Radio Interview, ABC RN Breakfast

SUBJECTS: Middle East Conflict; Fuel Supply; US tariffs; Osborne Shipyard Investment; AUKUS; ALP National Conference; Gambling Reform; Federal contributions to Local Government ; One Nation

SALLY SARA, HOST: Richard Marles is the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence and joins me now. Minister, welcome back to Breakfast.

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

SARA: Very well, thank you. Firstly, offshore, US President Donald Trump says he's close to deciding whether to launch, quote, a massive attack on Iran on a scale larger than strikes already witnessed during the conflict with Tehran. How concerned is the Federal Government about this escalation?

MARLES: Well, I mean, we've consistently been calling for a de-escalation in respect of hostilities in the Middle East. And that continues to be our position. Now, you know, in saying that, we also absolutely need to see the Strait of Hormuz be open and for freedom of navigation to happen there, for commercial shipping to be allowed through. And we very much call on Iran to allow that to be the case. That was part of the terms of the ceasefire. And really, we need to see a restoration to the normal global fuel supply chain because it's having a significant impact around the world. But we do continue to call for a de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East.

SARA: From the Strait of Hormuz to the Red Sea, we're seeing some ships come under attack, given the involvement of the Houthis. Now, how much concern is there from the Federal Government about oil supplies?

MARLES: Well, I mean, we're certainly not sanguine about this issue, and that's been the case, obviously, since the moment that the war in Iran started. But that's why we have been really focused on ensuring that we do have fuel supply to this country. And we've got more fuel in Australia today than we did the day before the war in Iran started. And our continued focus will be on ensuring that fuel supply going forward. And that, I might say, is really enabled by virtue of our having a very strong energy partnership with countries like Singapore, like Korea, where we are a supplier of energy to them, significantly in respect of gas. And all of that has been critically important in terms of being able to ensure ongoing fuel supply to the country. And that will continue to be our focus going forward.

SARA: In developing news this morning, the Trump administration has confirmed that a 12.5% tariff will be placed on Australian exports for the US from later today. Given we've seen the trade stoush ramp up between Canada and the US, how confident are you that there won't be further hikes for Australia?

MARLES: Well, we've seen this news literally just break in the last few minutes. I mean, there's a couple of points I'd make here. Firstly, in relation to forced labour, because that's being used as the rationale. We have some of the strongest laws in the world in relation to combating forced labour, and we're very proud about the legal regime that exists in Australia in respect to that. And that's a point that we've continued to make to the United States. In relation to tariffs, we obviously are supportive of an open global trading system. That's actually what has seen an enormous rise in productivity and prosperity around the world. And in relation to our trading relationship with the United States, the Australia-US Free Trade Agreement has been really important in terms of promoting jobs in both countries and providing for freer trade and lower prices between both countries. So, you know, this really, in our view, makes no sense. We continue to make that argument to the Trump administration both in terms of trade, but also in terms of our stance in relation to forced labour. And that will continue to be our position and the way in which we advocate.

SARA: Is the Federal Government disappointed by this latest news from the US?

MARLES: No, obviously we are. I mean, we don't want to see increases in tariffs, we want to see freer trade and more trade flows between Australia and the United States. Both of our countries benefit from that. And to be clear, you know, grounding this on the basis of forced labour, I mean, forced labour is definitely something which needs to be combated around the world. So, we support that objective. But we have laws which are amongst the strongest in the world, and we've been making that point to the Trump administration.

SARA: On AUKUS, you announced $4.6 billion for Adelaide's Osborne shipyards as it prepares to build new AUKUS nuclear-powered submarines. Labor MP Ed Husic has called for the AUKUS pact to be renegotiated. Will there be an opportunity to debate the issue publicly at the ALP conference?

MARLES: Well, there's definitely an opportunity. I mean, this, the space on the agenda in relation to this comes up tomorrow and we'll see what happens in terms of what emanates in relation to that debate. But I'd just remind you, Sally, that three years ago at the National Conference we had a full-throated debate in relation to AUKUS. It was months in the making. It was really the signature debate of the last National Conference. The result was very clear. I mean, it was 3 to 1 on the floor. 75% of the floor supported AUKUS. So, this was not close. And that's the position of the party right now. And, you know, as a government, we have been following that through by making AUKUS happen. And the announcement that we've made today of an additional 4.6 billion in the building of the submarine construction yard down at the Osborne Naval Shipyard in Adelaide is a really important step in this process. There's 1,100 people who are there right now on this day building that construction yard, and that's in addition to, you know, another thousand plus who are actually in the AUKUS pipeline, who are working, be it submariners working on Virginia-class submarines for the United States Navy, getting vital experience there. This is a project which is happening. Thousands of people are working on it. It is building incredibly important capability for Australia.

SARA: Three years down the track from the last Labor conference, has the situation surrounding AUKUS changed significantly, or do you think that that debate's done and it shouldn't reoccur?

MARLES: Well, I mean, I welcome any debate at any time, to be frank, and I understand that this is a huge public expenditure and so people are entitled to raise questions and have debates had, and I stand ready to do those debates. But at the same time, we are putting this in place. I mean, we are a three-ocean nation and the idea that we would not have a capable long-range submarine going into the future is frankly unthinkable, and this is the only way that it can be delivered – and we are in the business of delivering it. And that is what the overwhelming majority of the Labor Party has wanted us to do. And so we're really happy to have debates and we're really happy to have discussions. But what we ultimately do is implement what the majority of the Labor Party wants us to implement. And that has been crystal clear.

SARA: On a separate issue, there are calls for Labor to strengthen measures to minimise the harm caused by gambling inducements. Some Labor members are pushing for a stronger national regulator to oversee the industry. Where do you see it landing?

MARLES: Well, I mean, again I understand the interest in this issue and the range of opinions that there are in respect of it, but again I'd point out that as a government we have done more in relation to the regulation of gambling than any government has and we are very keen on ensuring that the connection between gambling and sport is reduced. And that's what we've done in the reforms that we've put in place. We are very mindful of trying to limit the exposure of gambling advertising, particularly to young people. And that is what we have put in place. When you look at what we have done in this space, it is more than any government has ever done and we stand on those reforms with a level of pride. And so we continue to move forward on that basis. We get that there are differing views out there, there's a balance here which has to be struck. But we've done more in relation to dealing with the question of gambling than any government ever has.

SARA: We've also heard this morning from Darcy Byrne, Mayor of the Inner West Council in Sydney, making his case for the Commonwealth to double its contributions to local government. He says the lack of service delivery could start to drive voters away from Labor and into the arms of One Nation. Is he right?

MARLES: Well, firstly, local government is a critically important tier of government in this country and there has been no Federal Government which has been a bigger supporter of local government than the Albanese Labor government. Indeed, you know, Anthony, really, Anthony Albanese, he was the Minister in a previous Labor government, is really the founder of the fundamental relationship between the federal tier of government and local government. Look, if you look at federal assistance grants, we've increased them by billions of dollars in a context where, under the Coalition, we saw indexation in relation to those grants frozen. So, we are trying to see more money flow through into local governments and we're very pleased with what we've been able to achieve on that. And we'll continue to make local government a focus of what we do in this area of policy because we know how important it is.

SARA: Richard Marles, thank you for joining me.

MARLES: Thanks, Sally.

ENDS