Radio Interview, ABC RN Breakfast

SUBJECTS: Prime Minister’s travel to Fiji and Solomon Islands; Indo-Pacific; Fiji Vuvale Union; National Conference; AUKUS; Gambling Reform; Online Death Threat Against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi; Prime Minister’s Apology

SALLY SARA, HOST: Minister, welcome back to Radio National Breakfast.

RICHARD MARLES, ACTING PRIME MINISTER: Good morning, Sally. How are you?

SARA: Very well, thank you. Australia and Fiji are expected to sign the Vuvale Union today. Will it go further than last week's Nakamal agreement with Vanuatu in limiting Chinese involvement in security or infrastructure?

MARLES: Well, it is a landmark agreement between ourselves and Fiji that is being progressed by the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister, and it really will be a step change in the bilateral relationship that we've had with Fiji over a long period of time. And of course, that's a relationship which is already very close. There is a security dimension to this, and it will have Australia and Fiji working together for the collective security of the region, consistent with the Oceans of Peace declaration that was made by Pacific Island Forum leaders at last year's Forum meeting. So, there'll be more to say as the day progresses with the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister in Fiji. But this is a very, very significant agreement that is being progressed today.

SARA: What's driving this Pacific push at the moment?

MARLES: Well, for a long time we've been saying that, you know, we've had a significant presence in the Pacific, and by that I mean over the course of decades. But the point that we've made since coming to government is that, you know, previously that's really lacked intent, and what we've sought to do over the last four years is bring that to bear both in terms of providing for declarations around joint security, but also working with the countries of the Pacific for their human development. The Pacific has been the slowest-developing region in the world, and we've got obligations there. So, I mean, you can look at this in terms of what we've always said about the Pacific. It is true that today the Pacific is a place of greater geostrategic contest than it has been before, and that's part of it, but part of it really is simply about fulfilling what should be Australia's destiny to work with the countries of the Pacific around their development. And this is part of that.

SARA: Will there be stronger defence ties with Fiji in a similar way to the Mutual Defence Treaty with PNG?

MARLES: We certainly. Well, we have a very strong defence relationship with Fiji already. As I said, there is a security dimension to the Vuvale Union, and we will see us do more in the defence relationship. And I think that is really important. Fiji, of course, is one of a few countries within the Pacific which has a defence force, obviously New Zealand, but along with Tonga and Papua New Guinea. So, Fiji is very significant in that sense, and the defence component of this is very important.

SARA: The Prime Minister will travel on to Solomon Islands. Does the government support the suggestion from Solomon Islands Prime Minister Matthew Wale of a Pacific security bloc?

MARLES: Well, again, what we've already signalled when Prime Minister Wale was in Australia was that we are looking to progress a treaty in the Solomon Islands as well. I mean, we want to build a peaceful Pacific. Obviously, the Oceans of Peace declaration at the Pacific Islands Forum last year was really important in relation to that. But I think the other point I would make, Sally, is if you just take a step back and look at what we've been doing over the course of the last four years. We've got the Treaty of Common Security with Indonesia, we've got the Pukpuk Alliance with Papua New Guinea. We are working on a treaty now with the Solomons. We've signed a Nakamal agreement with Vanuatu, the Vuvale Union with Fiji. With France, which is a neighbour, obviously, we have a Status of Forces Agreement, and of course, we have the ANZUS Treaty with New Zealand. What all of that represents is a ring of security now around Australia. And we have done more in terms of progressing the agreements in respect of that over the last four years than has ever happened before. And that is about ensuring Australia's national security. But it is very much about Australia playing its part with our neighbours in providing for a peaceful and stable region in which we all live.

SARA: You're listening to Radio National Breakfast. I'm speaking with the Acting Prime Minister, Richard Marles. Minister, last week, the Prime Minister appeared on a podcast with comedian Nikki Osborne and had this exchange.

[START EXCERPT]

NIKKI OSBORNE: Shag, marry, date: Kylie Minogue, Nicole Kidman or Rhonda Burchmore.

ANTHONY ALBANESE: I've just got married, I'm only six months in –

OSBORNE: But if it goes tits up, let's just pretend.

ALBANESE: Oh, Kylie, clearly you'd marry Kylie. 

OSBORNE: And shag her, and date her?

ALBANESE: All of the above.

[END OF EXCERPT]

SARA: The Prime Minister's office has released a statement this morning saying that the Prime Minister, quote, apologises unequivocally for those comments. Did he need to make that apology, in your view?

MARLES: Well, look, the Prime Minister has apologised unequivocally, so that's the first point to make. I think from time to time we do interviews which are obviously different from the one that you and I are doing now. But I think the other point to make here, Sally, is the government that the Prime Minister leads is the first government in our nation’s history which has had an equality in terms of the numbers of men and women in cabinet. It's the first government ever to have had a majority of women in the caucus. Under this government, the gender pay gap is the lowest that it has ever been on record. I mean, our Prime Minister is utterly committed to the place of women within our society and the elevation of women within our society. And I think that's the serious point to observe about the government that he leads. He's obviously made an unequivocal apology for what he said.

SARA: In that way, if you're talking about the government's record, in your view, in that regard, does that make these comments more out of place?

MARLES: Well, look, as I say, there are occasions where you do interviews which are of a different nature the one that you and I are doing. In a serious sense, this government's record is there for all to see. And it's a government that is led by a person that I know very, very closely, who is utterly committed to elevating the place of women within our society. In respect of those comments, he has apologised unequivocally.

SARA: Back to broader issues. Some Indian media outlets are reporting that Australian authorities are investigating an online death threat against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of his visit to Australia. What can you say about those reports?

MARLES: Well, look, I wouldn't go into the details of security arrangements for foreign dignitaries, other than to say that they are taken completely seriously and we have the best agencies in the world protecting those who visit our country. The appropriate protections will be in place for Prime Minister Modi's visit. And, you know, that's the important point to make here. In terms of the details of any specifics, that's obviously not something we'd talk about publicly.

SARA: The Labor Party's national conference will be held in Adelaide later this month. Are you confident the AUKUS agreement will be supported?

MARLES: I am. And, you know, I can derive that confidence from what has happened previously at National Conference three years ago, where this was a very significant debate, but the result was very clearly in the favour of supporting AUKUS. So, ultimately, the vote wasn't close and it was an important debate early on. I mean, I don't want to pre-empt what's going to happen at National Conference. Conference is, of course, its own master and it can debate what it wants, and we are very welcoming of any debate on any issue. And clearly AUKUS is a very significant issue for the country. But I'm also really confident that AUKUS has fundamental support within the Labor movement.

SARA: Very briefly, a report in the Fin Review this morning also suggests there'll be a push to insert language in the national platform calling for stronger action on gambling. Have any of your parliamentary colleagues raised concerns with you that the government's reforms on gambling don't go far enough?

MARLES: Well, I think the point to make here is that the reforms that we've done in relation to gambling are the most significant reforms in this space that any government has ever done. And that's really the feedback that we get from our parliamentary colleagues. I mean, this is a complex area, but we have done more in terms of providing protections, particularly for younger people, to make sure that there isn't gambling advertising when younger people are watching. And the reforms that we've done are the most significant that have ever been done in Australia.

SARA: Richard Marles, Acting Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, thank you for joining me this morning.

ENDS