The Hon Jason Clare, Minister for Education
Penny Wong, Foreign Minister: Can I thank all of you for coming here today to the airport. And can I first express my deep respect, gratitude, and my affection for Samantha and Michelle, and Shaun and Mark for joining us this morning. This is, I know this is an extremely difficult week, but every week and every day and every hour has been really tragic for these families. And our hearts go out to them. We know what happened to Bianca and to Holly should never have happened. And it is their memory and their legacy which brings us together to do all that we can to avoid other young Australians, to keep them safe from the insidious killer that is methanol poisoning.
Again, I want to thank, these extraordinary people, Samantha and Michelle, Shaun and Mark, for their courage in working with us in really what is a selfless way to protect other young Australians. What we all want to do is to raise awareness of the dangers for Australians traveling in countries with different systems and different standards to us. So we're ramping up our efforts ahead of Schoolies so we join DrinkWise on a new safety push to help school leavers make informed decisions about alcohol and to help them celebrate with confidence. So I thank DrinkWise, I thank the CEO, Simon, who is with us this morning. We want all Australians to understand the risks of methanol poisoning, and we want them to know what to do if things go wrong.
So, it's a campaign which includes educational content. And, particularly powerful videos which include Samantha and Michelle. We are advertising on social media. We're advertising in all our international airports. We'll upload more material to the Partying Safely Hub that we launched in September. We'll have promotional events in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne to reach young people before they head off. There will be in-flight videos on Jetstar international flights from December for those on their way. So, we're really trying in as many ways as possible to reach young people so they stay safe. I want to say, we remember Bianca and Holly. We remember Bianca and Holly this week and every week. And we remind young people, stay vigilant, be adventurous but stay vigilant.
Watch your mates, watch your drinks. Please travel safely. I'm going to hand over to Samantha and Michelle shortly, but I did want to provide a brief update on Holly and Bianca's cases. Yesterday I spoke directly to the Lao ambassador. I again pressed for progress on Holly and Bianca's cases. We have made many representations, both at ministerial level and also in country to Laos, about this case.
I understand the local prosecutor's office is considering the report of the police investigation. I expressed the view that progress so far has not been good enough. I expressed the desire of all Australians for full accountability. That was the message I delivered again to Laos yesterday. We will continue to do everything we can to press for progress in these cases, and we will also continue to work to raise awareness amongst young Australians of methanol poisoning and other alcohol related risks. Thank you very much. And I'll now hand over to Samantha and Michelle.
Samantha Morton, mother of Holly Morton-Bowles: We lost our daughters, Holly and Bianca, after they were served drinks containing methanol. What happened was beyond Holly and Bianca's control, and it never should have happened.
Michelle Jones, mother of Bianca Jones: We know how excited this year's Year 12 kids will be about their upcoming Schoolies adventure, because we remember how the girls were so excited.
Morton: We urge parents to talk to their children before Schoolies. Help them understand the dangers, help them to be diligent, and help them to look after each other to stay safe.
Jones: Nothing will ever bring back Bianca and Holly, but knowing what happened to them, they can make safer choices and something can come from their loss.
Simon Strahan, DrinkWise CEO: We do know that this is a really exciting time for Year 12's. They've gone through a really stressful year and they do want to celebrate. And for many, Schoolies is that opportunity. It's also the first time for many that they've been away without their parents. For many, it'll be the first time that they're consuming alcohol, so the message is a really important one. It is if you are choosing to have a drink, that you're doing so in moderation and that you're making smart and safe decisions that will not only look after yourself, but your friends as well. The combination of DrinkWise with the Australian Government, the activities that we are doing with Smartraveller are really important. They will be actually providing information, tips and advice for school leavers at that point in time where it is going to be most relevant for them.
They'll be seeing those messages in and around airports. They'll be seeing those messages on social media when they're searching for bars. It will come up as part of that search activity. In Australia, we'll have those messages in liquor stores as well. We've got activations, as Minister Wong mentioned, that will be in airports. Part of that will be actually engaging with school leavers, giving them some merchandise, current reminders, and really starting to talk to them about some of the risks that they should be looking out for when they're heading away for Schoolies. Again, really important reminders. The recent DrinkWise research indicates that 94% of parents are actually quite concerned about their teens heading overseas, consuming alcohol.
