Television Interview, Sky News First Edition

SUBJECTS: Osborne Shipyard Investment; AUKUS; Middle East Conflict; Fuel Excise; ALP National Conference; UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting; ISIS Foreign Terrorist Fighters' Wives; US tariffs

PETE STEFANOVIC, HOST: The Defence Minister Richard Marles is set to announce an almost $5 billion investment in South Australia's Osborne shipyard, vital to delivering the AUKUS submarine program. And joining us live is the Defence Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles. Richard, good to see you this morning. So, what will this investment involve?

RICHARD MARLES, DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: Well, good to talk to you this morning, Pete. This is a $4.6 billion investment in building the submarine construction yard down at the Osborne Naval Shipyard in Adelaide. And this is in addition to the $3.9 billion that was announced by by the Prime Minister earlier this year. Now, all of this, of course, is part of what is expected to be a $30 billion investment in building this facility down at Osborne. And this is a facility that will be delivered in stages over the course of the next decade. But the first of these sheds will actually be delivered over the next year. And so you can see this progressively coming online as around 1100 people are there right now building the submarine construction yard at Osborne. In time, that number will grow to 4,000. And this is a critical part of the pathway to us being able to build submarines in Adelaide and to having steel cut on the first of those submarines by the end of this decade.

STEFANOVIC: Okay, is everyone on the same page? Within the Labor Party over AUKUS, has debate been stifled at the Labor conference where you are, because some have suggested concerns are being overlooked?

MARLES: Well, look, I mean, the part of the agenda where this comes up is tomorrow. So, at one level, I don't want to preempt that, but I just remind you, Pete, that three years ago at the National Conference in Brisbane, you know, we had a full-throated debate on AUKUS. It was months in the making. We had the debate on the conference floor and when we did, it wasn't close. The overwhelming majority, like three quarters of the conference floor, supported AUKUS. And what that says is that there are some voices out there who have not supported AUKUS. We understand that, but the overwhelming majority of the conference floor three years ago supported AUKUS. And that's where things stand. Now, we'll see what happens in terms of tomorrow. But this is a program which has been endorsed by the party itself. It's, of course, something that the government has been making clear. We are delivering from the moment that we've come to government and this is happening. You know there's more than a thousand people who are engaged in AUKUS itself. It's in addition to those building the construction yard that I've just described. People are earning their livelihoods, they are dedicating themselves to this project. This is happening.

STEFANOVIC: Wes Streeting is your new AUKUS co-pilot, so to speak, in the UK, its new Defence Secretary. Have you spoken to him yet?

MARLES: I've not spoken to Wes but I'm looking forward to doing that in the coming days. I've not met Wes Streeting but very much seen his CV and really look forward to building the kind of relationship with him that, you know, I had with John Healey and others in the past and, you know, we're very excited about the relationship we have with the UK and what the future holds.

STEFANOVIC: The escalating tensions in the Middle East. The price of oil has now returned to above 100 dollars US a barrel. The fuel excise returns to normal next Saturday week. Minister, any plan at all to extend that?

MARLES: Well, look, our, I mean we have been focused obviously on issues around the cost of fuel but our primary focus has been on fuel supply and again we've got more fuel in Australia today than we had on the day before the bombing of Iran started.

STEFANOVIC: But the price is getting higher?

MARLES: Sure, but our focus is ensuring that we have appropriate fuel supply. We'll see what plays out. Obviously prices have ebbed and flowed in respect of what's occurred in the Middle East. We need to see the Strait of Hormuz open, to be clear, and Iran must allow shipping in accordance with the international law and the rules of the road at sea, freedom of navigation, we also want to see a de-escalation here. But we will continue to focus, as we have, on ensuring that there is fuel supply to our country – and that's where our focus is right now.

STEFANOVIC: The question on the fuel excise returning to normal next Saturday week. Any plan to extend that at all?

MARLES: Well look, that, that is, that is the plan we have –

STEFANOVIC: No change.

MARLES: Well, there's no change but there are ebbs and flows in terms of what's occurring in the Middle East. And I think, you know, it's important for us not to react to every day because every day is different but to kind of take a step back, understand what's playing out here and keep our eyes focused on the main game.

