Doorstop Interview, Vanuatu

SUBJECTS:  Australia-Vanuatu relationship; Cook Barracks redevelopment; Pacific partnerships.

JOURNALIST: Deputy Prime Minister, so we are looking at the opening of this new development, and we know that Australia wants to do more partnership, and this relationship (inaudible) strong in the near future. So after this, what's the next plan for Australia to continue to strengthen our partnership?

RICHARD MARLES, DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: Firstly, it's been an enormous pleasure to be here for the opening of the Cook Barracks. The development here, in combination with Tiroas, is $106 million Australian dollars. The vast majority of that has been invested into the Vanuatu economy. We've seen Vanuatu businesses benefit from that. We've seen more than 1,000 people work on this project, and hundreds of those have been able to acquire skills which really helped the Vanuatu economy, more than 600 getting to a white card standard. That's really the nation building effect which comes from investing in local people as they build this great facility. And of course, the facility itself is going to be so good for the Vanuatu Mobile Force, the Vanuatu Police Force. Hundreds of families here will be able to benefit from these barracks over time, and we couldn't be happier to be a partner in this. Today, I met with Prime Minister Salwai and we've talked about the future of the relationship between Australia and Vanuatu. At the heart of that is our economic connection. As I said today, I think our job as members of government is to enable our two peoples to work together economically, to see greater investment here in Vanuatu, to see greater people-to-people connections. The PALM scheme is seeing so many Ni‑Vanuatu people work in Australia and that really does create an economic benefit for this country. I was talking to the Prime Minister just now, the police headquarters is another infrastructure project which we’ll be working on. But we look forward to really taking the relationship between Australia and Vanuatu to the next level, but basing that on the opportunities that come from a much greater economic connection. 

JOURNALIST:  inaudible

MARLES: Again, a good question. This project is a partnership. We did this project because the Vanuatu government asked for it. This was about us listening to what the priorities of Vanuatu were, and trying to be responsive to that. An investment in the people of the uniformed services of the Vanuatu Police Force and Vanuatu Mobile Force was the number one priority for the Vanuatu government, and that's why we were so pleased to be able to deliver on that project by partnering with the Vanuatu government on its completion. But this is very– in terms of why we are doing this, in terms of why this is needed, in terms of the capability that this brings to Vanuatu, this is a Vanuatu-led project and we're really proud to be a supporter and a partner in it.

JOURNALIST: inaudible

MARLES: We have seen great cooperation between our uniform services and the uniform services of Vanuatu. There are a number of Australian Defence Force personnel that participated in this project and I know have worked closely with the Vanuatu Mobile Force, as do the Australian Federal Police, working with the Vanuatu Police Force. We get as much out of that cooperation as Vanuatu does. It is such a great opportunity for the young servicemen and women of both our police forces and our defence forces to have the experience of coming here and being able to work so closely with their counterparts in the Vanuatu Mobile Force and Vanuatu Police Force. So I think this project is a symbol of that cooperation, it's a symbol of the friendship, and it's a symbol of what we can do together.

JOURNALIST:  inaudible

MARLES: Well, again, this is about Australia seeking to listen to the priorities of the countries of the Pacific and respond to them. I mean in terms of Australia's engagement with the Pacific, there is no more important part of the world in terms of Australia's worldview than the Pacific and the Pacific Island countries which are our neighbours. This is a shared neighbourhood, and we seek to build it in a way which is peaceful, which is secure, but seeing that as a platform for economic prosperity and human development. And we are really committed to making sure that we are investing in the nations of the Pacific and the peoples of the Pacific to see that development improve. And I think when you look at the opportunities that exist for economic cooperation between Australia and Vanuatu, that speaks to what we can do right around the Pacific. But the platform for that is peace and security, and that's what we're interested in. I mean, we are interested in that as a contributor to economic and human development, and we are very much committed to working with the countries in the Pacific to achieve it.

JOURNALIST: Mr Marles, can you just give us a very brief outline of the extent of Australian defence cooperation to Vanuatu. I believe there's barracks, there's been ships. Just give us a general kind of overview of the entire defence project. 

MARLES: Well, we're obviously very pleased to support the development of these two barracks:  Tiroas, Santo and the barracks here in Port Vila. This, as I said, is an example of cooperation that we see between the Australian Defence Force and Vanuatu Mobile Force. We're really keen to see greater cooperation at an operational level, which builds opportunities for members of the Australian Defence Force, on the one hand, but provides an opportunity to build the skills of those in the Vanuatu Mobile Force, on the other. And so we’re looking at ways in which we can team up with other units in Australia, there are historic relationships with various units in Australia that we are seeking to develop. And in the maritime space, we've got the Pacific Maritime Program that is operating across the Pacific, but very much operating here in Vanuatu. We've seen the landing craft be provided here in Vanuatu, along with a number of vessels, of course the Guardian class patrol boat is currently under repair in Cairns, so we very much look forward to its return here. When you take all of that, it is a very significant partnership, which, as I said earlier, benefits Australia as much as it benefits Vanuatu. I mean, we get so much in terms of the experience that is provided to our young servicemen and women who are able to participate in these programs. And I very much hope that in the process we’re able to build the capability and skills of the uniform services here in Vanuatu.

JOURNALIST:  inaudible

MARLES: Development in the Pacific has been a challenge. I mean, that has been a challenge over many decades and that's the fundamental challenge. And actually what we need to be doing is cooperating together and doing as much as we can to meet the challenges of building sustainable economies in small island states. I mean, the challenge of doing that is about building diverse economies amongst geographically remote populations. That is the innate challenge of small island states around the world, and it’s experienced here in the Pacific by the small island states in the Pacific. Now, Australia, in our work in the Pacific, has got some experience about meeting those challenges and making sure, for example, that the exclusive economic zones of countries, which are often the most important economic asset countries have, can be properly protected and utilized for the economic benefit of those countries. That's why we have the maritime program that we (inaudible) throughout the Pacific to enable countries and empower them to be able to protect their natural resource, and see that it benefits them and their sovereignty. That is the challenge. It is the innate challenge of small island states, but it is experienced around the world and we are really committing to be doing everything we can (inaudible) on our relationships in the Pacific so we can meet that challenge on behalf of both of our countries.

ENDS