Doorstop Interview, Canberra

SUBJECTS: Middle East Conflict; Annual Cyber Threat Report; Cyber Threat; Defence Spending; AUKUS Review; Critical Minerals

RICHARD MARLES, ACTING PRIME MINISTER: So before I go to the Cyber Threat Report, obviously we are watching incredible scenes unfold on our TV screens over the last 24 hours. At this moment, there is enormous credit which goes to President Trump and his administration. Having arrived at this moment is an enormous achievement, and one which will be remembered by history, I think. For those loved ones who are seeing the return of their family after more than two years in captivity, this will be an extraordinary moment. So, the world rejoices at the release of the hostages. But equally, seeing an end to the hostilities in respect of Gaza and seeing the ability for Gaza to be able to rebuild is also a huge moment. Given all that has played out over the course of the last two years, this is a moment that must be grabbed by the region and the world to see a peace which is enduring, and that can only occur through the establishment of two states. Again, I really want to acknowledge President Trump and his administration in getting to this point, and it is obviously also very important that all the parties in the region adhere not just to those initial points that we’ve seen unfold in the last 24 hours, but every point of this plan today. 

The Australian Signals Directorate and the Government are releasing the annual Cyber Threat Report. What this indicates is that there is a call that is taken by ASD once every six minutes. During the last financial year, ASD has responded to 1,200 attacks, and that is an increase of 11% over the previous financial year. But perhaps a more dramatic statistic is that for large businesses, the cost of every one of those attacks has more than tripled in the last 12 months, and it says a lot about the impact that cybercrime is having on our broader economy. Today, as we give messages around the broader cyber health of our community, our focus is very much on businesses – and there are four steps that businesses can take to make their IT systems safer. The first is to make sure that they have really good logging software – file logs are the means by which we are able to detect how a cyber breach has occurred, exactly what damage has happened, and how we begin the process of hunting down cybercriminals. Secondly, it’s really important that companies don’t have legacy IT systems. They need to have the most modern IT systems; old IT systems are gateways for cybercriminals. Thirdly, it’s really important that companies are working with their contractors and other third parties interacting with their IT network to make sure there is not a door there. And fourthly, in the coming years – and still a few years down the track – we will see the advent of quantum computing, which will see much more powerful computers that are able to break what are the encryptions that exist today. It’s important that companies are getting ready for that world. There are products available today with modern algorithms that will enable those companies to protect themselves against that more high-powered computing, and it’s really important that they get on board with those products as soon as possible.

This is an area that is having a big impact on our economy, and it’s really important that everyone – companies and individuals alike – are doing everything they can to ensure the public cyber health of our nation. With that, I’m happy to take questions about this report, and indeed, today.

JOURNALIST: Minister, just on the Middle East, you spoke about the need for a two-state solution. How likely does the government see that prospect being, given Benjamin Netanyahu is against a two-state solution, and the Israeli Parliament has passed resolutions against a two-state solution? How likely is it that that is actually the end state we see here?

MARLES: Well, our view is very much that an enduring peace in the Middle East will only be achieved through a two-state solution. The peace plan that has been put forward by the Trump administration creates a pathway towards the establishment of a Palestinian polity. And I think it is really important that we are seeing that pathway walked. Clearly, there are conditions here. It is absolutely essential that there is no role for Hamas in that. And, you know, the Palestinian Authority’s undertakings to reform itself and to ensure that there is no role for Hamas are very welcome, as are the statements of the Arab League in respect of that. But ultimately, I think this is a moment that needs to be grabbed by the region and the world, and done so in a way which looks to an enduring and lasting peace – and that will only happen through a two-state solution.

JOURNALIST: Is the government concerned that dozens of politicians’ email addresses and personal phone numbers, including the Prime Minister’s, have been published online?

MARLES: Yeah, look, we’re obviously aware of this. We’ve notified authorities, and that is being worked through. But obviously, there is concern.

JOURNALIST: Richard, the Prime Minister, all things going to plan, meets Trump next Monday. I assume he’ll raise the issue of defence spending. Is your understanding he’ll make the same argument to Trump he was going to make in Canada in June about the in-kind spending on defence, in terms of the argument about a percentage of GDP? Have those arguments changed since then, or is it just a matter of an opportunity to make that case?

MARLES: Well, firstly, I don’t want to speculate on what will be spoken –

JOURNALIST: He said in June that’s what he was going to raise with him, but the meeting got canned.

MARLES: I don’t want to speculate on what will be spoken about between the President and the Prime Minister. What I would say is that we’ve been really consistent about the way in which we’ve gone ahead with our defence spending, which is essentially to assess what are the strategic challenges for our nation, the kind of defence force we need to meet those challenges, and then resource it. I mean, the Prime Minister couldn’t have been clearer that what we seek to do is understand our defence needs and to resource them. And that process has seen, relative to what we inherited when we came to power, a $70 billion increase in defence spending over the course of the next decade – and that is happening in the here and now. In the last two financial years gone, we’ve seen more spent on defence procurement than we’ve ever seen before. And so, you know, the process that we have gone through has already given rise to historic increases in defence spending. This is the biggest peacetime increase in Australia’s defence spending in our history, and that is the process that we will go through from here on.

