Television Interview, ABC News Breakfast

SUBJECTS: Middle East Conflict; Annual Cyber Threat Report; Superannuation. 

BRIDGET BRENNAN, HOST: The Acting Prime Minister, Richard Marles, joins us now from Parliament House in Canberra. Good morning to you, Richard Marles. Emotional scenes we're seeing some of the pictures of Israelis and Palestinians reunited with their families. Is this the glimmer of hope the world had longed for?

RICHARD MARLES, DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: Well, good morning, Bridget. And yes, I think it is, is the answer to that. And the scenes that we've seen on our televisions over the last 24 hours have been truly incredible. It is what we have been wanting for so long to see – an end to the catastrophe that's been playing out in the Middle East, a return of the hostages who have been held for more than two years now. I think all that has occurred since October 7, 2023 has gone to places that people didn't imagine. And now what's really important is that this is a moment which we hope in terms of the future brings an enduring peace, one where there is a two state solution. But I think the other point that has to be made is that President Trump and his administration deserve an enormous amount of credit. This is an extraordinary achievement, one that will be remembered by history. And now is the moment to seize this and make sure that what comes from it is an enduring peace.

BRENNAN: As a parent, do you get emotional seeing those images of people seeing their children and loved ones after two years?

MARLES: I do. It's impossible not to. I mean, one can only imagine the sense of loss and fear that would have accompanied having a relative, a loved one, a child, a partner, as a hostage for more than two years. And it's genuinely unimaginable what that experience would be like and consequently what the joy of this moment would be like. But what's really important now, of course, is that this peace holds and that all of the points in President Trump's plan be adhered to, and that this can pave the way for a lasting peace.

BRENNAN: How do we use the momentum of these previous couple of days, the big developments that we've seen in the Middle East for, as you say, a lasting peace? And what role can Australia play play in that process?

MARLES: Well, I think given all that we've seen over the last two years and the horror that has unfolded, there has to be in this moment a resolve to never see this again. And that can only occur if really a pathway is walked to an enduring peace. And that has to involve a two state solution. And indeed, President Trump's plan lays out the pathway for the governance of the Palestinian territories and a Palestinian Authority. And so it is a really important point now to be adhering to every aspect of this plan. I mean, from an Australian point of view, we stand ready to be as constructive as we can be, as we have over the last two years. Obviously, there's no specific request on Australia right now, but we want to be a constructive member of the international community in terms of how this moves forward. But, you know, right now is a moment for all of the parties to adhere to this peace plan and to resolve that this is the beginning of a new dawn.

BRENNAN: Would we consider, if a request came in, to be a part of that international stabilising force in Gaza? Is that something Australia would consider?

MARLES: Oh, look, I don't think we're in any of that world yet. I mean, we've not had any of those requests and so I wouldn't speculate on any of that other than to say, clearly, we seek to be as constructive as we can as a member of the international community. But I think right now the onus is on all of the parties in the Middle East to adhere to this plan so that this peace can be enduring and lasting.

BRENNAN: Concerning news on another topic from the Australian Signals Directorate, just about how real the threat is from cyber activity and cyber threats from around the world. Given so many Australians have been caught up in this Qantas data breach, what does this report tell us about the looming threat of cyber attacks in Australia?

MARLES: Yeah, well, today we're releasing the Annual Cyber Threat assessment that is done by the Australian Signals Directorate. I mean, what it's showing is that the ASD gets a call every six minutes. It's responded to 1,200 incidents over the course of the last financial year. That's an increase of 11 per cent. But in a sense, what's more concerning is that for large businesses, the cost of each one of those incidents has tripled, more than tripled. And it says the extent to which this is having an impact on our economy. And so, you know, today our message is very much to businesses. There's a number of steps that you can take; make sure you don't have legacy IT systems in place. Old IT systems are the way that cybercriminals get in. Make sure that you're working with your contractors and other third parties who access your IT system so they're not a door to your IT system. And there are a number of other steps that can be taken which are set out at cyber.gov au. But it is really important that people and businesses are very vigilant about their cyber health.

BRENNAN: Yeah, such an emerging threat. On another issue, why has the government backed down on your proposed changes to super taxation? And doesn't this mean you potentially won't have as many funds to tackle the cost of living crisis?

MARLES: Well, we have sought to make the superannuation system more sustainable. That's what we set out to do and that's what we are doing. What we've done is listen to feedback from those across the country during the election, but more recently in terms of the roundtable, and we've put in place a better way of achieving the goal that we set out at the beginning, which was to make our superannuation system more sustainable. Superannuation is there as a– it’s really a system which is the envy of the world, which is focused on having adequate retirement incomes. It was never intended to be a particular investment vehicle on its own. And that's what we are trying to do in the changes that we've put in place. We're very much meeting the goal that we've always had in place. We're doing it in a better way. And this is about a responsive government which is listening to feedback as it comes in and adapting accordingly.

BRENNAN: All right, Richard Marles, thanks for your time on the show this morning.

MARLES: Thanks, Bridget.

ENDS