Radio Interview, ABC Drive Perth

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The Hon Richard Marles MP

Deputy Prime Minister

Minister for Defence

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dpm.media@defence.gov.au

02 6277 7800

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29 January 2025

RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC DRIVE PERTH
WEDNESDAY, 29 JANUARY 2025
SUBJECTS: Oscar Jenkins; AUKUS; HMAS Stirling Priority Works; Delivering Defence Jobs in WA; Inflation.

GARY ADSHEAD: Now then, the Deputy Prime Minister, Defence Minister Richard Marles is in Western Australia. He's been making announcements in and around AUKUS and also beginning a period of public comment around the Submarine Rotational Force-West which of course will be pivotal as part of the AUKUS program. Let's have a chat now to the Deputy Prime Minister. Thanks very much for your time. 

RICHARD MARLES, DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: Good afternoon, Gary. How are you?

ADSHEAD: Yeah, good. Hot. It's hot out there, isn't it?

MARLES: It is very hot out there.

ADSHEAD: Sorry about that. Hey, just first up, I know that the Prime Minister's addressed this to a degree, but have you got any more information about the status of Oscar Jenkins? Of course, he's an Australian who it appears from the evidence has gone to fight with Ukraine against Russian forces, been captured, now sounds like he might be alive.

MARLES: Yeah, look, I don't have any more information than what was referred to by the Prime Minister. I mean, so the information that is out there is from Russia and it is that he– they have him and he is alive. But I think we do need to be mindful that this information comes from Russia. We are working with Ukraine, but also the International Red Cross to try and verify this and obviously we're in contact with his family. I think the point to be made here is this; I mean, if this is true, then firstly we would call on Russia to release him. But secondly, if this is true, as a prisoner of war, Russia is obligated under a number of international conventions in terms of how he is treated and we obviously expect Russia to comply with that. But you know, right now our focus is on verifying the truth of this information and that's our focus.

ADSHEAD: And is that best achieved by speaking to the Russian Ambassador to Australia in Canberra?

MARLES: Well, I think it's trying to independently, as best we can, verify the truth of what this information from Russia says. And it's really, I think through the International Red Cross that we are trying our best to verify this.

ADSHEAD: Okay, but his status was, I mean, you've obviously known for a while that he had gone and travelled and joined forces with Ukraine. 

MARLES: Correct.

ADSHEAD: Do you know of whether there's many Australians that have done likewise?

MARLES: Look, I'm– not many. I'm not in a position to go into the detail of all of that. Obviously though, in this case, you know, we were following his circumstances as closely as we could. As a dual citizen he is fighting in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, but he is an Australian citizen as well. And in that sense he very much engages our concern and our consular support and that's why we're doing everything within our power to verify his whereabouts. And again, there's other stuff which I can't talk about publicly where we seek to ascertain this, but our efforts are in that space, but also with the International Red Cross to verify the truth of what Russia is saying. And if it is true, well, then Russia has obligations here and we very much expect them to comply with it.

ADSHEAD: Ok. Would the Australian government consider negotiating with Russia for his release?

MARLES: Well, I don't think it's about negotiating with Russia. I think if this is true, we expect him to be released and we absolutely expect Russia to abide by its international commitments and we will hold Russia to account in respect of that.

ADSHEAD: Ok. Now let's just get on to the specific reason that you are here today. You've announced public comment period for what's known as the Submarine Rotational Force-West, which of course means a lot is happening at HMAS Stirling. You've made it open to the public to sort of– to consult and talk about this. What sort of things can they say to have sort of a role in all of this?

