Radio Interview, 2GB Ben Fordham Live

SUBJECTS: Iranian women’s football team; Conflict in the Middle East

BEN FORDHAM, HOST: Richard Marles is the Defence Minister and Deputy Prime Minister and he's kindly joining us on the line right now. Deputy Prime Minister, good morning to you.

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

FORDHAM: Good. I'm guessing the other players and the other support crew will receive visas? 

MARLES: Look, as you are reporting, the planes that had the team on them left Sydney last night. I'm not in a position to confirm what you've just said or to update, but Minister Burke– Minister Tony Burke will be speaking on this in the next couple of hours to update people on what has happened overnight.

FORDHAM: But the overwhelming position is if anyone wanted to stay, they were given ample opportunity to declare that?

MARLES: Correct. Absolutely right. And, I mean, it's been a very delicate and sensitive issue to manage, but we have made it absolutely clear in the terms you just said that for anyone who wanted to stay, we were very willing to have that conversation. And obviously in relation to the five that we announced yesterday morning, we have granted them humanitarian visas.

FORDHAM: It's been reported that one player sent a message to a friend in Australia, this is one of the players who left, and the message said ‘they've taken all of our families hostage back home’. So very worrying for people, not only those who are staying in Australia, but particularly for those who are heading back to Iran.

MARLES: Yeah, I mean, obviously this is a deeply sensitive moment and one can imagine all of what you've just said. And I think our hearts and prayers are very much for all of those people. But that is really at the heart of why we made the offer that we did in relation to those five women and why beyond that we made it clear that if there were any others who wanted to stay, we were very much willing to have that conversation. And as I say, Minister Burke will be speaking more about this in the coming hours.

FORDHAM: We're chatting to the Defence Minister, Richard Marles. And Minister, big news in the last 24 hours – confirmation ADF resources will be sent to the Middle East. The Prime Minister says our involvement is purely defensive. But we're going to be going on the attack as well, aren't we? Even just in a support capacity?

MARLES: No, it is defensive and it's defensive of the Gulf states. I mean, the important point to understand here is that if you look at a country like UAE – and we were very much acting at the request specifically of the United Arab Emirates – I mean, it has been under sustained attack by Iran from the moment that this conflict began, and yet the UAE has not been a protagonist against Iran at all. And that's the case for 10 other countries in the region. From the get go, Iran has sought to widen this conflict, attack its neighbours, simply because it can and we obviously condemn that in the strongest possible terms. The UAE is a country with whom we have a very close and friendly relationship. It is home to 24,000 Australians. It's one of our largest expat communities anywhere in the world. It's a place which has hosted an operational headquarters for the ADF for many, many years. So we have a very close relationship with the UAE and our actions in sending the E‑7 to the region is very much about being there to help in the defence of the UAE, but also the other countries of the Gulf.

FORDHAM: 85 defence personnel are being deployed as part of the crew for the E‑7A Wedgetail aircraft. When are they leaving? When are they going to be touching down?

MARLES: They've left, and we hope that they will be operational by the end of the week. And so there's, you know, there's a bit of work obviously in terms of getting them the diplomatic clearances and all the like. There's a lot of paperwork which goes with this, but all of that is being done. But our hope is that they will be operational by the end of the week. And look, your introduction was very accurate in the way in which you described the capability. It is really the leading airborne command and reconnaissance capability in the world, and we are one of the leading E‑7 operators in the world. And so this is a capability which has been actually in huge demand for some time now, that our E‑7s have deployed twice to Europe in the last few years in support of Ukraine, operating out of Germany and last year operating out of Poland. And the job it will do in the Gulf is very similar to what it has done there, and it will play a really important role. And it's a big thing we're doing, but it's the most significant contribution we can really meaningfully make to help in the defence of the countries of the Gulf, and we're very pleased and proud to be doing that.

FORDHAM: Does it weigh on you heavily, Minister, when 85 defence personnel say goodbye to wives and husbands and boyfriends and girlfriends and mums and dads and sons and daughters?

MARLES: Of course. I mean, this is the heaviest responsibility that comes with being the Minister for Defence, and there is no graver decision that any of us would ever make than sending our serving men and women into harm's way. And that is absolutely what is happening here. But I also know that they will make a difference. I know that those people who are part of this crew are absolutely determined to do their job and, in the process, do Australia proud. And I couldn't be prouder of them. And of course, this is what they have trained for. And, you know, as I said, our E‑7s have deployed to Europe a couple of times in the last few years. So, this is a function that they are skilled at, obviously, but have done in an operational setting in recent times. So, they bring to bear not just a kind of theoretical experience but a really practical experience which is going to make a difference. And so, you know, I know that this is a really important mission and they are absolutely living the very meaning of why they joined the Australian Defence Force.

FORDHAM: You've also got to be prepared to send more.

MARLES: Well, look, I mean, we take this a step at a time, and I don't want to get ahead of ourselves. I mean, I should say, you know, we have said this, but there's more than 100 serving personnel who were already in the region in a range of tasks, and that includes at our operational headquarters at the Al Minhad Air Base near Dubai in the UAE. So, we've got Australians who are in the Middle East now. This obviously is a significant addition. We do take this a step at a time, but this is a very significant step that we're making right now.

FORDHAM: Yeah, we all send our support to those already there and those arriving, and those who might yet be sent. We appreciate your time, and no doubt we'll talk again soon. Thank you so much.

MARLES: Thanks very much, Ben