Doorstop Interview, Geelong

SUBJECTS: Middle East Conflict; G7; Australia-United States Relationship; AUKUS; Energy.

RICHARD MARLES, DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: Thank you for being here this morning. The Government is deeply concerned about events which are unfolding in the Middle East, and specifically we are concerned about the risks of escalation. We well understand the threat that Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile program represents. That program is a threat to international peace and security. But because of this, we are calling on all parties to prioritise dialogue and diplomacy. We specifically call on Iran to exercise restraint in their actions so as not to risk any broader conflict. At this moment, airspace across Iran and Israel is closed, as it is across Iraq and Jordan. Accordingly, for Australians who are in the region, our advice is to seek shelter in place, to monitor the Smartraveller website and, if necessary, to contact the Emergency Consular Centre. I can say that we are able to report that our embassy staff in both Tehran and Tel Aviv are all accounted for and are safe. There are a small number of Australian Defence Force personnel within the region, they too have all been accounted for and are safe but we will continue to monitor their ongoing safety. Once again, we call on all parties to engage in diplomacy and dialogue at this moment and we will continue to monitor events as they unfold very closely.

JOURNALIST: (Inaudible)

MARLES: Well, at this moment, airspace is closed. We've had a relatively small number of calls that have been made to the Consular Emergency Centre at this stage. All of that is a matter that we will continue to monitor as this progresses.

JOURNALIST: When you say small number, do you know how many?

MARLES: I do, but I'm not going to go into it. But in the context of these sorts of events, it is a relatively small number of contacts that we've had through the Consular Emergency Centre.

JOURNAIST: Just on the Prime Minister, are you expecting him to meet with Donald Trump in Canada or is the current conflict going to change things?

MARLES: Well look, I'm not about to speculate on that. Obviously, the Prime Minister is making his way to the G7. You know, I'm confident at some point in the not too distant future, the Prime Minister and the President will meet, but I'm not about to speculate what happens in the next few days.

JOURNALIST: Have you spoken with America since the announcement of the AUKUS review?

MARLES: Well, as I've said previously in relation to this, we've known about this review for some time and we are in constant engagement with the United States. And, of course, I met with my counterpart, the Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, just a couple of weeks ago in Singapore. So, this review is not a surprise to us, we welcome it and we will participate in it.

JOURNALIST: Do you think your government should do a review of it too?

MARLES: Well, as we've also pointed out, when we came to government, we did a review of our defence posture – the Defence Strategic Review. It looked at the entirety of our defence posture, but of course, AUKUS was a key part of that and so it did look at the arrangements in respect of AUKUS, just as the British did when they, the new British Labour government came into power in July of last year. It is a very natural thing for an incoming government to engage in a review of this kind. It is actually exactly what we did. That's what the Trump administration are doing, we welcome it and we'll engage with it.

JOURNALIST: Given the uncertainty around the world at the moment, can I ask how important our relationship with the US is when it comes to security?

MARLES: Well, I mean, our Alliance is the cornerstone of our national security. The Alliance has been the cornerstone of our foreign policy since the Second World War and none of that changes. And we continue to work very closely with the United States as we have across varying administrations in Washington and various governments in Australia, and that continues under the current government and the current administration.

JOURNALIST: Has the Albanese Government had any formal or any informal advice or feedback on the potential of a Trump‑Albanese meeting in the coming days?

MARLES: Well, as I just answered in respect of the question earlier, I'm not about to speculate on that, nor would I go into what are the contacts between our respective governments in relation to all of that. In the not too distant future, I'm sure that you'll see a meeting between the Prime Minister and the President. But I'm not about to speculate about what happens over the coming few days.

JOURNALIST: Just following on from that, given the situation and the volatility in the Middle East, do you expect that Australia would drop on President Trump's priority list?

MARLES: Well, we live in a world where there have been many issues and which has been volatile, and the Middle East has been one of those and it's been in differing ways, an issue that has played out over many months now, indeed more than a year and a half. We have a conflict in Eastern Europe as well. So, the complexity of the world is not new and we are dealing with these issues as they come along. But in the context of that, we also manage our relationship with the United States.

JOURNALIST: Just shifting gears a bit, the energy retailers have put out their pricing for the next financial year, and the rises on the east coast are up to $260, $270 for a household. That's greater than the government's energy bill rebate of $150. Do you acknowledge that households are doing it tough? Will you look at extending the energy bill rebates? What can be done to help households?

MARLES: Well, we've been very consistent about the challenges that Australians are facing around the cost of living and that's why it's been the focus of this government since we came to office back in 2022. And our energy bill rebates have been an important part of that and continue to be an important part of that. But the policy in relation to those energy bill rebates is the policy that has now been in place for some time and that we took to the election.

JOURNALIST: Minister, do you expect that the situation in the Middle East will increase petrol prices for Australian motorists? There are economists warning today it could go up by 12 cents. Is that your information as well? And how does the situation in the Middle East affect the Australian economy?

MARLES: Well, it's a good question and we'll keep monitoring the impact that events in the Middle East have in relation to the Australian economy. There have been impacts, I should say, on the global oil price associated with what has been playing out in the last day or two in relation to the Middle East and we will continue to monitor the impact of all of that. We are confident obviously about the Australian economy, but there have been short-term impacts on the global oil price as a result of what's occurred in the last couple of days.

JOURNALIST: Just on the energy shocks, have you sought any advice or received any advice on oil supplies, given Australia's now got greatly diminished oil refining capacity, is there any advice that there could be global disruptions that affect actual supply to Australia rather than price?

MARLES: Look, I think we're getting ahead of ourselves there. I mean, we are very confident about supplies in relation to Australia and how all of that is managed in terms of the refining capacity of Australia and our importing of refined product and crude product. So, we're not expecting any of that.

ENDS