Doorstop interview, Sheffield, UK

Subject/s: UK-Australia defence ties; AUKUS; Support for Ukraine; US Presidential election. 

JOURNALIST: Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, you're here at a Forgemasters in Sheffield today. Can you tell us what you're doing here? 

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER, RICHARD MARLES: Firstly, it's very exciting to be here and to witness the remarkable engineering that we're seeing behind us. I'm here today to meet my good friend and counterpart, John Healey. John has been in his role for a week, but he's actually been on the case of AUKUS and the relationship between the UK and Australia for years. And indeed, we have worked closely with John over many years, which speaks to the fact that AUKUS is a project in Australia, in the UK and in America which is bipartisan, and that is so important in terms of delivering this multi-decade project, because it will require the efforts of governments of all persuasions in each of our three countries. So, I'm really delighted to be able to be here, first of all, with John Healey to begin our working relationship together as defence ministers of our respective countries. What's really exciting about specifically being here at Forgemasters is what we're seeing behind us are long lead items that will be on the SSN-AUKUS class of submarine that will be jointly operated by the UK and Australia. These are long lead items which are being jointly purchased right now, what we're seeing behind us, by the Australian Government and the United Kingdom Government. So this is a real demonstration that AUKUS is happening. These submarines are actually being made as we speak. And indeed, the contribution that Australia will make to the industrial uplift here in the United Kingdom, money that we are providing $2.4 billion pounds, I should say, some of that is going to flow through right here at Forgemaster. So it's a fantastic example that AUKUS is happening, it's happening today. Last year, I was at the Rolls Royce facility in Derby, again, we were seeing the same thing, items being made there which will be on the submarines that will be built here in Britain and in Australia and it's very exciting to see.

JOURNALIST: And these submarines can presumably be deployed wherever they are needed. But in the Indo-Pacific, particularly, there is a very real threat from China, isn’t there? And Taiwan. That must be something that you feel very keenly in Australia, given your geographical position relative to sort of the rest of the west, if you like. 

MARLES: We feel that in eastern Europe, obviously, the rules-based order is under pressure with what we're seeing with Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine. But the rules- based system is under pressure in the Indo-Pacific as well. We live in a world which is more fragile. We live in a world which is much less predictable. And the Australian Government, in that context, is very determined to make sure that we have a significant uplift in our military capability and long-range, highly capable submarines, nuclear-powered submarines are central to that and they are going to be absolutely integral to our military capability as we go forward, across the decade and beyond. And that's why it's so exciting to see this project actually living, breathing, happening right here, right now in Sheffield.

JOURNALIST: And you're also giving money to Ukraine, aren't you? What do you say to– 

there must be some people in Australia, just as there are from the United Kingdom that say, why are we giving money for somebody else's war, it's still nothing to do with us? 

MARLES: Well, actually, I think there is an enormous amount of support amongst the public in Australia for Ukraine's cause. People understand that it's not fair that a large country imposes itself on a smaller neighbour, not by reference to the rule of law, but by reference to power and might. You know, as a middle-sized country ourselves, we understand how important the global rules-based system is to maintaining our sovereignty, to maintaining our agency in the world and what we see in Ukraine is that under threat. I think the other point to make is that from the moment that China and Russia signed a no limits agreement on the eve of Russia's invasion of Ukraine is the moment that a conflict in eastern Europe, in a transformative way, became highly relevant to all of us in the Indo-Pacific. Lessons will be learned, good or bad, from what plays out in Ukraine for what happens in the Indo-Pacific. The war in Ukraine is shaping the Indo-Pacific. I think the Australian people understand that and they are very supportive of the contributions that we are making to Ukraine. Earlier this week I announced a $250 million package in support of Ukraine. It's the largest package that we've announced to date and it takes that military contribution, assistance to Ukraine to more than $1.1 billion. So it is significant, but it very much enjoys the support of the Australian people. 

JOURNALIST: And the election in America. If Joe Biden fights that election, are you confident that he still has the mental faculties needed for potentially the most important job in the world?

MARLES: Well, of course we're confident and we've worked very closely with the Biden Administration and with President Biden himself, in fact, during the course of this last week at the NATO conference and we couldn't be happier with the engagement of America under the Biden Administration in the Indo-Pacific, which is fundamentally important for Australia's national interest, but it's fundamentally important in terms of underpinning the maintenance of the rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific. But the other point I would make is that, you know, the election in the United States is ultimately a battle for the American people and whatever happens in November, I'm confident that Australia's relationship with America will remain strong and I'm confident that we'll continue to see American leadership in the world and in the Indo-Pacific.

JOURNALIST: Even if it's Donald Trump? Because he's been very scathing about NATO and threatened to pull a lot of funding from Ukraine. 

MARLES: Well, we've seen American leadership in the world occur over multiple presidencies of different persuasions, over many decades and I am confident that that will continue, irrespective of what the result is in November. But at the end of the day, the election in America is a matter for the American people and we're not going to get involved in that, as we should not. But we are really confident about our relationship with the United States beyond November. And we're also confident about the United States role that it will play in the world.