DAVID SPEERS: The Shadow Foreign Minister Penny Wong is with me now here in the Canberra studio. Thanks for your time this afternoon.
Too often we talk about these appalling, shocking, terrorist incidents. This one, with the kids seeming to be the target, is just one thats really, I think, rocked a lot of families here and around the world. How have you reacted to this?
SENATOR PENNY WONG, LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION IN THE SENATE: Its heartbreaking. And our deepest sympathy goes to the families and we stand in solidarity with the British people. But youre right. Terrorism - and this is what Prime Minister May has called this - is always shocking. There is a particular poignancy when children are targeted, and I think thats what we are all feeling today.
SPEERS: We dont know exactly who has done this and why, to be fair, and all of that will be investigated, but what does it tell us about the nature of terrorism today?
WONG: We know we face a very different threat and we know we face a very different risk. But I do want to reemphasise what Bill Shorten said today, and the Prime Minister. We must all stand firm in the face of this. We cannot give up who we are. We cannot give up our values. We cannot give in to fear and division which is what they seek. We cannot, as Bill said, allow this to become the normal. We have to continue to work together to keep our community safe and thats what government and opposition will do and thats what governments across the world will do.
SPEERS: And that means we have to keep going to pop concerts, footy games, the sort of mass public gatherings that, yes, can be a risk, but this is part of who we are?
WONG: Thats right. You cant give up who we are. And, in fact to do so, is what those who have this extremist ideology wish. So we must hold on to who we are. But as I said, this is a day for mourning and its a day for solidarity with the people of Manchester and the British people.
SPEERS: If I can take you to the debate thats been going here, the governments looking into security around mass public gatherings. Its been doing so for some time. Do you think weve got the settings right? What would you be wanting to see?
WONG: I think two things. First, we always look to the advice of our intelligence and security agencies. We have very outstanding men and women who work to keep Australians safe. Second, I think people across this Parliament opposition and government work together on a very bipartisan and constructive way to make sure we do all we can to ensure Australians are safe.
SPEERS: I mean you cant protect against everything, and in many ways you dont want to put up walls at all of these sorts of events, but do you see any obvious gaps at the moment?
WONG: I think the most appropriate thing is to make sure our agencies give us the best advice, and Im sure they will look at this just as we have learnt from other tragic events. But again I would say, lets remember, we do have outstanding men and women in our intelligence and security agencies. We have a very strong record of working together to keep Australians safe. Weve had enormous cooperation, not just between federal government agencies, but also with state government police. We have a lot of people in this country who work very hard on security matters, but what we see in Manchester is an example of the sorts of risk we are trying to mitigate.
SPEERS: Is there a risk do you think, if Islamic State loses some territory in Iraq and Syria, that we are going to see more of these style of attacks? We dont know yet if its directly linked to Islamic State, we need to keep pointing this out, but is this one of the risks?
WONG: I think the risk of attacks in countries around the globe has demonstrably been increasing. Leaving aside the conflict in Syria and in Iraq, weve seen that. So our focus does need to be on how we keep Australians safe here in Australia, but also to work in our region to make sure that we work closely with our regional partners on counter-terrorism.
SPEERS: A final one Penny Wong, and I was asking the minister about this earlier, how comfortable would you be going to a pop concert/rock concert, something like this, in the wake of what weve seen in Manchester?
WONG: Its tough, more how comfortable would I be with my children going? I think every parent probably asks themselves that question today, but we also know we have to live our lives, and we cant allow people who would make us change the way we live to win.
SPEERS: Shadow Foreign Minister Penny Wong, its a difficult day no doubt about it, but I thank you for joining us this afternoon; appreciate it.
WONG: It is, thanks, you too.