Doorstop Interview, Parliament House

SUBJECTS: Middle East Conflict; G7; AUKUS. 

JOURNALIST: Just a comment on the Australians who are still in Iran or Israel, what is the safety message for them?

RICHARD MARLES, DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: So firstly, our embassy staff in both Tehran and Tel Aviv are all accounted for and they are safe. We have a number of Defence Force personnel, a small number around the region, they too are all accounted for and safe but we will continue to monitor their ongoing safety. Beyond that, there are actually thousands of Australians who are in both Iran and Israel. Right now, airspace over Iran and Israel is closed, so our message to them is to shelter in place, to watch very closely the Smartraveller website and the advice which is contained on that and if needs be to contact the emergency consular contact numbers. We've had a number of contacts from there, relatively small in the context of the Australian population in both these countries but that is very much there. Final point I'd make is that right now, the travel advisory, obviously, for both Israel and Iran is to do not travel, and Australians should heed that. 

JOURNALIST: The Prime Minister will meet with Donald Trump, I imagine discussing AUKUS. How difficult will this conversation be given the most recently announced review by the US? 

MARLES: Well firstly, the review is a very natural step for an incoming government to take. It’s one that the new Labour government in the United Kingdom took. It's really one that we took when we had the Defence Strategic Review which looked at AUKUS when we came to power back in 2022. We'll work closely with the United States Department of Defense in relation to that review, as both the US and the UK work closely with us, as we worked closely with the UK with their review. It is an appropriate step to take. But in the meantime, we're all committed to delivering AUKUS. AUKUS is something which exists at a treaty level between our three countries. It is happening at a pace, and the commentary and comments that we've seen from those in the United States has been positive towards AUKUS.

JOURNALIST: Are you looking for a particular outcome from this meeting with Donald Trump? 

MARLES: It's the first face‑to‑face meeting between the Prime Minister and the President. It will be important in terms of establishing rapport, although as I've spoken with the Prime Minister after his phone calls with President Trump, I think already there is a significant rapport between the two leaders, which is obviously very good and important for both of our countries. It matters to raise these issues, but this is the beginning of what will be an ongoing dialog between the Prime Minister and the President. 

JOURNALIST: Barnaby Joyce has said this morning that we should have a contingency plan because of that clause in the contract of AUKUS that will allow the US to get out with a year's notice. Should we have a contingency plan? 

MARLES: Well, one of the problems that the Coalition had when they were in government was that they were in and out of a deal on submarines with Japan, and they were in and out of a deal with France. They were constantly pursuing contingencies and given that it takes a couple of decades to deliver a submarine capability, if you keep moving to a contingency, that is not a decision to pursue the contingency, it's a decision not to do it at all. Unless you actually stick with a plan, you won't ultimately achieve a successor long‑range submarine capability to the Collins class. We mean to do that. You just need to look at the map to understand that as a nation, as a trading nation with a growing reliance on trade as a proportion of our national income, and sea lines of communication being so important to that trade, we are a country which fundamentally needs a long‑range submarine capability. The Collins class is doing a great job, but we need to have a successor to it, and we mean to build that.

JOURNALIST: I just ask one on– you may not know about this specific case, but there's an Australian writer who says he's been refused entry into the US because he was interrogated about his views on Israel and Gaza. The US security took his phone, they went through it, and they didn't let him into the country. This is a new thing for Australians to have to consider going to the US – handing over their phone, and having their views on things considered. Is this something that Australia should be discussing with the US? What's your advice? 

MARLES: Well look, I'm not aware of that particular case, and so as a result, I'm not going to speculate about, you know, what's happening at the US border. Our relationship with the United States is a profoundly important one. Our Alliance remains the cornerstone of our strategic policy and our foreign policy, and we very much look forward to the meeting between the Prime Minister and the President in regards to the Alliance. 

JOURNALIST: Should Australians be careful, though, about what they're writing before they go to the US? 

MARLES: We have freedom of speech in this country, and that's a very important part of our nation.

ENDS