Television Interview, ABC - News Breakfast

SUBJECT/S: October 7; Middle East conflict; Australia-PNG Defence Treaty; Defence exports 

BRIDGET BRENNAN, HOST: Let’s bring in the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister for Defence, Richard Marles, who joins us now from our Parliament House studio in Canberra. Good morning to you, Deputy Prime Minister.

RICHARD MARLES, DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: Good morning, Bridget. How are you?

BRENNAN: I’m well. Look, it’s been two years, as we know, since the October 7th terror attack. How do you make sense of what happened on that day and the impact, especially on the Jewish community here in Australia?

MARLES: Well, it’s very difficult to make sense of it. You know, what happened on this day two years ago was the loss of more than 1,200 innocent lives in an appalling terrorist attack on them and on Israel. And as such, today really can be only one thing, and that is a day of remembrance and commemoration for them — and our thoughts are very much with their families. Of course, you know, what we’ve seen unfold over the course of the last two years has been absolutely horrific. We have seen immense suffering, we have seen a significant loss of innocent life in Gaza, and clearly our thoughts are very much there as well. And it leads us to where we are today, which is that we want to see a ceasefire, we want to see a return of those hostages, we want to see a pathway to an enduring peace in the Middle East. And that really can only come about through the implementation of a two-state solution.

BRENNAN: As you say, the conflict has affected so many different communities here in Australia. But is it your view that today is not the day for separate demonstrations?

MARLES: Well, today is not a day for demonstrations. Today is a day for remembrance and commemoration. I mean, obviously, this is a very difficult day for the Jewish community in Australia, and it is a very solemn day — for the Jewish community around the world and, obviously, Israel itself. And it is utterly appropriate that on this day, those who lost their lives two years ago are remembered and commemorated in the most solemn way.

BRENNAN: There is a planned demonstration, we understand, at the Opera House this weekend. Does the government take a view on whether or not that is appropriate?

MARLES: Well, firstly, there are obviously legal proceedings which will play out, and that’s a matter for the courts. I come back to what I said — you know, right now is a moment to commemorate and to remember. What happened two years ago was an appalling terrorist attack. There’s no ifs or buts about that. Now, a lot has played out in the course of the last two years. Our government has been very clear about that. We have had front and centre in terms of our focus the humanitarian situation — the loss of innocent lives, be it Palestinian or Israeli. And that’s where we will continue to be, as we will continue to be in a place of supporting what gives rise to enduring solutions for peace. And that’s where the government is at. But I think we do need to acknowledge that on this day, the Jewish community in this country is obviously feeling a sense of pain, and it’s very important that that’s respected and that there is the appropriate remembrance and commemoration of the events that occurred two years ago.

BRENNAN: On this day, Australians arrested trying to break Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza say they’ve been physically beaten and mistreated by Israeli authorities. What is the government’s understanding of what’s happened to these people?

MARLES: Well, look, we’re engaging with Israeli authorities. We’re obviously providing consular assistance to those who’ve been involved in this, and we will continue to do that. I’m not about to go into it in more detail than that, but we will continue to provide consular assistance to those who are involved. Clearly, you know, we had made it clear that Australians should not be in a position of trying to breach the blockade which exists, and that was very much a matter in terms of their own personal safety. But in the circumstances that are now there, we will continue to provide consular assistance to these people.

BRENNAN: We will speak to a relative of one of those Australians who was arrested a little later on the program. There does seem to be a little bit of concern from relatives that they’re not hearing very much. But are you saying DFAT is supporting those people at the moment who are being held in Israel?

MARLES: Most definitely, yeah. I mean, we are very much — the full suite of consular assistance that can be provided is being provided, and we will continue to do that.

BRENNAN: It’s, you know, two years into this deadly conflict — so many people dead, just a tragic loss of life. When will there be greater transparency of our military exports, particularly in relation to the F-35 program? Because an ABC investigation published yesterday revealed that detailed information about many parts manufactured in Australia are no longer available online. Why is that?

MARLES: Well, firstly, there is great transparency in terms of all of our exports that are controlled around the world. And there is great transparency in terms of exports in this circumstance. We’ve been really clear we are not exporting weapons to Israel, and we have made that clear from the outset. And, you know, there are all sorts of attempts to put different information into the public domain, but the simple fact is we are not exporting weapons to Israel. We are an F-35 country. We have been participating in the F-35 supply chain for many, many years now. I mean, the F-35 program has been going on for more than two decades, and again, all of that is on the public record. But what we do in terms of the F-35 supply chain is supply to the prime contractor, which is Lockheed Martin out of the United States. It’s part of our obligation in terms of participating in the F-35 project, which, of course—

BRENNAN: Sorry to interrupt, Richard Marles. We also have human rights and legal commitments alongside our export commitments, don’t we?

MARLES: Of course we do, and we maintain all of those commitments, and we absolutely have those and we rigorously apply those. But let’s also be clear — the F-35 is at the heart of the Royal Australian Air Force. It’s at the heart of our military aviation capability, and we’re not going to do anything which jeopardises that. We will maintain all our obligations under humanitarian international law, which we absolutely do, and we also maintain transparency here.

BRENNAN: Just turning to another issue, and that of the landmark Pukpuk Treaty with PNG. Last night, James Marape told 7.30 that PNG may not decide to enter a potential conflict that Australia may have into the future with China. I mean, is that your understanding of the deal — that there is still some, I guess, discernment over whether or not either nation would join a conflict in the region?

MARLES: Well, look, firstly, I’m not about to speculate on any particular conflict with any particular country. But what this is, is a very historic step, and it is the very natural expression of two countries which are, in fact, family. And what it says is that when there is an armed attack on one country, it engages the interests of the other. And the words are very similar to those which are in the ANZUS Treaty, and therefore it is the third alliance which Australia has entered into. And it is a very clear decision on the part of Papua New Guinea to see Australia as its natural security partner of choice. Prime Minister Marape made that very clear on numerous occasions, as he was asked yesterday. That’s really at the heart of this, as it is an understanding that if there were ever an armed attack on Papua New Guinea, that would obviously engage the interests of Australia, as it did on the one occasion where that’s occurred in our history — during the Second World War. So, this is very historic, but it’s actually very natural, and it gives a legal, treaty-level expression to what is, in fact, the reality of the situation between our two countries.

BRENNAN: All right, Richard Marles, thanks for your time on News Breakfast this morning.

MARLES: Thanks, Bridget.

ENDS