Television Interview, ABC News Breakfast

SUBJECTS: Geelong Viva Refinery Fire; Fuel Supply; Middle East Conflict 

JAMES GLENDAY, HOST: We're joined now by the Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, who's also the Defence Minister, and is also a Geelong local. Richard, welcome back to the program.

RICHARD MARLES, DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: Good morning, James, how are you?

GLENDAY: I am very well, thank you. Let's start where you are now. Do you have any updates for us about how badly the refinery is? There's been quite a few different messages about this with some people saying, well, it's not too badly affected, it's only going to have a small impact on supply. Other people warning that it might linger on for months and months.

MARLES: Yeah, well, look, the information I've got from the company and I spoke with Scott Wyatt, the CEO of Viva, yesterday is that they are hopeful that this will have a relatively minimal impact on supply. I mean, it was a significant incident and I should say that, you know, we are deeply thankful that no one was hurt or injured. I think that it happened at about 11:15 at night was probably a blessing that there weren't more people around. But the part of the refinery which has been affected is that part which makes petrol. That is the type of fuel which has been least affected by supply. So, diesel and jet fuel, which are more under pressure, were not affected in terms of the refining capability here. And the company is relatively optimistic that it'll be able to cover whatever there is lost production in terms of the petrol production. So, they, I mean there'll be some impact, but the company is pretty confident that it'll be a relatively minimal impact.

GLENDAY: I want to get your view on this because there's been some reporting on it, plenty of analysis saying, look, this is not good for the government's fuel security plan. Does it mean, does it make us closer to going from level two to level three on that plan and tightening restrictions on Australians?

MARLES: Well, obviously the timing of this is terrible, so there's no getting away from that. And I don't seek to downplay the significance of the incident. I mean it was a significant incident. This of itself I don't think moves us from one step to another. We're obviously constantly monitoring the level that we are on right now. We're at stage two and we've talked through a four-stage plan which envisages, you know, other more stringent stages going forward, potentially. Hopefully we don't get to that point. I don't think what's happened here moves us from one stage to the other, but obviously that's a set of circumstances that we continue to monitor. I mean, the fundamental point here is the Strait of Hormuz is closed, and the Indo Pacific is the part of the world which is most dependent upon the Strait of Hormuz. So, that's the situation which is fundamentally driving events. And so, we'll continue to monitor it.

GLENDAY: Given the squeeze on fuel and gas and things like that, because of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The UK Chancellor has spoken, and she says that she is unconvinced that Donald Trump's war on Iran has made the world a safer place. Do you agree? Is it clear now that this war was a mistake by the US President?

MARLES: Look, we support the strategic objective of denying Iran a deployable nuclear weapon capability. Were they to ever acquire that, it would be a catastrophe for the world. And I take it at face value, in terms of how this has been reported by the United States, that there has been a very significant impact on Iran in terms of its being able to acquire that capability. Now, obviously, this is not a war that is ours. It's one that's being conducted by the United States and by Israel. Ultimately, it is a matter for them to then, you know, talk through to what extent they've achieved their strategic objectives. I mean, the situation that we face right now is the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. And obviously, that's the circumstance that we are seeking to work with in terms of doing everything we can to find supply of fuel to Australia. And that's behind the Prime Minister's overseas trips last week and this. And obviously, we are sure –

GLENDAY: Sorry to jump in there –

GLENDAY: Do you think this has really been worth it, though, given where we sit? There's a lot of people saying, well, this deal might not even be as good as the deal that Barack Obama had in 2015. Is it going to be worth the economic pain that this has caused?

MARLES: Well, I can only say what I've said. I mean, we support that strategic objective, but at the end of the day, this is not our conflict. This is a war that's been initiated by the United States and Israel, and it's really for them to articulate whether or not the strategic objectives have been met. We are dealing with the world as we find it. And there is a circumstance here in terms of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which has the potential to have a significant impact on this country. And so, we're seeking to manage that impact. And as we move forward with this, we'll also look at our national interests in terms of all the requests that we receive. That was the case in terms of providing assistance for the defence of the UAE, where we have significant national interests. It will also be the case in terms of the Strait of Hormuz, where we obviously have a national interest in that. In the Strait of Hormuz being open.

GLENDAY: Yeah. Just before I let you go, we're nearly out of time, but Donald Trump has criticised Australia again, overnight. When he criticises Australia, when he posts AI generated images of himself looking like Jesus when he picks fights with the Pope. Do you believe that undermines the trust that Australians have in the US-Australia relationship?

MARLES: Well, look, I'm not going to give a running commentary on the President's social media posts. I can only say, in respect of the alliance more generally, it is profoundly important to our national security. We have a very close relationship with the United States armed forces, and that is very central to how we conceive of our own national security and how we build our own defence capability. And it's really important that people hear that message. Our relationship with the US deeply matters. We work constructively with all of our friends and partners, including the United States, in respect of any situation we find in the world, and that includes the Strait of Hormuz and whatever may ensue there. I mean, obviously, the planning that's being done in respect of that is dependent on what the ultimate circumstances are there. But we get how important the Strait of Hormuz is for Australia, and we work constructively with the UK, with France, but with the US as well.

GLENDAY: Richard Marles, we do appreciate your time from Geelong this morning.

ENDS