Television Interview, ABC Afternoon Briefing

SUBJECTS: Defence leadership appointments; Middle East Conflict; fuel security in the Pacific

PATRICIA KARVELAS, HOST: For more on the new Defence Chief appointments and Australia's reaction to developments in the Iran-US war, I spoke to Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy a short time ago. Pat Conroy, welcome to the program.

PAT CONROY, MINISTER FOR DEFENCE INDUSTRY: My pleasure.

KARVELAS: You've announced new Defence Force Chiefs. Are they taking the reins during the most dangerous period for Australia's military in decades?

CONROY: Well, it's certainly the most challenging strategic circumstances since World War II – and so this is an important announcement. I want to pay tribute to Admiral David Johnston. He served the nation for 48 years, joining the Navy when he was only 15 – and he's done a sterling job as Chief of the Defence Force. And I'm sure soon to be Admiral Mark Hammond will do an equally grand job as the new Chief of the Defence Force – and will be the first CDF who joined as an enlisted personnel. So, it's a very significant day for the Australian Defence Force and for the nation as a whole.

KARVELAS: Well, the new Chief Hammond that you mentioned had a career spanning, I think it's like 40 years in the Royal Australian Navy. He is on the record as being very pro-AUKUS. Is that one of the reasons he's been chosen and how significant is that message? Is this ultimately because of the way he wants to steer the ADF in light of AUKUS?

CONROY: Mark was appointed on merit. He was the best candidate for the job with four decades of service and he's the first submariner to be Chief of the Defence Force – and that's significant in itself. But it wasn't the driver of the decision. It was purely on merit. He's held a note number of senior leadership positions, has represented Australia in diplomatic postings overseas as well, and he'll do a great job. As we re-equip the Australian Defence Force to face those confronting strategic circumstances. We're going through a major recapitalisation of the Australian Army and the Royal Australian Navy, as well as establishing missile manufacturing in this country. And we do that to keep Australia safe and give the best possible equipment to the ADF.

KARVELAS: Now, the Defence Minister Richard Marles, noted that it was very deeply historic that Susan Coyle will be the Chief of Army. This is the first time a woman has held the position – so it is certainly very significant. Is it your hope that her appointment will motivate more women to join the Army?

CONROY: I absolutely do. As General Coyle has noted, you can't be what you can't see – and so it is very significant. She again was appointed on merit. And not only is she the first female Chief of Army, she's the first service chief, so the first chief of any of the three services. And that is deeply historic. I've worked with General Coyle for a number of years and she's incredibly professional, incredibly intelligent, incredibly dedicated. And again, she also enlisted in the Army as a private in the Army Reserve. So, there's great breadth of experience in the new leadership of the Australian Defence Force.

KARVELAS: Minister, the National Defence Strategy will be released on Thursday. Should we expect it to reflect how the world has changed since the beginning of the Iran war?

CONROY: It will stand the test of time. It does reflect a lesson from not just what we're seeing in the Middle East right now, but the lessons from the Ukraine conflict. It will emphasise our continuing strategy around national defence, increasing national sovereignty through things like missile manufacturing. It will reflect the fact that we're re-equipping and doubling the Royal Australian Navy's Surface Combatant Fleet. As well as seeing the biggest peacetime increase in the Defence budget. So, it's a document that reflects our times and reflects the deep commitment to national security that the Albanese Labor Government holds.

KARVELAS: The new head of Defence said ‘we are ready if we are asked to defend the US naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz’ – if we're ready… why are we waiting to be asked?

CONROY: Well, that's not quite right. The Admiral, or Vice Admiral Hammond at the moment, soon to be Admiral Hammond, said that we have naval vessels ready to deploy if given that direction from the Australian Government. Eight of our ten major surface combatants – so, our frigates and destroyers are at sea right now – but no request has been received by the Australia Government – and we made it very clear that we're not considering joining the proposed US blockade.

