Foreign Minister, Penny Wong: Can I say how delighted I am to welcome my friend Justin Tkatchenko, the Foreign Minister of Papua New Guinea, to my hometown of Adelaide. And thank you so much for visiting the greatest city in Australia. And Justin, on his mother's side, has German and Polish heritage.
So, one of the other upsides – apart from coming to Adelaide and it being such a wonderful place to visit – is he's got to catch up with his relatives from Lyrup and the Barossa Valley. Of course, we have a lot of South Australians who came from both Germany and Poland, then settled in the Barossa and contribute to our fantastic wine industry. So, thank you for being here, Justin and I'm glad that you got a chance to meet with some of your relatives. We talk about being family. We're family in many ways.
Justin Tkatchenko, Papua New Guinea Foreign Minister: Absolutely.
Foreign Minister Wong: Papua New Guinea and Australia are more than just neighbours. We're close friends. We're bound by shared history and trust. And last year, we marked 50 years of Papua New Guinea's independence, and we celebrated the strength of our partnership. And we also made an historic decision to become allies. And I want to thank again Papua New Guinea, Prime Minister Marape, Deputy Prime Minister Rosso, Foreign Minister Tkatchenko, the whole of the Papua New Guinea Government for proposing the Pukpuk Treaty. It's such an honour to be part of that Alliance with Papua New Guinea and we look forward to our leaders bringing the Treaty into force in the near future. Both of our countries have gone through our domestic processes so we look forward to the Treaty coming into force.
I want to emphasise it's an Alliance that is about more than defence. It deepens cooperation in health, education, infrastructure and trade, all of which are about our two countries working together for peace, for stability and prosperity in our region.
Now, on to a couple of other matters. We know reliable energy supply is an important part of a stable region, and in this context can I indicate Australia welcomes the deal this week between the United States and Iran. We have long called for de-escalation and an end to this conflict. We do believe it's gone on too long, and we are very pleased that an agreement has been reached. Obviously, restraint and dialogue will be central to securing a lasting agreement. The Government also welcomes, as I'm sure all Australians do, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the restoration of freedom of navigation. It's really important that supply flows through the Strait freely without barriers, tolls or impediments. We want critical energy supplies to flow where they are most needed, including to our region and including to the Pacific. It matters to all of us.
I also want to mention the Government's decision today to change our travel advice. We have lowered travel advice for Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE. We have taken it from level 4 to level 3. That means the advice has changed from ‘Do not travel’ to ‘Reconsider your need to travel’. I would obviously emphasise that level 3 remains a high threshold. And we do say to Australians if your travel is non-essential, we would urge you to postpone it. Reconsidering your need to travel also means reconsidering your need to transit. Our first priority is always the safety and security of Australians. We continue to monitor the situation closely and we keep all of our travel advisories through Smartraveller under close review.
So, in closing, I will just say to Justin, thank you for being here today. Thank you for your personal contribution and it has been really substantial. Your personal contribution to the closeness of our relationship and to the Alliance which we are entering into. You've been a key player in that and a great friend of our country and a great ambassador for yours. Over to you.
Foreign Minister Tkatchenko: Thank you Minister. Thank you Penny and Minister for Foreign Affairs for Australia. Papua New Guinea is not only an ally, we're in partnership with friends that goes back many, many years. And with that, our relationship is the strongest that it's ever been since our independence with the Marape-Albanese shared understanding between governments. We look forward to the final implementation of the Pukpuk Treaty, our alliance. This strengthens our security, strengthens our social well-being, and ensures that Australia and Papua New Guinea will be closer than ever before, looking after each other in these very challenging times. So, your leadership, Penny, in bringing us together with your Prime Minister is not a mistake. It's well overdue and we look forward to our continual partnership, our continual relationship for the benefit of both our peoples.
Foreign Minister Wong: We're happy to take questions.
Journalist: Thank you. This is a two-part question. What's your assessment of the impact of the peace deal with US and Iran? And PNG's existing subsidy to freeze fuel prices end in about two weeks. Will you need to extend it beyond then and have you asked Australia for assistance on this front?
