Doorstop interview, Parliament House, Canberra

SUBJECTS: Defence Workforce Plan; ADF recruitment and retention; US election; AUKUS

RICHARD MARLES, DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: Well, look, today, we are announcing the 2024 Defence Workforce Plan. We came to office inheriting a shrinking Defence Force, and it's really important that we are able to grow our Defence Force. We've made really important steps over the course of the last couple of years, we've reduced the separation rate from 11 percent down to nine. That means we're retaining more people in the Defence Force. But we also need to grow the Defence Force, and that's really what this plan is about. By improving the terms of the service for those who wear our nation's uniform, by extending the continuation bonus, by expanding it to those who are in the middle ranks of our Defence Force where we have such an issue, by providing more opportunities for those in our reserves to engage in full time, part time, active service. When I go around and meet our Defence Force personnel, which is really one of the great privileges of my role, one thing that's very clear to me is that choosing a life of service in the Australian Defence Force is a hugely fulfilling choice to make, and we will be very much encouraging young Australians to make that choice going forward, to provide that sense of service, to build their skills and to make a contribution to the nation. 

JOURNALIST: How many more people do you think you’ll be able to retain through this payment extension?

MARLES: Look, we are confident that we it will make a difference. When we look at what we've already done with the pilot program, it is more 1000s of people who are continuing, who might not otherwise have done that. So having a continuation bonus beyond the initial service obligation really does make a difference in terms of encouraging people to stay. What we need to be doing here is extending the average term of service. Right now it's about seven years. Our plan is to try and extend that through to 12. Having people serve 12 years in the Defence Force in terms of seven will make a really big difference in terms of growing the Defence Force.

JOURNALIST: And 1000s? 

MARLES: Yes, indeed, I think there is the opportunity to retain 1000s more in our Defence Force, but particularly extending the continuation bonus to a second payment for those who then go on and do an additional three years after the first three years, really takes us into those 7,8,9 years of service, which it gets into the middle ranks. And that's where we have seen some hollowness in the Defence Force. Building those in our middle ranks, I think, is really important in terms of ensuring that we have the people we need for our Defence Force in the future. 

JOURNALIST: Jacqui Lambie said that the payment should be offered tax free. I think that's what she was saying this morning. Is that something that the Government's looked at, and would it be possible?

MARLES: Well, obviously, our service, men and women pay tax. What we have done is enable the bonus to be taken over two years, which does enable people to reduce the tax associated with it, so we have had that tax in mind, and that option to take over two years does make a difference.

JOURNALIST: She also said it was ‘stupid’ that it wasn't initially offered to people in that sort of point of their career. Do you think that there was criticism within the Defence Force and that it should have been introduced earlier under the pilot? 

MARLES: Look, you know, we are meeting the challenge of what we inherited, which was a shrinking Defence Force. There is no doubt that by offering this second continuation bonus, we do get into those middle ranks, and they are very important. And so what we are confident about is that by expanding the continuation bonus to have that second opportunity, really will make a difference in terms of growing those middle ranks. 

JOURNALIST: What do you think of the Prime Minister's comments in 2017 that Donald Trump scares the shit out of him? And what would that mean if there is another Trump presidency? 

MARLES: Look, I think that the Prime Minister has demonstrated in all the work that he has done around the world, in repairing Australia's standing in the world, in stabilising relationships, in building others, that he is capable of working with anyone. And I have no doubt that no matter who wins the election in the United States over the coming 24,48 hours whether we're talking about a future President Harris or a future President Trump, our Prime Minister will be working very closely with that person, and the Alliance will be in good shape.

JOURNALIST: Do you think Kevin Rudd's position as ambassador is tenable if Donald Trump is elected?

MARLES: Kevin Rudd has done a fantastic job as our ambassador, and I know this first hand, obviously, having been to the United States numerous occasions over the last couple of years. Kevin has worked across the political spectrum in the US, but at the end of last year, we saw legislation passed the United States Congress, which has been critically important to the progress of AUKUS, to seeing the sale by America to Australia of Virginia Class submarines that was supported by Democrats, Republicans, Trump, Republicans alike, and Kevin Rudd played a critical role in going around the Congress and building that support across the political spectrum. He was there at the Republican National Convention this year. He has good connections within the Republicans, as he does within the Democrats, which is what you would expect an ambassador to do, and Kevin Rudd is going to do a great job no matter who wins the United States presidential election. 

JOURNALIST: What do you think of Donald Trump? 

MARLES: Well, I think Donald Trump is a candidate in this election. I think be it Donald Trump or be it Kamala Harris that is a matter for the American people. I really feel that very profoundly. Our job is to maintain our Alliance with the United States, which we will do. Our Alliance with the United States is fundamental to our national security. It really is the cornerstone of our world view, of our foreign policy, and it will be there no matter who wins the next presidential election, and that is fundamentally a matter for the American people. 

JOURNALIST: The Australian Government has been trying to improve that relationship with China over this term of government. Do you have concerns that if Donald Trump is elected, that could compromise Australia's relationship with China?

MARLES: No, our relationship with China is something that has been a significant focus as well. You've seen us stabilise our relationship with China from what we inherited from the former Government. We are very clear eyed in terms of the way in which we engage with China. We do want to have the most productive relationship with China that we can have. They are our largest trading partner at the same time. We're very clear that we will disagree with China where we must, and we've done that on numerous occasions but we are getting the trade back in place. The relationship is really in a much better place today than it was two and a half years ago, and that's because of the diligent work that we put into our relationship with China, and that will continue. 

JOURNALIST: Have you received assurances that AUKUS will continue as planned, even if Trump is chosen as the President? 

MARLES: Well, the point to make there is that AUKUS has been the subject of Congressional votes. At the end of last year, we saw a significant package go through the US Congress around building a seamless defence industrial base between our two nations, as I said earlier, around the sale of Virginia Class submarines to Australia. Now that was supported in a bipartisan way; Democrats, Republicans, Trump Republicans. So it's not a guess like we actually have a voting record. We have experience at hand in terms of the way in which we have been engaging with the American system. And so the answer is, we do feel very confident that no matter who wins the presidential election, their lives will be in good shape, and our equities within the Alliance will also be in good shape. 

ENDS