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Senator the Hon Marise Payne
Minister for Defence
Media contact
- Henry Budd (Minister Payne’s office) 0429 531 143
- Defence Media (02) 6127 1999
Release content
17 February 2017
SABRA LANE:
Islamic State has claimed responsibility for two bombings overnight in Iraq and Pakistan which have killed more than 100 people. Coincidentally, western allies are meeting in Brussels to discuss the military campaign against IS extremists in Iraq and Syria. It's a meeting of NATO allies, but Australia's Defence Minister, Marise Payne, is also there and she's just met her US counterpart, James Mattis, becoming the first Australian Government representative to have a face-to-face meeting with a member of Donald Trump's new cabinet. I spoke with Minister Payne a short time ago.
[Excerpt]
SABRA LANE:
Marise Payne, welcome to AM. Is the west winning the fight against Islamic State? Has there been enough progress made in the past 12 months?
MARISE PAYNE:
I think there's been very significant progress made, particularly as we've seen them move on Mosul in recent times. It started in October and we had an opportunity today with more than 30 members of the international coalition here in Brussels to canvas those issues. And to a person the ministers of defence and their representatives were extremely positive about the progress that we've made in recent times.
SABRA LANE:
But we've seen these two big bombings overnight in Pakistan and in Iraq.
MARISE PAYNE:
We have and we are always very disturbed to see those. I saw the announc ement in relation to Baghdad when I returned to the city tonight here in Brussels. They are the sorts of things that we expect ISIS to do and that we are always attuned to. Unfortunately they can't always be prevented. In this case there's been a very tragic loss of life but it remains as a reminder, really, of the extraordinary challenge of dealing with this absolutely toxic organisation.
SABRA LANE:
The US Defense Secretary, James Mattis, has said he doesn't think the fight against IS will end quickly but the US would like to speed up the multinational campaign against the group. What's Australia's position on that?
MARISE PAYNE:
Well we are very engaged with those discussions. We want to make sure that we take the right steps in Iraq and the right steps in Syria, bearing in mind of course that there is also behind us as these military actions move on, a significant stabilisation task as well.
SABRA LANE:
How is Australia committing more resources or troops to the fight?
MARISE PAYNE:
Well at this point in time, specific requests have not been made. Obviously this is a very, very quick moving and very fluid operational environment. We would always take advice from our military representatives and consider each decision on its merit. But the discussion this afternoon was about addressing the taking of West Mosul which has been the target for some recent times. What needs to be done in Raqqa and Syria, what progress has been made there. And as I said all the time not forgetting that the stabilisation of these areas which have been secured is extremely important.
SABRA LANE:
It's been well briefed out that the United States is also considerin g a boots on the ground campaign in Syria. What's Australia's view on that? That would be a dangerous escalation?
MARISE PAYNE:
Well, briefed out is one way to put it, I think. This is part of the discussion in the context of President Trump's request for within 30 days the Secretary of Defense, Jim Mattis, to bring forward a plan to address ISIS, as it is described now by the Administration. That is under way and certainly there's been no finalisation of that plan at all. What we have seen though, important and effective in Iraq is the work of the Iraqi Security Forces itself, with the support of the international coalition that enables them to own the outcomes and to be an integral part of that. In fact, to lead it. I think and the Australian Government has thought for some time that that is the most effective way of pursuing the aims and objectives of the international coalition and we certainly would support continuing in that sense.
SABRA LANE:
If a boots on the ground campaign was progressed by the United States, would Australia willingly follow?
MARISE PAYNE:
Well I'm not going to engage in hypotheticals of that nature. It is, as I said, a work in progress in terms of a plan that the Secretary of Defence and the Pentagon is due to return to the President by about I think 27 February. It is covering a lot of options, a lot of iterations. The most important thing though is to ensure that the outcomes are owned by the Iraqi people, that the results in Syria are owned by locals and that is the aim and the objective that we've been pursuing.
SABRA LANE:
You've had a meeting with US Defense Secretary Mattis. What's he said about the state of the US-Australia alliance, given the fiery start to the Trump-Turnbull relationship with that phone call?
MARISE PAYNE:
The Secretary was overwhelmingly positive. He is a very strong supporter of the Australia-US alliance. He speaks very favourably of Australia. He's worked with Australian Defence Force members over an extended period of time in his career and I think could not hold us in higher regard given those experiences. It was an extremely positive meeting and I look forward to following up on that with him in our next meeting and in future engagements. I was very pleased with the outcome of today's meetings.
SABRA LANE:
The US has told NATO allies they must do more, warning if they don't, US will do less. Did the Defense Secretary give you that same message?
MARISE PAYNE:
Well, we are in a very positive position with respect to our defence spending. As you w ould know, with the release of the Defence White Paper and the Integrated Investment Program just last year, we are on a very good trajectory to 2 per cent of GDP spend by 2020-2021 financial year. And that is the spend objective that the United States has spoken to members of NATO about. I understand that to have been a very constructive discussion. Of course, I saw many of my colleagues in the counter-ISIL meeting this afternoon and to a person they were complimentary of Secretary Mattis' engagement with the members of NATO this week and very positive about the sort of engagement they look to have going forward.
SABRA LANE:
How difficult is it to get a handle on foreign policy with the new Trump administration, given for example the differing messages it's been putting out there is the past 24 hours on Israel?
MARISE PAYNE:
Well I have found my engagement wit h Secretary Mattis both through our initial telephone conversation just before Australia Day and the preparations for today's meetings to be extremely cordial and extremely conducive to a good relationship. I have not had any issues in that regard and I must say having come out of this afternoon's meeting, I look forward to continuing that very positive note.
SABRA LANE:
Minister, thank you very much for your time.
MARISE PAYNE:
Thank you, Sabra.