Foreign Minister Tkatchenko: On the international side of things, any peace deal is most important. We need to have peace and stability in the whole world, basically. Even though Papua New Guinea is so far away from Iran and from this crisis, it affects us greatly. Our government has put subsidies in for fuel for our people, over 100 million Kina. And I can say without fear or favour, that our fuel prices are nearly the lowest in the world, only three Kina for a litre of diesel. So that really assists our people greatly in these uncertain times when it comes to fuel security. We are secure, we produce our own fuel, we sell our own fuel and our suppliers and our contractors have guaranteed that our fuel supply is secure now and into the future.
Journalist: Would you be planning to extend the freeze and have you asked Australia for support?
Foreign Minister Tkatchenko: We have not asked Australia for support, as we do not need it at this point in time. And we look forward to ensuring that now that Trump and the American government have come to some sort of agreement, which we look forward to seeing in detail, this will make it so much easier for all of us.
Journalist: The Solomon Islands Prime Minister floated the idea of a regional security pact. What's your reaction to this idea? Do you think it has merit and are you open to discussing it?
Foreign Minister Tkatchenko: Look, for our region, we all need to work together in partnership. And Australia's been doing a fantastic job in signing up all different Pacific Island countries with treaties and defence cooperation agreements and what have you to ensure is that the whole region works together as one. And we're all for that. The historical alliance that we now have with Australia and Papua New Guinea sets the tone and also sets the precedent for the other countries which are now following suit. So, yes, it's a great idea for all of us to work together as one.
Journalist: If I may direct the same question to Minister Wong.
Foreign Minister Wong: Well, first can I just say, I’ll pick up where Justin left off, which is the meaning of the Alliance, and not just between us, but what it means to the region. Papua New Guinea is after Australia, the largest Pacific country, it's the largest Pacific Island nation. And it is a leader in the region, and Prime Minister Marape and his cabinet have led this. And the point that Minister Tkatchenko is making is the really critical one, which is we all have a role in assuring stability and security in our region, and we believe that that security is best provided within the PIF family. It is from that principle which enables security, and that is one of the foundational principles of Pukpuk.
Journalist: The Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has described the deal with Iran as a ‘game changer’. Have you had a chance to see the deal and would you agree with that assessment?
Foreign Minister Wong: No, we haven't seen the deal. We obviously welcome it. We've long been calling for de-escalation of this conflict and as the Prime Minister and I and others have said, the longer the war goes on, the greater the impact will be, and the impact we have seen and felt at the bowser here in Australia and in countries around the world, particularly in our region. We look forward to seeing how the agreement ensures that the Iranian capacity to gain a nuclear weapon is constrained or removed, that obviously is a very important contribution to ensure global security.
Journalist: And are you hopeful that it will ease the fuel shock that we've been dealt as a result in the Pacific?
Foreign Minister Wong: Of course. I mean, you've heard me speak about, the Prime Minister speak about the fact that we are, because of the nature of the way the global market works, how much of the oil coming through the Strait is bound for the refineries of Asia from where most of us get most of our fuel. Obviously, it's had a disproportionate impact on our region. I would assume that there will still be a tail on the disruption. But we certainly are hopeful that we see fuel supplies returning to normal in the very near future and that it would be a good thing for the people of our region and for the people of Australia.
Journalist: Minister, you met with the group, the Freedom Flotilla, yesterday. Do you have any reflections on the meeting and the allegations that they've made and a response for the Israeli Embassy, which has dismissed these allegations as a ‘fabricated smear campaign’?
Foreign Minister Wong: Yes, I met with the group with Minister Aly on Monday to listen to them directly about their experiences. After that, I met with them with the Australian Federal Police and as a consequence of that meeting the Australian Federal Police are making enquiries. So, I obviously made some comments previously, but given the AFP process is underway, I don’t propose to add to them. And I would say in relation to the Israeli Ambassador, I don't believe it is responsible to make comments whilst AFP enquiries are ongoing.
Journalist: Pauline Hanson has made a speech to the Press Club taking aim at the multicultural society in Australia, taking aim at immigration, saying Australia should be, to quote, ‘a monocultural society’. What do you make of that language?
Foreign Minister Wong: I make two points. First is, I have watched Pauline Hanson in the Senate over many years and what I can confirm to Australians is that she works with the Liberal Party and the National Party. And she has voted with them against many measures that benefit working people, including the various cost-of-living packages that the Government has put forward. The second point is this, that what she offers is division and anger, but no answers.
Journalist: Minister, given the rhetoric we've seen from Pauline Hanson on Asia and foreign aid, as well as Malcolm Roberts' recent language on the US, are you anxious about what the rise of One Nation might mean for Australia's strategic position in the region?
