Television interview, Sky News

SUBJECTS: Albanese Government Support for Ukraine, Donald Trump, Housing.

KIERAN GILBERT: Returning to one of our top stories now. The Federal Government will send 49 tanks to the front line in Ukraine to help drive Russian troops out of its territory. Earlier today, I spoke to the Defence Industry Minister, Pat Conroy, who's at the NATO Defence Minister's meeting in Brussels. And I asked him to give us a sense of how these Abrams tanks fit into the broader conflict in Ukraine.

MINISTER FOR DEFENCE INDUSTRY PAT CONROY: Well, the M1A1 Abrams are very capable tanks. They're designed for this exact sort of warfare, obviously being designed by the United States at the end of the Cold War for eventualities involving Russia, to be frank. So, I can't think of a more suitable tank for the sort of conflict they're engaging in.

And obviously, the Ukrainian military have learned a lot of lessons about how tanks need to interact and be protected from drones, and so I'm sure they'll be looking at how to deploy them into service. It complements the other assistance we provided. We’ve provided Bushmaster protected mobility vehicles, M113 armoured personnel carriers, howitzers, lots of drones, anti-missile defences. So, we've provided about $1.3 billion of military systems, and that makes us the biggest non-NATO contributor of military assistance. And whenever I talk to my counterparts, they're very focused on the struggle with Russia and we're really privileged to be supporting them.

KIERAN GILBERT: My understanding is that we're going to keep a few of the Abrams. Is that right? And why is that the case?

MINISTER CONROY: We will be retaining ten of them to help the introduction into service of the M1A2 Abrams that we'll be replacing them with. Those ones are important for the introduction of our new armament capability. But 49 of the 59 will be going to support the Ukrainian effort and they complement the other assistance we provided. And it's very important we send this signal to not just the people of Ukraine, but, quite frankly, to Russia and Vladimir Putin, that countries like Australia stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Ukraine standing up to this illegal and unprovoked invasion. I was meeting with Secretary of State for Defence of the UK John Healey this morning about this very matter. And I look forward to good discussions at the NATO Defence Ministers’ meeting about how likeminded countries are supporting the valiant struggle of Ukraine.

KIERAN GILBERT: Now, I know you're going to be meeting the Ukrainian Defence Minister on Friday. He'll welcome this news, but it's taken a couple of years. I've spoken to the ambassador from Ukraine many times. He's been calling for this for two years. Why has it taken so long?

MINISTER CONROY: Well, I'd make a couple of points. One, this is just the latest instalment of a number of packages. This year alone, we've announced something like $650 million of military assistance to Ukraine. So, fully half of the military assistance provided has been announced in this year alone. That included things like contributions to the International Fund for Ukraine to buy weapons. It included anti-missile defences, it included a lot of drones provided by both Australian companies and international companies. So, this is one part of a broader package. Secondly, it was important to wait for the introduction of the delivery of the M1A2 Abrams to replace them. It was important that Australia didn't have a capability gap. And thirdly, there was a number of checks and balances that this sort of decision has to go through, including, for example, getting permission from the United States, given this equipment is subject to ITARs, or International Trafficking in Arms Regulations.

So, there's a number of steps to go through. And we were working very hard on this. And I want to pay tribute to Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles for his leadership in this. And I think it's a good outcome. And as I said earlier today, good day for the people of Ukraine and it's a bad day for Vladimir Putin.

KIERAN GILBERT: We've got the us election just a few weeks away. Are you worried that some in the Trump camp want to end military support and funding support of Ukraine?

MINISTER CONROY: Well, I'd make a couple of points. One, I'm focused on what the Australian government is doing. As a Cabinet Minister in this government and the Minister for Defence Industry, you'd expect me to be focused on that. And we've provided $1.3 billion of military assistance, the most of any non-NATO nation, and we'll keep working with partners and supporting their efforts there. The second point I make is there's lots of speculation about what's happening in November. We'll just see what happens. But I would note that former President Trump has made a number of statements on the public record supporting the people of Ukraine in their struggle for, against Russian aggression. And so, yes, people will speculate, but I know both candidates in the US Presidential Election have voiced support for Ukraine.

KIERAN GILBERT: One final question out of left field. I know you're a long way from home, but you are close to the Prime Minister. He's copped a fair bit of heat over the acquisition of that house on the central coast, not far from your home turf in Newcastle. What's your read on this? Are you concerned people might see this as him being detached from their everyday struggles?

MINISTER CONROY: Well, I think most people I talk to understand that we're fighting very hard to provide cost of living relief and to help solve the housing crisis that's occurring. People see what we do every day, including trying to get important legislation through the Senate that the Coalition and the Greens are blocking around Help to Buy, as well as our earlier legislation around Build to Rent and the Housing Australia Future Fund. So, I think people understand that the Prime Minister will make personal decisions about his situation. But at the same time, he is fighting every day, like every member of this government, to help with cost of living and to solve the housing challenges that Australians are facing. And I think people need to reflect on what the government is doing and what the government is trying to do. And I wish they'd apply a modicum of the scrutiny they've applied on this story to what the Coalition and the Greens are doing. Those two parties are actively blocking urgent assistance that will get more Australians into homes right now. And that's where the focus should be on their wrecking and blocking that's contributing to the housing crisis right now.

ENDS