Television Interview, Today

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

SARAH ABO, HOST: Well, more now on the hostage prisoner exchange in what's been an historic day in the Middle East. To discuss, let's bring in acting Prime Minister Richard Marles, who joins us live from Canberra. Acting PM, very good to see you this morning. Really incredible scenes and a long time coming, especially for those families waiting 738 days to embrace their loved ones. Finally, some relief.

RICHARD MARLES, DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: Yeah, well good morning, Sarah. And they have been incredible scenes that we've witnessed over the last 24 hours. I think for so many people, this day was thought would never come. And to see an end to the hostilities, to see a return of those hostages who, as you say, have been in captivity for more than two years, I mean, it would be an indescribable moment for those families. You know, I think you have to acknowledge and give credit to President Trump and his administration. This is an achievement that is incredible and will be remembered by history. And I think now is the moment to take this move forward and ensure that what we are seeing here is actually an enduring and lasting peace in the Middle East.

ABO: Well, exactly right. And there's just so much heartache that's still caught up in all of this. And as you say, their attention is going to very quickly turn to securing peace in the region. As we know, Hamas has not yet laid down its arms. What assurances do we have that it will? And given Donald Trump has brokered this deal, is it up to him now to maintain it?

MARLES: Well, I think we should give credit to President Trump and his administration. Really, it's up to all the parties now in the Middle East to adhere to every point of this plan – not just the first steps which we've seen unfold in the last 24 hours, but every point in the plan. And you’re right Hamas and its laying down its arms is a critical component of that. I mean, a just and enduring peace in the Middle East will only happen with a two state solution. This plan paves the way for a Palestinian polity, but it can be one where Hamas has no role. And that's very clear in this as well. So, it is important that all the parties adhere to it. But, you know, I think given the entire catastrophe and tragedy that we've seen over the last two years, it has to be a moment where, you know, this can never be allowed to happen again– 

ABO: Absolutely.

MARLES: And that happens with a lasting peace.

ABO: Well, that's right. The Hamas issue will be the most challenging one. The US has obviously sent troops over there. Is there a place for Australian troops?

MARLES: Oh, look, we're not in that world yet. I mean, we've not had any requests of that kind and I wouldn't speculate on that other than to say, you know, obviously we would seek to be as constructive as we can as a member of the international community, which is what we've tried to be over the last two years. But really it is now for all of the parties to commit to every point of this plan and make sure that this lasts.

ABO: Absolutely. All right, let's come back home now and the Treasurer– what about that dramatic backdown on superannuation? He finally bowed to the pressure coming from basically everywhere. How did you get this so wrong to begin with, this superannuation policy?

MARLES: Well obviously I wouldn't characterise it in those terms. I mean, what we have– 

ABO: It’s a proper backflip. 

MARLES: Well, again, I wouldn't accept that. I mean, what we've sought to do here, Sarah, is to make the superannuation system more sustainable. And that is what we're doing. I mean, superannuation was always intended to be a source of having retirement income. It wasn't meant to be its own specific investment process, and that's why we have tried to make the system more sustainable. That's what we are doing with what we have announced yesterday. But we've listened to feedback over the course of the election, of course, since then with the roundtable, and what we've got here is a better way of achieving the outcome that we were trying to from the very beginning and that’s to make the system more sustainable. 

ABO: Yeah, but you didn't need– I mean, the fact that you needed that pointed out to you. I mean, the unrealised gains was a clear overstep as well as the indexation. I mean, they should have been there from the beginning. It sort of shows poor judgement on your part to try and roll that out to begin with.

MARLES: Well, again, what we're trying to do is make the system more sustainable. I think everyone agrees with that objective. That's what we are achieving with what the Treasurer announced yesterday. But good governments listen and good governments take on board feedback and make sure that what you do in terms of achieving your ultimate goal is the best plan possible. And that's what we've done as a government, that's what the Treasurer announced yesterday and we are still getting there in terms of having a superannuation system which is more sustainable going forward. And that's what's fundamentally important.

ABO: Well, good governments should also have a better understanding to begin with. But let's move on. Finally, our intelligence agency receives a cybercrime report every six minutes, according to new research. That is pretty alarming.

MARLES: Yeah, and so over the course of the last financial year, ASD has responded to 1,200 incidents. That's an increase of about 11 per cent on the year before. But what's, I think, really dramatic is that if you look at the cost of every one of these incidents for large businesses, that has tripled, more than tripled in the last financial year. And it says the impact that cybercrime is having on our economy. And so in this year's Annual Cyber Threat assessment, what we're doing is really giving messages to businesses particularly and really simple but important steps, making sure that you don't have legacy IT, old IT systems there. That's a gateway for cybercriminals. Making sure that you work with contractors and other third parties that interact with your IT system. And there are other steps that can be taken which are set out at cyber.gov.au. But this is having a big impact on our economy and it's really important that businesses and indeed all of us are very vigilant in terms of our cyber health.

ABO: Yeah, absolutely, very good reminder there. Richard Marles, thank you so much for joining us this morning.

MARLES: Thanks Sarah.

ENDS