SENATOR THE HON PENNY WONG
LEADER OF THE GOVERNMENT IN THE SENATE
MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Subjects: AUSMIN; Australia’s participation in the US Global Entry program; Iranian Ambassador to Australia; Binskin report; US election; AUKUS; Middle East conflict; National Terrorism Threat Level.
PENNY WONG, FOREIGN MINISTER: Thanks very much for being here. It's fantastic to be here in Washington at the new Australian Embassy to participate over the next two days, firstly in a range of meetings, bilateral meetings today, and then of course the very important AUSMIN, annual AUSMIN talks between the Secretary of Defence, the Secretary of State and the Foreign Minister and the Defence Minister for Australia. It's a central part of the architecture of the US-Australia relationship and alliance.
Today I've announced the entry, Australia's participation in the United States Global Entry program. This is about us, our people to people links and it's about our business relationship and ensuring that Australians who do business here in the US, who are frequent travellers here, are able to access the United States much more easily, reducing the cost of doing business. So, it's a really important contribution to the economic and people to people aspect of our relationship.
More broadly, as I said previously, ours is a relationship which is based on who we are, what we stand for and what we want. Our two countries have stood together for many decades and will continue to work together in the decades ahead and I'm really looking forward to my meetings in Washington.
JOURNALIST: Minister, what kind of time frames are we talking about here? It was suggested it was perhaps on a limited basis at first and then would be expanded.
FOREIGN MINISTER: Yes, that's right. The plan is to make the program initially available from January 2025. We have to pass legislation through the Commonwealth Parliament and the arrangements are that from the time that that has passed we would anticipate an unlimited number of Australians who are eligible can access the program.
JOURNALIST: Can you give us a sense as to why it's taken so long to get to this point?
FOREIGN MINISTER: You know I actually asked the same question. So, you know I understand this was flagged many, many years ago but didn't come to fruition so I'm really grateful to the Deputy Secretary and to the Ambassador and his team for actually getting it to signature.
JOURNALIST: Was the lag on the Australian side or the American side?
FOREIGN MINISTER: Well, you know, it's the previous Government so you'd have to ask them. But I'm just pleased that we've managed to land it.
JOURNALIST: Minister, Iran's Ambassador to Australia has tweeted about wiping out the Zionist plague of the holy lands of Palestine happening no later than 2027. Simon Birmingham has said that its enthusiastically embracing the wiping out of the Jews as antisemitic, divisive, inflammatory and intolerable. Will you be calling in Iran's Ambassador to discuss these comments? Is this appropriate for him to be tweeting?
FOREIGN MINISTER: Look, those comments are inflammatory, and they are repugnant, and they do not represent they are inconsistent with Australia's values and our views. Yes, we have. My Department has spoken to the Ambassador about these issues and other issues.
More broadly obviously, you know, we maintain a diplomatic relationship with Iran because we seek to further Australia's interests. That is why we continue to engage, including in relation, as you know, to the importance of de escalation given the circumstances we face in the Middle East.
JOURNALIST: Should he stay as Ambassador? Would you support him being withdrawn?
FOREIGN MINISTER: Well, I don't support what he has said.
JOURNALIST: Israeli officials, as you know, have been angered by your response to the report into the killing of aid worker Zomi Frankcom, saying you've misrepresented their findings. What's your response to that?
FOREIGN MINISTER: I will say that people can read the report for themselves, and the IDF itself has taken responsibility, including for what it has said is a grave mistake and a failure to follow rules of engagement. Those are not my findings; they were the findings of the Israeli Defence Force.
JOURNALIST: You've come at a pretty extraordinary time in US politics to America. What would it mean for America to elect its first female President?
FOREIGN MINISTER: Those are decisions for the American people. You know, we have a long standing relationship that has seen parties of both sides of politics, both in the White House and in Australia, and the relationship has remained strong and grown, and what I would say to you is it's never been more important.
We're gratified by the bipartisanship in relation to AUKUS. We will continue to work with the Biden administration and then we will work with whomever the American people choose to elect.
JOURNALIST: Do you have any concerns about the ongoing viability of AUKUS should there be a second Trump Presidency? And do you have any concerns about how the nature of the alliance might change more broadly?
FOREIGN MINISTER: Well, in relation to the first part, that's I adverted in my previous answer to the fact that we see bipartisan support for AUKUS. So I think we're gratified by that.
In relation to the second, I refer you to my last answer. We've seen different administrations, we've seen different Presidents, we've seen different Prime Ministers, different Cabinets, but the alliance and the relationship remain strong and so it must. As I said in my speech, we face the most difficult, challenging strategic circumstances since the end of World War II. Our region and our world are being reshaped. This alliance is critical to the reshaping of the region, to ensuring we can have a region in which our sovereignty is protected.
JOURNALIST: What is your assessment of the security situation in the Middle East at the moment and of Australia's efforts to encourage Australians to leave Lebanon?
FOREIGN MINISTER: The security situation in the Middle East is highly risky and you heard me from when I arrived back after my visit to Tokyo and Korea and to Laos for the East Asia Summit, I issued a video when I arrived back immediately calling on Australians to return. We didn't do that lightly; we don't do that lightly. We do that because we are deeply concerned about the possibility of conflict, escalation. It's something we've been worried about, all of us have worried about since the October 7 attacks. We know what has occurred in recent times. We know that the number of Australians who are in Lebanon and how difficult it would be for those Australians to be assisted in numbers, particularly if Beirut Airport closes. So, I again say to people, if you are in Lebanon, leave now while you still have options to do so. If you're thinking of travelling to Lebanon, do not.
JOURNALIST: ASIO has raised the threat risk to probable. What do you see as your number one priority in Foreign Affairs to get that down?
FOREIGN MINISTER: Well I would echo Mike Burgess - the Director General's words where he has spoken regularly about the importance of political leaders being very careful in what we say and how we say it.
Our job is to turn the temperature down, it is not to dial it up. You have heard me say that or something similar for a very long time. I have been deeply concerned that the political rhetoric, particularly around what is happening in Gaza but more generally.
Let's remember as Australians we have to preserve our capacity to disagree peacefully. We have to preserve our capacity to argue respectfully. That is central to our democracy, and you all have a role in that, as do I. And all of us have to be careful about both what we say and how we say it.
JOURNALIST: And just on a few more AUSMIN related questions, critical minerals and space. On the critical minerals side, is there anything that might come up, obviously there's been a lot of concern around China's influence in critical minerals. Is there anything that's going to come up maybe out of these AUSMIN meetings that would be a practical move forward in helping some of those critical minerals producers in the current environment?
FOREIGN MINISTER: Well look, certainly critical minerals will be one of the issues discussed. Obviously, the work on the partnership is being taken forward by the Minister for Resources Madeleine King, with her US counterparts. It is challenging, you know, we are trying to work together to secure supply chains in circumstances where there is a great deal of market dominance which has been identified by both the administration and by our Government and Minister King is working through that through the critical minerals partnership.
ENDS
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Authorised by Senator the Hon Penny Wong, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Australia.