What we do know is that less than 70% of parents are having that discussion with their teenagers before they leave, and that's really what this campaign is all about. Making sure those conversations are happening at home, and making sure that those issues are talked about. We know that only 50% of school leavers actually have ways, designated ways, to keep in touch with their parents. We want to see that number increase and that can happen now before they go. That's one of the reasons why we are so grateful to Michelle and to Sam for being involved in the videos, for parents to really showcase that this is real. Issues like methanol poisoning are real. The friends of Bianca and Holly being involved in the videos for school leavers to again, showcase what they should be looking out for to try to avoid those risks and be really mindful of what can happen overseas. Have that plan and strategies in place if things do go wrong, to actually make sure they can access help and support, and always feel comfortable to make sure that they can ring home if needed.
I'd certainly like to thank Minister Wong and Smartraveller for partnering in this campaign. It's actually going to highlight these issues much more than ever before, which would be fantastic. I'd also like to thank Minister Jason Clare from an education point of view, because of the fact we will be getting these videos, not only out more broadly via social media, but also integrated into school's environments, and the way that he has reached out to his counterparts at a state level to actually get these messages to Year 12 school leavers and also to parents will be a really important part of this campaign. But again, this campaign is not only for this year, it will live on, which is great, and these materials will be really informative for school leavers and their parents. And I'd like now to pass over to Minister Clare.
Jason Clare, Minister for Education: Thanks, Simon. Can I thank Bianca and Holly's mums and dads for being part of this campaign. Their voice, their message in this campaign is going to make it through to mums and dads across the country in a way that a message from a doctor or politician never will, and that message can help to save lives. This week there are a lot of young Australians that are finishing high school, and a lot will be going off to other parts of Australia or to other parts of the world for a well-earned break for a holiday. And they want to have fun and we want them to be safe. We want them to come home safe. And that's fundamentally what this campaign is all about. Information online, on the plane, in the airport, text messages, social media. As Simon said, information in liquor stores as well, but also getting information to schools, getting information wherever people will see it or hear it. To let them know to be careful and to listen to the information and to come home safe.
So as Education Minister, I see a really important role here for our schools in helping to make sure that we get this message across to young people as they finish their exams and they head to the airport. And I think about all the fun that they're about to have, to make sure that they read this information and they come back to the people that they love, safe and sound. Thank you.
Foreign Minister: Happy to take questions. If you want to go to the mums, I'm happy for you to do that first.
Journalist: [Inaudible]
Jones: I think it's great. I think, you know, our girls didn't have all this information and I think all this extra information is really amazing. Our girls didn't have it, and we didn't know anything about methanol. So to have this go out to Schoolies before they leave, they will come home safely and make safer choices.
Morton: Yeah, that's right, DrinkWise have done a fantastic job. And we are fully behind it and support it 100%. We just want to get the message out to keep other kids safe.
Journalist: [Inaudible]?
Jones: Very very raw. Especially at the departure entrance there, where we said goodbye to our girls. Yeah, it's very raw. Very upsetting. But we've got to do this for the greater good.
Journalist: [Inaudible] heard the Minister speak about yesterday she [inaudible]
Morton: We've been one at a time, yeah.
Journalist: Do you worry given that [inaudible] country that it is, you'll never have answers?
Morton: Absolutely. It's, you know, as we all know, we're coming up to a year, and we haven't seen significant developments as of yet. So we would still encourage them to keep pursuing the case and try and find some justice for our girls.
Jones: We might never have answers, but we're going to keep trying and we're not going to stop.
Journalist: [Inaudible]
Morton: I think the message is being heard, but little action. Yeah, I think they're hearing it, but not doing anything about it.
Journalist: [Inaudible]
Jones: It's really important that they get this information. I think that parents should have the conversation, to sit them down, before they go away. To know what these drinks can cause.
Morton: Yeah, just to be aware of the dangers. Have a plan. Talk to your children. Make sure they know what to do if they do get sick. It's only going to help save lives
Jones: And bring them home safe.
Morton: That's right, and say we just want them to come home safe.
Journalist: [Inaudible]
Morton: Because I think it resonates with us, right? It's what we're trying to do, is just get the message out to keep other travellers safe. And, so it's something that just makes sense to fully support because ultimately, DrinkWise and Smartraveller are doing the best that they can. So we'll do the same.
Journalist: How are you both?
Jones: It's really hard because it is coming up to a year this weekend and, yeah it's hard. It's really hard.
Journalist: Do you have plans together as a family to mark it?
Jones: Yes, we are going away all together. And, we're going to do something really special to honour our beautiful girls.
Journalist: [Inaudible] hostel planning to reopen and [inaudible], how does that make you feel?
Morton: Angry.
Jones: Angry. Really angry.
Journalist: [Inaudible]
Morton: To try and make it seem like nothing happened. It's not right. Yeah, it's just not right.
Journalist: [Inaudible] memorial instead, do you have a preference?
