] in the next financial year, and is this the position of the Cabinet?
Foreign Minister: Well, I don't comment on Cabinet processes, and I think the Prime Minister's responded to that already. Anything further?
Journalist: The National Conference in the past month the [inaudible] maintain that you take 20,000 refugees a year, with an aspiration to go higher. Is this position a clear breach of that resolution?
Foreign Minister: It's a longstanding position in the platform and has been for a number of years and I'll refer you to the Prime Minister's comments earlier today. Thank you very much.