STEFANOVIC: Let's get to the ISIS brides and, and the ISIS bros, if you will. Now One Nation wants to join up with the Coalition to toughen counter-terrorism laws as more ISIS members come home. Do laws need to be strengthened?

MARLES: Well, I mean, again, I would point out that when the Coalition were in government, it wasn't just ISIS brides, it was ISIS fighters who were returning to the country. We have not been involved in the repatriation of anyone returning from that part of the world involved in that conflict. Our security and intelligence agencies are amongst the very best in the world and they are monitoring this situation and acting accordingly to keep Australians safe. And I have complete confidence in our national security agencies in doing that.

STEFANOVIC: Can you confirm your government was told Dr. Jihad was alive four years ago?

MARLES: Well, I'm not about to go into any of that. As I say, we have intelligence agencies and security agencies which are the best in the world. There's a whole lot of information there which must be kept in the classified realm. And so I'm obviously not going to go into any of those details. But, you know, your viewers should be assured that the agencies that we have are the best in the world and we are supporting them in keeping Australians safe.

STEFANOVIC: But what would have been done with that information? I mean if a source told DFAT in 2022, why would that have been kept quiet? Why would that been kept a secret?

MARLES: Well, again, I'm not about to go into the details of all of that. I mean, there are many reasons why information of that type is kept classified, you know, for a whole range of reasons which I think you can understand in terms of not alerting others fundamentally. But, but it's important that the classified realm exists. But what people should have a sense of confidence about is that our agencies are the best in the world and they are there to keep Australians safe and we're supporting them in doing.

STEFANOVIC: Will you apply a temporary exclusion order for this man and the 12 other ISIS fighters who might be seeking to return to Australia?

MARLES: Well, again, I'm not going to go into individual cases. All of that is assessed on an individual basis. And there is a process in respect of that. But what I would say is that every lever that we have available to us in respect of this, we are using and we have the tightest controls in place here. When the coalition were last in government, we saw people coming back at a greater rate and not just ISIS brides, ISIS fighters.

STEFANOVIC: But then they established the temporary exclusion orders?

MARLES: Sure. And where we can use levers, we will and we have. And I'm not going to go into individual cases, but we are applying the strongest possible measures that are available to us in relation to our border, and we are doing so and supporting our national security agencies in a way which is keeping Australians safe.

STEFANOVIC: If a temporary exclusion order is applied and it's reviewed every two years, if that's done repeatedly, that could keep them away for a long time, would it not?

MARLES: Well, I mean, there's a lot of ifs in that, and there's a whole regime which exists in respect of the application of that. And that goes to the question of timing as well. Again, I think that the simple way to put this is that lever exists, we are using it where we can and we are using it in the strongest possible way, and that's what we'll continue to do.

STEFANOVIC: All right, Richard, you've been generous with your time. I know you've got to go, but just while we've been talking, there's some breaking news out of the United States, where new tariffs to combat forced labour have just been announced and we have been hit. Australia has been hit with 12.5%. Again, this is just happening now. Have you got a response to that at all?

MARLES: Well, look, I am mindful that it's literally just happened. I think what I'd say is this, in terms of combating forced labour and regulating that in Australia and having laws opposed to that, you know, we have one of the strongest regimes in the world, so we are. We stand with pride in terms of how our legal regime works in respect to forced labour and in relation to tariffs, we continue to make the argument to the United States that we want to see free trade, and that that the free trade agreement between ourselves and the United States has been of enormous benefit to both of our countries. And a freer global trading system is much better in terms of building global prosperity. So, that's where we stand and we continue to make that argument.

STEFANOVIC: Are we powerless to stop what the Trump administration does here? Have we just got to cop this?

MARLES: Well, I mean, the Trump administration makes its own decisions, obviously, but we make our advocacy to it. And we've made very clear our position in relation to tariffs, but also in respect of forced labour, making clear exactly the fact that in Australia, we have a very strong regime in relation to all of that. And we continue our advocacy with the Trump administration, and that's an important advocacy to take place.

STEFANOVIC: That's the Defence Minister, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles. Thanks, as always, for your time today. Appreciate it.

ENDS