Television Interview, Sunrise

SUBJECTS: Shooting in the US; Ghost Shark; Australia-US Relationship; Pacific Island Forum

MONIQUE WRIGHT, HOST: Let's get more on that breaking political assassination story out of the US now, where one of Donald Trump's biggest supporters has been killed after he was shot at a university event in Utah. The gunman is still on the run right now. Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles joins us now. Good morning to you. Thank you for being here. Okay, the death of Charlie Kirk, a hugely shocking event. What's your reaction?

ACITNG PRIME MINISTER, RICHARD MARLES: Well, I mean, this is a tragedy. I was just looking at that footage there, which I hadn't seen before, and it's obviously very frightening. Our thoughts go out to Charlie Kirk's family. There is no place for political violence. This is not how discussion or debate should occur within society. And we absolutely condemn it.

WRIGHT: Yeah, absolutely. So, worrying a developing story will bring you details throughout the morning. Moving on to back home now, and now our navy will soon launch a fleet of automated crewless submarines, with the government committing nearly $2 billion for these Ghost Sharks. These same subs were on display at China's military parade last week. So, have we invested in these subs to spy on China? They've got some. We get some.

MARLES: Well, this is the best long range, autonomous underwater capability that exists in the world today. We're really confident about that. It's been developed here. They're going to be made in Australia, out of Alexandria, here in the central west- the inner west of Sydney. So, it's a fantastic capability. I think what we're seeing with the way warfare is developing is that having autonomous systems, drones, be it in the sky, on land or underwater, is increasingly important. And if you look at our own geography, surrounded by oceans, there's going to be a country which needs to have a long range autonomous underwater capability- it's Australia. This will be able to do intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance but it will also be able to do strike so this is a lethal capability and we're really excited about it coming into service. And the first will be in service in January, in just a few months time.

WRIGHT: Are you hoping that the announcement will butter up or warm up Donald Trump after his demand that we increase our defence capability?

MARLES: Well, this is really about our own capabilities and our own assessment of what our landscape- our strategic landscape is and what we need as a result. So. And that's the way we're going about this-

WRIGHT: But will it do that, do you think?

MARLES: I mean, we have obviously a strong alliance with the United States. We work very closely together and we talk a lot about the various capabilities that we have and that alliance and relationship is actually going well. This is really a decision which is about our capabilities and our needs, and that's why we're resourcing it.

WRIGHT: Ok, you're the Acting Prime Minister at the moment, that's because our Prime Minister is in the Pacific. Now, Chinese state media have come out and accused Australia and you of stirring up tensions in the Asia Pacific. How do you respond to that criticism and try and balance, if you like, security while avoiding escalation?

MARLES: Well, I mean, there's a couple of points to make there. All we seek to do as a nation is to provide for the peace and stability of the regions in which we live. The Pacific, Southeast Asia, Northeast Indian Ocean, you know, that is what we are about and we make really clear what our posture is. I think we are seeing a much more geostrategically contested environment, and that does include the Pacific. And various Pacific leaders have been reflecting upon that as we move into the Pacific Island Forum meeting this week. You know, we work very closely with countries in the Pacific seeking to be the natural partner of choice for those countries, and we feel we are. But we've taken really big steps forward in terms of a whole lot of those relationships, and we're very proud of that.

WRIGHT: How much of your time do you think is taken up just trying to deal with any potential threats from China?

MARLES: Well, I mean, we- well, my time as the Defence Minister is utterly focused on making sure that we have the capabilities that we need, that we keep Australia safe in what is a very strategically contested landscape, which is probably the most complex strategic landscape that we've faced since the end of the Second World War. And so, you know, we are very focused on meeting that challenge.

WRIGHT: All right, thanks so much for coming in. We really appreciate it.

MARLES: Thanks, Mon.

ENDS