Minister for Defence – Interview on ABC AM

JOURNALIST

I am joined now by the Defence Minister, Marise Payne. Senator Payne, thanks for joining us.

MINISTER

Good morning Michael.

JOURNALIST

Some are already beginning to argue that the alliance should change as a result of the Trump victory. Is that likely?

MINISTER

I think the most important aspect of the alliance is its depth and its strength – the fact that in the last sixty-five years or so we’ve seen governments change on both sides of the Pacific and the Alliance has continued to strengthen and to grow and we look forward to working with the new administration in the United States. I look forward to engaging with the new Secretary of Defense, when appointed in due course and ensuring that what both the United States and Australia work towards is observation of international law, regional and international stability and, really, a reflection of the work we already do together.

JOURNALIST

I guess it’s fair to say we haven’t had a leader in that sixty years that’s had quite as much to say about the sort of alliances that have been struck and the security arrangements that have been in place since then, have we?

MINISTER

We’ve had many, many leaders on both sides, as I said, over a period of times but the Australian Government stands ready to work with the newly elected US Administration. We need to take a serious and constructive approach to that, and that is what I and my colleagues in the national security arena will most certainly be doing.

JOURNALIST

So it won’t adapt is our message; that we’ll follow them anywhere?

MINISTER

No, I don’t think our message is that at all. I made very clear yesterday, that when Australia makes decisions about its engagement in the international arena, it makes those based on our own interests, our strategic interests, the environment in which we find ourselves and with the primacy of our national security first and foremost.

JOURNALIST

The Trump rhetoric though, has certainly troubled many people and whether that was campaign rhetoric and we’ll walk that back a bit or not is yet to be seen of course, but it’s pretty clear he’s not as committed to alliances as his predecessors – he’s questioned the value of NATO for instance. He said the Japanese and the Koreans should pay more for their own Defence and not rely on the US. This is a different era we’re in, though, isn’t it?

MINISTER

I think that is always the case – with new governments comes change and we have to be ready to work in that context, as I said. But our representative in the United States, our Ambassador Joe Hockey, our other senior diplomats, senior representatives of the Australian military who continue to work within the US system, the long-standing military-to-military relationships that we have, the relationships and associations that I, the Foreign Minister, the Prime Minister, have forged in the last year of this government under Prime Minister Turnbull – they will stand us in very good stead as we move forward with the new administration.

JOURNALIST

Sure, but he does say for instance that the US shouldn’t be paying to be the world’s policeman. For us that will have ramifications, won’t it?

MINISTER

Well Australia, I think, is in a relatively strong position in that regard. Our contribution is very much valued, very highly regarded. The best current example I think would be our engagement in the international coalition to fight Daesh in the Middle East and repeatedly, whether it is from interlocutors or from our military counterparts, we are advised that the contribution we are making is a very strong one and in fact is a value-add. I think that we start on a very good basis with the new administration in that regard. We have decades and decades of working together. The Prime Minister and the President-elect had a very constructive conversation yesterday which reflected precisely on the importance of the Alliance, which reflected precisely on the value of those relationships.

JOURNALIST

In the Middle East particularly, Trump’s been positive about Russia’s role in Syria. We certainly haven’t been positive in that way. He’s talked also about a more robust military response to ISIS. Do you expect a change?

MINISTER

We will always deal with those discussions as they are presented to us. Overwhelmingly, our response in Iraq and in Syria is dictated by conditions on the ground, by the operational environment in which we find ourselves. As you know, we’ve trained almost 14,000 soldiers, who are engaging in the fight against Daesh, in the Iraqi Defence Force. We have a Special Operations Task Group which is working side by side, not just with the Iraqis but members of the international coalition, which is led by the United States. We have changed, even in the last year, our contribution to both of those activities. We’ve worked…

JOURNALIST

(Interrupts) I guess that my question is – do you expect him to take a different approach than the Obama Administration to ISIS?

MINISTER

Well Michael I am not sure that it’s terribly constructive to engage in hypotheticals about such serious issues until we can actually begin discussions with the new Administration, with the new Defense Secretary. I look forward to doing that in due course and we will always consider propositions as they are put to us, we will always engage with our most significant ally and determine what is in our national interest and what is in the best interest of the international environment to which we can contribute

JOURNALIST

Alright, just quickly, the pivot to Asia of course has been much a part of the second Obama term. Donald Trump is unlikely to be as enthusiastic about that. Do you expect the rotation of US marines in Darwin will continue to grow and the 2,500 that‘s expected next year still plan to come?

MINISTER

I think the move to 2,500 in fact was by 2020 if my recollection is correct, so it’s been increasing since its inception. I have no reason to believe that that will change but these are matters for discussions with the administration.

JOURNALIST

Alright, and just finally, The Australian is reporting today that Australia and US are close to announcing a deal for America to take refugees, those currently housed in Nauru and Manus. Is that correct?

MINISTER

We have a number of third-country resettlement options for those that are currently transferred to Nauru and Manus, particularly for women and children. I am not going to speculate about any other arrangements. These are matters the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection is working on and I am sure they’ll come to Government at the appropriate time.