KARVELAS: Okay, no request has been made. If it is made, will you actively consider it?

CONROY: No, we're not considering joining the blockade.

KARVELAS. So, even if it is made, just to be clear, if something changes in the coming hours and there is an official request or even unofficial request, your position is unchanged – you will not join?

CONROY: Our position is that we're not considering joining the blockade and no request has been received either.

KARVELAS: Okay. So, I know I'm sort of labouring this, but I just want to get it clear, if there is a request, this is a fixed position?

CONROY: That's our position, as I've articulated. We are not considering joining the blockade.

KARVELAS: Why?

CONROY: Well, we're not party to the war that is occurring right now between Iran and the United States. We've taken no part in offensive actions that have occurred. We've deployed an E7A-Wedgetail to protect innocent bystanders such as the people of UAE – and that's the extent of our involvement.

KARVELAS: Why don't you think we should be involved any further though?

CONROY: Well, our position is that we are not party to this conflict and we've got no intention to change that position.

KARVELAS: Yeah, but I don't mean to be irritating, but it's the why that I feel like I don't understand. Why do you think it's not in our interest to be part of this?

CONROY: Well, we've outlined that previously and the Prime Minister's made several comments on it. The United States’ own stated intentions of why it engaged in this conflict was to remove Iran's ability to acquire nuclear weapons and secondly, to degrade Iran's ability to attack neighbours. And we've seen significant degradation of the Iranian Air Force and Iranian Navy – and we've said publicly we think those goals have been achieved by the US and that's one of the reasons that we support the ceasefire turning into concrete peace discussions. We want peace to occur in the Middle East. We want the Strait of Hormuz to be reopened. We want freedom of navigation. That's our position.

KARVELAS: Do you view the US naval blockade as an escalation of the conflict?

CONROY: Oh, look, I'm not going to provide commentary like that. That's for commentators to provide. I've stated our position, which is we're not considering joining the blockade. We want the ceasefire that currently exists to translate into a permanent peace and for the Strait to be reopened and freedom of navigation to be re-established.

KARVELAS. So, you don't see what the US President has announced as contributing to the ceasefire?

CONROY: Well, again, I'm not going to provide that blow-by-blow commentary – that's for others to…

KARVELAS: It's not really commentary though. It's not about commentary, it's whether you think it's an escalation or not. I mean, that is just a pretty binary position of a view. Does it make things harder? Or do you support what the US is doing even if we're not involved?

CONROY: Well, we've been very clear we're not going to provide a sort of hour-by-hour analysis of announcements made by the US or other parties. What I've stated is our position, we're not considering joining the blockade. No request has been received. We call for freedom of navigation to be re-established in the Strait of Hormuz and for there to be a permanent peace building on the ceasefire that currently exists and for Iran to refrain from attacking its neighbours. That's our position. That's my job as a minister of the Australian Government to articulate our position.

KARVELAS: Donald Trump says he doesn't care if Iran doesn't return to the negotiating table. Do you care if Iran comes back to negotiations?

CONROY: Well, it's a logical extension of our position that we want peace in the region for there to be successful negotiations. That's the position of the Australian Government.

KARVELAS: Do you have faith in the United States ability to negotiate an end to this war?

CONROY: Oh, look, again, you're asking me to provide commentary and I know it's probably boring for your viewers and you're doing your job asking me these questions, but I'm not going to provide that sort of hour-by-hour commentary of the individual negotiating positions taken by the United States or Iran. What I can do is articulate our position and our position is we want peace, we want the Strait to be reopened, we want Iran not to have nuclear weapons and we want them to refrain from attacking their neighbours.

KARVELAS: I suppose the US would argue, and I'm not putting this argument as my own, but the blockade that Trump has announced is about trying to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. You don't see it that way?

CONROY: Well, again, I'm going to be very boring PK and say I'm not going to comment on individual positions of either party. All I can do is articulate our principled position, which is we want peace, we want the Strait reopened. That's in the interest of the entire global economy and that's what our focus is on.

