Radio Interview, ABC Pacific Beat

SUBJECTS: Vanuatu Earthquake.

AGNES TUPOU, HOST: As we continue our coverage of the 7.3 earthquake in Vanuatu, recovery efforts continue also and Australia is sending through urgent aid. Earthquake relief teams have been deployed, including teams of firefighters, paramedics, volunteer engineers, canine handlers and doctors. So, for more on how Australia is assisting, I am joined now by Australia's Defence Minister, Matt Keogh. With that, I say welcome to the show, Minister.

MINISTER FOR VETERANS’ AFFAIRS AND DEFENCE PERSONNEL, MATT KEOGH: Thank you very much. It's great to be with you, Aggie.

TUPOU: Yeah, appreciate your time this morning. Well, look, Minister, what assistance has arrived in Vanuatu already from Australia?

MINISTER KEOGH: Well, Aggie, can I also just say, you know, extend our condolences to all the people of Vanuatu and people who've been affected. It's been a real, real tragic series of events, not just with the first earthquake, but a series of aftershocks that have followed it. And of course, Australia stands in complete solidarity with the people of Vanuatu and it's why we've sent this first lot of aid and assistance in response to the request from the government of Vanuatu. So, what we've provided, these people landed on the ground with yesterday, is a disaster assistance response team. And as you mentioned, there's two dogs along as part of that team. There's 64 people in that team. We also provided a medical assistance team. There's six people there. There is Australian Federal Police. Nine of those have been sent across to work together with the Vanuatu Police Force and they join a number of Australian Federal Police that were already in Vanuatu before this earthquake, working with the Vanuatu police there. And we've also provided some Defence and Foreign Affairs officials to go across to work as part of the crisis response team and someone to work as part of national emergency management, coordination and liaison. So, those teams went into Vanuatu yesterday and they're assisting with things like search and rescue. We've seen a number of significant buildings in the central areas of Port Vila collapse. And so there's some significant work there in terms of search and rescue that needs to be undertaken. But we've also seen impact on the hospital providing medical assistance. We've seen the report of about 14 casualties from the Red Cross, but also there's been several hundred people that have needed medical assistance. So, making sure we're able to be there to provide that additional medical help to support the hospital team, to support the Red Cross has been really important.

TUPOU: Yeah. Minister, are you aware of the conditions, though, that Australia's aid personnel are really facing on the ground?

MINISTER KEOGH: So, certainly it's a pretty difficult situation on the ground. We know, for example, you know, power has been intermittent since the earthquake but is being restored. We know there's been difficulty with water supply, concerns about contamination and water. And the advice to people in Vanuatu has been to boil water before using it. We know that a range of critical pieces of infrastructure across the country have been affected. As I mentioned, the hospital, for example, itself was damaged and that's impacted on its capacity to be able to provide assistance. And so the barracks has also been set up as a medical response facility to continue to provide that support to people in Vanuatu. So, they are constrained conditions, as you would expect, when you have a big natural disaster like this. It means that it is a difficult set of situations to engage with. And that's why it's so important we provide those people on the ground to get about that work, that search and rescue and that medical assistance.

TUPOU: Yeah, yeah. As you say, as difficult as the situation is, I'd like to know then, from one government to another, Vanuatu, have they mentioned anything to the Australian Government about really what the key areas of concern is regarding aid?

MINISTER KEOGH: Certainly they have. And we had very prompt and direct engagement with the Government of Vanuatu as soon as the earthquake occurred. Engaging with both our High Commission in Vanuatu directly, as well as Ministers from the Australian and Vanuatu governments, speaking with each other and engaging. And they've been very clear about the need for the search and rescue assistance and the medical assistance, as well as some work that needs to happen around getting the airport reopened to commercial flights. At the moment, the airport is operational for emergency flights, but we do want to see, and the government wants to see that reopen to commercial flights as soon as possible to assist with people. You know, there's many tourists in Vanuatu that really need to get home because if they don't need to be there, that obviously helps the tourists, but it really takes some of the pressure off in Vanuatu itself as well. So, that work is another piece of work that's occurring. The runway itself is serviceable, but we need to get things like air traffic control and baggage handling and so forth back up and running at the airport.

TUPOU: And we know the assistance is not just for today and for tomorrow, even for the rest of this week, it looks like it'll be across the next few weeks. So, what further assistance will Australia be able to provide?

MINISTER KEOGH: Unfortunately, that is the case. This is going to be a situation where the need for assistance is not just going to be for a day or for a week. It's going to take some time. And Australia stands with the people of Vanuatu. The teams that were sent in yesterday are just the first step of meeting that immediate need and that request from the Government of Vanuatu, but also to get those eyes on the ground, to make those proper assessments of what is needed and how that should be planned out. And then we can respond to further requests about what sort of assistance we can provide in the medium term and ongoing to support the Government and the people of Vanuatu. This has been a significant earthquake with aftershocks. We are concerned about any other weather events that could occur as well that would add even more pressure. And it's really great to see the work and cooperation that's happening not just between Australia and Vanuatu, but also France, New Zealand, other countries coordinating together to provide the assessment and the assistance on the ground.

TUPOU: Yeah, we were just told in the previous interview that there was another earthquake sitting at about 5.2. So, with provisions coming through from Australia, will Australia be able to provide financial assistance, though, to Vanuatu? And I don't know if the question is, how much?

MINISTER KEOGH: Well, we haven't received that particular request from them as yet. We've been focused and what the Government of Vanuatu has asked for in its request has been very much focused on the practical getting people from Australia who can assist with that search and rescue, with that medical assistance, with that assessment of what needs to come next, what further work is required. As I mentioned before, things like power, water, communication, vitally important. They've sort of got the voice phone network up and running again, but data is very limited. People are relying on Starlink, but they don't have mobile phone data, which, of course, when communications is hampered, it makes it quite difficult to assess and report back what's going on on the ground. And so getting that back up and running, getting the airport reopened to commercial flights, they're all going to be the key priorities over the next few days. And unfortunately, you know, as we undertake these search and rescue operations. We expect that there may well be more casualties. Certainly there'll be many more people that have been injured and require medical treatment. And focusing on those needs in the immediate aftermath is going to be critically important. We'll continue to engage, and part of the teams that we've sent across are about that coordination effort and assessment so that we can then assess what needs to come next, working with the Vanuatu Government and our partner countries across the Pacific family to provide whatever that additional support is.

TUPOU: And can I just ask, as we wrap up, Minister, for those who are tuning in from Vanuatu, what would be your message for them during this time

MINISTER KEOGH: My key message from Australia to the people of Vanuatu is that we are so deeply sorry to see this tragedy occur and that we stand in solidarity with you to provide the assistance that you need to make sure that everyone can be safe and that we can get the people of Vanuatu and the country of Vanuatu back up and running again as soon as possible to provide that support. That's what Australia is there to do for its Pacific family, including the people of Vanuatu.

TUPOU: Well, we thank you for your time this morning, Minister. Really appreciate it.

MINISTER KEOGH: Thank you. It's been great to be with you.

TUPOU: Yeah. That is Australia's Defence Minister, Matt Keogh, here on Pacific Beat.

ENDS