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In a rare address to the nation, the Prime Minister has warned Australians of tough months ahead as the country grapples with fuel supply issues caused by the war in the Middle East.
The Prime Minister's address comes with the government set to announce interest-free loans for struggling freight, fuel and fertiliser companies, and before Australia participates in a UK-led meeting on the Strait of Hormuz.
Well, in a rare address to the nation, the Prime Minister has warned Australians of
tough months ahead as the country grapples with fuel supply issues caused by the conflict
in the Middle East.
In moment, I'll be speaking with the Defence Minister Richard Miles, but national
addresses over the years have marked significant moments in Australian history.
Let's take a quick listen.
Hello Australians, it is my millingly duty to inform you officially that in consequence
of a persistence by Germany in her invasion of Poland, Great Britain has declared war
upon her, and that as a result, Australia is also at war.
Men and women of Australia, we are at war with Japan.
Good evening.
The global financial crisis is affecting financial markets right around the world, including
Australia.
Good evening Australia.
Tonight, I want to talk to you about the global coronavirus, what it means for you and
your family, and what the government is doing to see Australia through.
You should go about your business and your life as normal, enjoy your Easter, and if you're
hitting the road, don't take more fuel than you need, just fill up like you normally would.
Think of others in your community, in the bush, and in critical industries, and overcoming
weeks, if you can switch to catching the train or bus or tram to work, do so.
That's the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, and his national address last night, who
that address comes ahead of the government announcing today that interest-free loans
will be provided for some struggling, freight fuel, and fertiliser companies that Richard
Miles is the deputy prime minister, and the minister for Defence, and joins me in our
studio in Parliament House this morning, a minister welcome back to breakfast.
Did the Prime Minister owe Australians more details and more substance last night?
Well, it was an important address last night.
Australians are understandably feeling anxious about what is going on, a sense of uncertainty
about the future, and that too is understandable, because the future is uncertain, and we've
seen the biggest shock to petrol and diesel prices ever.
It's in that context that the Prime Minister rightly wanted to speak directly to the Australian
people about what they're experiencing, what's coming down the track, but importantly,
what the government is doing, and what Australians themselves can do, and that's what he explained
last night.
If the key message was business as usual, why do that in a national address?
Well, I think people are trying to come to terms with what all of this means and what
they should be doing in this moment.
I think that's particularly the case as we head into the Easter weekend.
The Prime Minister was clear about the fact that you should go about business as usual.
You should take those trips and visit family, but in the coming weeks, if there are options
to take public transport, for example, and that's not available to everyone, but if it is
available to some, then you should do that.
That's where we're at.
On Monday at National Cabinet, we released the National Field Security Plan, and really
what that was trying to do was to say against an uncertain future, there are a range of steps
that we may take.
We necessarily have to work that out as we go along, but in terms of looking at how we
might deal with questions of demand and distribution, they are all on the table.
But right now, where we're at is to take prudent steps where you can to not use fuel, and
at the same time, governments are obviously working to secure supply, which we are, and
to getting that distribution out to where it's needed.
Let's have a look at the situation in the Middle East.
Over night, US President Donald Trump demanded that Iran stop blocking the strait of
farmers, or the US would bomb Iran quite back to the Stone Age.
A day earlier, he said the US wouldn't have anything to do with ensuring the security
of ships passing through the strait.
What do you take from this mixed messaging?
Well, I mean, what obviously you're not going to do is run in commentary on what the
President says, and we obviously do a very mindful of what the President is saying, and
we'll all be awaiting his address later today.
What we need to do is understand the uncertainty that exists, make decisions in respect of
Australia's national interest in respect of the war, and that's what we have been doing.
That has led us to take some steps in terms of having our E7 wedge-tile in the region supporting
the defence of the countries at the Gulf, and particularly the UAE, and then managing
the situation as it unfolds at home, and what that means is doing everything we can to
continue the supply of fuel to the country, which is what we are doing, but also making
sure that we are readying ourselves for whatever possibility comes down the road in the coming
months.
So we can confirm whether Australia is attending the UK summit on the strait of Hormuz, and
what we're expecting to come out of that.
Yeah, we will be participating in that.
It'll be a virtual meeting as I understand the next 24 hours in the Foreign Minister
will be representing Australia at that meeting, and it follows on from Australia signing up
to the UK-led statement more than a week ago in respect of the Straits of Hormuz.
I mean, that statement gives a sense of where we're at.
Obviously, all of those countries, and very much Australia, have an interest in staying
in the Straits of Hormuz open as soon as possible.
We will look to what Australia can do when conditions...
What sort of things could we do?
Well, firstly, this depends on when conditions allow, and that's not the circumstance that
we're in right now.
I'm reluctant to speculate in detail about all of that, other than to say, our E7 wedge-tile
is in the region right now, and it's providing or doing important work in terms of contributing
to the defence of the countries of the Gulf, in particular, the UAE.
As a middle power, if other middle power nations are sending assets to reopen and or secure
the strait, is that something we would consider?
Well, as I say, we've got an asset in the region right now, which is...
I'm talking about helping the straits stay, I don't know, with naval assets, perhaps.
Well, we will work through with our friends and our eyes about how we can usefully contribute.
Obviously, we have an interest in the Straits of Hormuz being open, and that's why we sign
on to the statement more than a week ago, and that's why we'll be participating in this meeting.
So, is Australia keeping an open mind in that regard?
You're not ruling out further assets going to the region?
Well, we will work constructively with our friends and partners in this meeting that's coming
up. We've countries like the UK and France, and we'll look at how we can constructively
contribute here, and you can see that that's what we've done up until now, which is why we do
have a significant asset in the region providing for the defence of the countries of the Gulf,
in particular, the UAE.
More broadly, given what we've seen, does Australia have faith that the US would honour its
ANSIS obligations if Australia were threatened?
Oh, I mean, the alliance... I mean, our question is yes, that the alliance is as important
today as it has ever been, and it has stood the test of time from, well, the moment ANSIS was signed
in 1951, but really predating that, going back to the Second World War, and even earlier.
So, our relationship and our alliance with America is enduring, and we have absolutely faith in that.
On a different matter in your own portfolio, the Senate yesterday passed a motion to reinstate
the annual report from the audit office into Defence Major projects. It's one of the key sources
of transparency about defence spending, which is large, but a Labor-led audit committee
had moved to shelvert. Should it continue to be published in your view?
Well, look, we seek to be as transparent as we can be, and that has been our record since we've
been in government. We take into account the security situations that we find ourselves in,
and what information can be provided, and obviously, wherever the parliament ends up being at,
is what we will do. But our fundamental position here is that we want to be a transparent government,
and that's what we're being in respect of Defence. So, you're happy if it's reinstated?
Well, I mean, we will obviously work with the Senate, and the parliament, no matter what happens.
Would Labor be getting behind the motion to reinstate it?
Well, we've taken the position that we have. Is that transparency, really?
It is absolutely transparency, and we live in a world where there are different
and issues in respect of what information is provided, and the national security that goes
around that, and we need to manage all of that, which is driving the positions that we're taking,
but ultimately, we work with the Senate. Richard Miles, so thank you for joining me in this
studio this morning. Thanks, Heather.