KARVELAS: Well, it brings me to the beginning of the interview, which was, of course, our new Chief and of Defence and at the same time, the position around AUKUS. Does this current disagreement, as far as I can see it, between the Australian Government and whether we would be involved and whether we think it's the right action, cause us any issues when it comes to the AUKUS Agreement and the U.S. Alliance?

CONROY: Well, I wouldn't characterise it as a disagreement. We haven't been requested. That's a simple statement of fact.

KARVELAS: But even if we were, you say we wouldn't do it. So, I think that's a different position, isn't it?

CONROY: Well, you're engaging in a hypothetical about what would happen if something else happened down the line PK. But in terms of the substance of your question about AUKUS – AUKUS is rock solid. The Pentagon Review confirmed that late last year we had that successful and very historic meeting in the Oval. Well, not in the Oval Office, in Washington, between President Trump and Prime Minister Albanese. AUKUS is full steam ahead – it’s going very successfully. We've engaging in more maintenance periods. I saw in the United Kingdom last month, or actually in February, the first parts being made for our first two submarines. So, our first two submarines that will be built in Australia, the first parts of the reactor modules are being constructed right now. So, this is concrete. I was part of the announcement with Prime Minister Albanese of the $30 billion investment in Osborne in South Australia for the Submarine Construction Yard. I've met many of the five and a half thousand workers that will build those submarines in Adelaide. This will not only equip the Australian Defence Force, and the Navy in particular, with the most advanced submarines in the world to deter conflict, it will modernise Australian manufacturing and grow 20,000 jobs. It's in our national interest – and it's also in the national interest of the United Kingdom and the United States. And that's why I'm absolutely certain it will continue.

KARVELAS: The Prime Minister is off to Malaysia and Brunei to shore up our oil supplies. Does this show how desperate we are?

CONROY: It demonstrates our regional diplomacy. We've, since coming into office in 2022, allocated huge effort and resources to rebuild our relationship with partners in the region, whether it's in the Pacific, where we've rescued a really diabolical situation that we inherited from Scott Morrison to our relationships in Southeast Asia. And we had a very successful ASEAN Dialogue Conference in Melbourne only a couple of years ago. So, the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister travelling to the region, they're doing their job to advance our national interest and to continue to build those successful partnerships we've got in our region. I think Australians understand that as a middle power, as a maritime nation, as a trading nation, relationships with people in our region matter more now than ever. And a very successful trip to Singapore was one example of that – and a trip to Malaysia and Brunei will build upon that.

KARVELAS: On the Pacific, the Foreign Minister said more than a week ago now that Australia was assessing what assistance it might need to offer Pacific nations as they grapple with fuel supply disruptions. How is that going?

CONROY: Well, we're continuing to talk with our Pacific neighbours. We're proud to be part of the Pacific family, to understand what the challenges are in terms of is it access to fuel or is it the price of fuel, or is it both. And to explore how we can support their efforts to achieve fuel security. It's critically important. Our prosperity and security depends upon the prosperity and security of our Pacific neighbours. That's why we've engaged so much – whether it's the Alliance with Papua New Guinea, the Falepili Treaty with Tuvalu, what we're doing in Nauru with the Treaty there, what we're negotiating with Fiji right now – they make Australia safer and more secure and more prosperous. And we'll keep talking to the Pacific family about what their needs are and how we assist them.

KARVELAS: Are we prepared to share fuel with them if that's their need?

CONROY: Oh, look, we're not going to get… I'm not going to get into hypotheticals at the moment. We're still in the stage of exploring and understanding what their needs are, and we'll respond in due course. But the Pacific family, the nations of the Pacific, can rely on Australia. We turn up, we listen, we act on their priorities because it's in our interest as well as theirs.

KARVELAS: Thank you so much for your time.

CONROY: Thanks PK. Have a good afternoon.