Foreign Minister Wong: We're very clear that we find our security principally in our region and the importance of working closely with partners in our region. That is what the Alliance with Papua New Guinea is about. That is what our relationships with ASEAN are about. It is also what our alliance with the U.S. enables, as the importance of the U.S. as a partner in our region is obviously very substantial. So, we understand that you gain security in a more contested and volatile world by ensuring you have strong relationships and partnerships in your region and with other countries that enable all of those countries to work for peace and stability. And that is what the Government is focused on.
Journalist: But with the rise of a nationalist and explicitly anti-globalist party such as One Nation, does it have any long-term consequences for Australia's strategic position and what would be your message to voters about this?
Foreign Minister Wong: Well, my message is exactly what I've just said. We are focused on assuring Australia's stability and security, and we do that by working with others in our region to create strong partnerships where we all work for stability and peace.
Journalist: Do you mind if I ask what your talks have centred around today and what you've managed to achieve by this visit? I'll maybe start with you, Justin.
Foreign Minister Tkatchenko: Basically, I've come here to see Penny's backyard, number one. And it was a wonderful invitation for me to come to Adelaide for the first time in nearly 30 years. We discussed the security in the region. We discussed the upcoming entry into force of the Pukpuk Treaty in Sydney coming in the next weeks with both our Prime Ministers. We discussed our regional situation and the situation of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea as well with their independence push and the vote coming up there. And you know, fuel security and also things moving forward for the benefit of both our countries. So, Australia is our traditional security partner.
Now we've taken it to a level where we have one ‘banis’, meaning one fence and two houses. In that security pact where we're together as one. The security issues of Australia will be a concern for Papua New Guinea. And Papua New Guinea’s security issues are a concern for Australia. So, we all work together in partnership to ensure that we have a mutual understanding and agreement. We're going to have many thousands of Papua New Guineans entering into the Australian Defence Force over the next 10 years to assist in the security of partnership going together in that regard.
And that's a process that is new and we're walking through how we will succeed to do that. The most important thing is that we're all on the same page. We're all together as one and why change something that's working well? I think that's the situation.
Local politics, whatever it might be, the Albanese Government with our government under James Marape is working very, very well for peace and security in the region, not only for Australia, but also for all the other Pacific Island countries as well. We assist and work together as one so that we can all have an understanding that what we're doing is not just for Australia, it's not just for Papua New Guinea. But it's for all the other island nations as well, especially our brothers and sisters in the Solomon Islands as well, working with them. They're all part of the program and the process of making our area a safe and secure place now and into the future.
Journalist: Given Pauline Hanson's rhetoric about anti-immigration and so forth, do you think that it's damaging Australia's reputation in the region?
Foreign Minister Tkatchenko: As I said, the partnership that we have with Australia, they're our traditional security partners, and we will continue to work with the Albanese Government to secure that at the highest level that it's ever been. We're the second alliance that Australia's ever had. That just shows you how important this security pact is. And of course, yes, the negativity can only cause problems into the future in that regard. So, we're happy and we're content in what we have done in respect to the bilateral security arrangement with our policing. And now with our defence, social and health, it couldn't be better.
Journalist: One Nation is now the most popular political party in Australia and Pauline Hanson has, as you would have heard, said that most Pacific leaders are corrupt. Do you think that this rise of her popularity is a risk?
Foreign Minister Tkatchenko: These false and defamatory statements will get her nowhere, believe me. It's uncalled for and totally irresponsible for her to say such a thing when she doesn't know the truth.
Journalist: Are you concerned that so many Australians seemingly support her?
Foreign Minister Tkatchenko: She has popular ideas, but maybe she's another Trump rising out of the ashes or something like that. But everybody for their own. They have their own democratic right who they want to vote for. We are happy with the Labor Government going forward, and they've proven themselves time and time again that they are totally concerned and dedicated for peace and prosperity in our region.
Journalist: Just on South Australia, the debate that keeps coming back about late term abortion. Do you have any reflections on this?
Foreign Minister Wong: The first point I'd make is that most South Australians would agree that we should trust South Australian women to make their own choices about their own bodies. And I would urge my South Australian colleagues to not submit to deceitful fear campaigns and to reaffirm our tradition of being a party of women in Australia. Thanks very much everybody.
Foreign Minister Tkatchenko: Thank you.