Jones: No, we haven't thought about that. But it's actually a very nice idea.
Morton: It is a nice idea. We might hand over to Penny. Thank you.
Jones: Thank you.
Foreign Minister: All right. I'm under a little bit of time pressure now. I just might start with you on a different issue. If I may, just very briefly. I understand that the UN Security Council has just a short while ago passed a resolution in relation to the next steps in Gaza in support of the ceasefire. Can I say we welcome these next steps. And we continue to back in the ceasefire, which is so important to peace and stability in the Middle East. Happy to take questions.
Journalist: You said you spoke to the Lao ambassador yesterday, when was the last time before that that you have spoken with Lao government officials?
Foreign Minister: We have made, I think about 50 representations to the Lao Government, and we'll continue to do that.
Journalist: Why is it taking so long, especially with the news yesterday of plans to reopen the hostel [inaudible]?
Foreign Minister: I agree with Sam and Michelle. It makes them angry. It makes Australia angry to hear that prospect. I raised that with the Lao ambassador. I made it clear to him that Australia's view was that the hostel should not reopen.
Journalist: Is there a ceiling for this resolution? Do you think there is only so much you can push?
Foreign Minister: I will continue to push. There's no ceiling in terms of what I'm prepared to push. What I would say is, we've made clear to Laos this matters to Australia. It matters to the families. It matters to the community. And we want full accountability. We want transparency. We'll continue to make that clear.
Journalist: Is there anything more that we can do as a country? I know that we've offered AFP as a system, is there anything more we can do outside of that offering?
Foreign Minister: Well, we can continue to do what we are doing, which is to at all diplomatic levels, raise these issues with the Lao Government, and we continue to offer AFP assistance. We've reiterated that offer, including yesterday.
Journalist: [Inaudible] independent investigation?
Foreign Minister: I asked the AFP to engage with the families earlier this year to explain their processes and what they can and can't do.
Journalist: Why is it so important, the partnership between Smartraveller and DrinkWise for this sort of thing?
Foreign Minister: Look, I want to really thank DrinkWise for their collaboration and our collaboration with them. And it is so important because it enables us to talk to more people, and it enables us to make sure the message, not just around methanol safety, which is the focus of our discussions now, but more broadly, on safety when it comes to alcohol is heard by more young Australians. That's what we want. So we're really grateful to Simon and his team for participating with us.
Journalist: [Inaudible] climate negotiations, are you [inaudible] to enter negotiations in good faith?
Foreign Minister: Obviously the negotiations are focused in Belém, where Chris Bowen is, and Australia's delegation. But I would make this point that I've made a number of times, our primary focus has been the Pacific. We want to bring leaders to the Pacific so they can see what is happening in the Pacific with their own eyes. That's what the Pacific want. We want Pacific issues to be elevated in these negotiations. That's what the Pacific wants. So we've been really clear all along that that is our priority and we've been consistent with that.
Journalist: [Inaudible]
Foreign Minister: Hang on, hang on. I've got two of you speaking at once. So I'll go to you and then I'll come to you.
Journalist: How important has it been to have the support of Holly and Bianca's family with you?
Foreign Minister: I again want to say it's a real privilege to stand with Holly and Bianca's parents. It's a real, it's very moving, both at a personal level, but also more broadly I think for all of us to see people in grief who are also seeking to do something constructive and positive in the midst of all this tragedy for other families and for all the young Australians. So we're very grateful to them.
Journalist: Do you have an update on the South African [inaudible]?
Foreign Minister: I don't have an update. I understand that Minister Burke has had something to say about that, so I'll leave that with you.
Journalist: [Inaudible]
Foreign Minister: I think Minister Burke has made his position on that clear. But I'd refer you to him. Obviously there is no place in Australia for those hateful views. And, you know, I agree with Tony, who makes the point that, you know, freedom of speech can only – doesn't extend. Sorry, freedom of speech does not extend to being divisive and hateful about people in our community. We don't accept that.
Journalist: [Inaudible] cut migration back [inaudible]?
Foreign Minister: Well, the Coalition, as I said on the weekend, they're trying to be more Pauline than Pauline. Well you can't out-Pauline Pauline Hanson, I think we all know that.
Journalist: [Inaudible]
Foreign Minister: What we want is young Australians to be aware of the risks and to try and lessen their risks. That's what the campaign is focused on because unfortunately, as we know too tragically, other countries have different rules, standards and regulations. Other countries may not be as safe as Australia. So for all young Australians traveling, please be safe. Look at this advice. Be aware. Look after yourself. Look after your mates. Thank you very much.