JOURNALIST: But is it also fair to put to the Americans the in-kind spending – like the regional partnerships you’ve been working on, the base in the Northern Territory, the work we’re doing in Henderson and Stirling – will the Prime Minister also put up, well, does it pay to get their money anything?

MARLES: I mean, there have been different ways of accounting in terms of what counts as defence spending and what doesn’t, and we’ve been making that point as well – which is why we focus on the actual dollars of increasing our spending. I mean, if you measure our defence spending in the way that NATO measures defence spending, we’re at about 2.8%, and that’s before the announcement that we made in relation to the additional $12 billion at Henderson. So that just gives you a sense of how differences apply, depending on what you include and what you don’t. What we’re focused on is the increases that we’re putting in place, and that’s why we really hone in on that. And as I say, over the course of a decade, a $70 billion increase in defence spending relative to what we inherited. And the important point to understand is that’s the largest peacetime increase in Australia’s defence spending in our nation’s history.

JOURNALIST: Are critical minerals also on the agenda, and how does the government see that factoring into the defence discussions that are also happening?

MARLES: Well, again, I’m not going to speculate about what is spoken at the leaders’ meeting. The economic interaction between our two countries is very significant. Critical minerals are something that we have spoken about with the United States – and not just the United States, also with the UK. We have real opportunities there in terms of developing this industry, but obviously challenges as well, in terms of the way in which the global market and supply chain are currently constructed. So, you know, they’re things that we work with the US on. But again, I’m not going to speculate.

JOURNALIST: Have you heard from the United States or Secretary Hegseth about the AUKUS review? Have you got an update on whether it’s finished and whether it’s continuing?

MARLES: We’re in constant contact with the US about the review, and as I’ve said previously, the US has actually been really good in terms of giving us a sense of visibility about the process of the review and how we can contribute to it – and we are contributing to the review. We do have a sense of when this will conclude, but I won’t say that now. That’s really a matter for the Americans to speak about. But other than to say that, they have been very clear with us about what that process is. So, we do very much have visibility.

JOURNALIST: Should the Australian public expect a conclusion before Donald Trump meets with Anthony Albanese?

MARLES: Look again, I’m not going to – it’s really for America to talk about its own review, and I don’t want to step into that space. They have been very good with us in terms of giving us visibility of the process, and I’ll leave it at that.

JOURNALIST: On the ASD report – so, 11% increase in ’23 to ’24. Anecdotally, how much are we seeing these incidents coming from foreign actors? Do we know?

MARLES: Well, there is a significant component which is from foreign actors. We describe this, in many ways, as the grey zone. There are criminal actors involved, but in some instances, we’ve seen state actors also increase their activity, and there are interactions between both of those. I think where we get to, though, is it’s really important that Australian companies and indeed members of the Australian public are doing everything they can to protect themselves. I mean, we get so many benefits, clearly, from living in a cyber world and living online, but there are threats in that domain, and it’s really important that people listen to those messages and are vigilant about their own cyber safety and health.

JOURNALIST: Because it was specifically mentioned – ring doorbells. You know that China, in particular, has been hacking into people’s doorbells. I mean, what are they gaining from that, and what are they looking for, and why? What should people do to make sure that their every movement’s not being tracked?

MARLES: Well, I think in terms of speculating on what’s being sought here, I won’t go into that. But I think in terms of what to do, on cyber.gov.au the ASD continually puts in place directives to enable people to protect themselves as we have more and more connected things within our household, including doorbells. All of these are means by which actors outside can effectively get into your house in a cyber way. And so, it’s really important that people are protecting themselves, and there are really good measures that people can go through in terms of cyber.gov.au. At an individual level, a lot of this is the basics. It is about making sure that you patch your systems, that you have two-factor identification, that you’re continually updating. But go to cyber.gov.au to get all the best steps to make sure that you are protecting yourself.

JOURNALIST: Do you agree with Penny Wong that Australia helped bring peace to the Middle East, or with the Prime Minister, who said for months that Australia is not a major player in the conflict?

MARLES: I mean, we are who we are, and we have sought to play the most constructive role that we can play. We’re not a country in the Middle East, but our voice has significance. I mean, both of those statements are true, and we’ve been very careful and prudent about the way in which we’ve exercised our international voice. We’ve taken it very seriously, and I think the Foreign Minister has done an incredible job over the last two years and more in doing that. I mean, it’s been very difficult to manage the way in which we exercise our voice. I very much hope that the steps that we’ve taken have made an appropriate contribution here, and we’ve worked with our friends and allies around the world – countries like the United Kingdom and Canada – in terms of the way in which we’ve exercised our voice. Right now, as I’ve said, and as the Foreign Minister has said, I think it is appropriate to give credit to President Trump and his administration for bringing us to this moment. What we are seeing play out on our screens in the last 24 hours is genuinely incredible, and it is unquestionably the most hopeful day that we’ve experienced since October 7, 2023. And I think it’s now for all the parties to abide by every term of President Trump’s plan to ensure that what we are seeing is actually the beginning of a new dawn and a lasting and enduring peace in the Middle East.

ENDS