MARLES: Well, the first point to make here is this is obviously a very normal process with any major infrastructure project and Defence is not exempt from that. So, HMAS Stirling, as you said, it will be – well, it is right now Fleet Base West – it's the home of our submarine operations. It will become the home of the Submarine Rotational Force-West. It is slated to grow very significantly in that respect. We've committed about $8 billion worth of upgrades to HMAS Stirling over the course of a decade. I mean that is a huge amount of investment, but it's what's needed to be the case in order to be the home of the Submarine Rotational Force, but also ultimately the future home of our future submarines. Bringing that back to the practical, what we're then talking about is upgrades to wharfs and piers to accommodate different types of vessels, obviously upgrades for other critical infrastructure out on Garden Island, which is where HMAS Stirling is, opposite Rockingham. So, in a project of that kind, the environment matters. It's important that we do this right and that these infrastructure works are done in a way which is sensitive to the environment. The 10-day consultation period which begins tomorrow allows the public to raise any concerns they may have in respect of the plans that we have in place in respect of the immediate works at Garden Island. And I think the way people should see this is the environment is important and we want to– it's important in the context of how we get this done. What's really important is that we get this thing done and this is a critical step in that process.

ADSHEAD: Yeah, the timeline on it– you know, you've got to sort of tick the boxes on these things pretty early, don't you?

MARLES: Well, we've just got to do it right and we will do it right. But I think what we have got to do is make sure that we keep moving in terms of every step that needs to be taken in the development of HMAS Stirling and from that point of view, really every step that we're taking in terms of AUKUS, Australia acquiring a nuclear-powered submarine capability. This is a very, very big thing that the nation is trying to do. And so it's really important that we bring it back to every little step and that we take these steps on time and we keep moving forward. And that's what we've really been doing since we announced the Optimal Pathway in relation to the submarines back in March of 2023. This is just–  this is another step in it, but it's an important step and it will give the community an opportunity for them to ensure that how we are imagining the development of Stirling is done in a way which is sensitive to the environment there.

ADSHEAD: The Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles is my guest here on ABC 720 Drive. Can I ask you, just on that – I mean, I'm probably picking up on a point that a lot of people would not be affected by, but clearly right now, Garden Island, it's largely off limits, although you can take a private boat to certain beach areas as long as you get out of there by nightfall. Will that all change? I mean, under these security arrangements for the Island and given what it's about to go through and the process, and the sort of military hardware that's coming its way, is that all going to change?

MARLES: Well, I mean not in the immediate term. And, you know, you're right, Garden Island is a shared space right now and we are very much, in what we're doing, focused on that part of Garden Island which is being operated by the Navy and making sure that that is appropriately secure. I mean, it is that now. But you are right to say that as we move forward and this becomes the base for the Submarine Rotational Force-West, the security will need to increase. I don't think that necessarily has an implication in terms of access to other parts of Garden Island going forward. But what you can be sure of is that as we walk down this path and I want to emphasise, this raises so much opportunity for the people of Western Australia and certainly the people of Perth. I mean, this is what we are going to see in terms of defence industry, which is the combination of what we're doing at HMAS Stirling, but also what we're doing in the establishment of the Henderson Defence Precinct along the Henderson Strip, we're talking about a 10,000 person industry in the coming years. It represents the biggest diversification in the Western Australian economy in decades and it’s the single biggest defence industry offering to Western Australia since Federation. So this is a massive opportunity for the state and that's why, you know, we're working closely with the West Australian government in relation to this. But I don't think people should see this in terms of it being disruptive in the way in which Western Australians and people down in Rockingham have gone about their lives. We can make all of this work.

ADSHEAD: It's a nice place to pull up, but maybe some sacrifices might have to be made by the public. Hey, can I ask you just in terms of where this is all heading and the sort of people you're going to need to operate in this space – 

$14.6 million as an investment into this WA Defence TAFE Centre of Excellence. How's that going?

MARLES: Well again, we're really pleased to make that announcement today with Roger Cook, the Premier of Western Australia. And this is a partnership, a joint investment between both governments and obviously a partnership with South Metro TAFE, which will see the establishment of a Defence Industry Centre of Excellence within South Metro TAFE to train people and provide apprenticeships in this area. Like, when you think about what we are trying to do in WA and to create this industry with 10,000 people in it, clearly one of the things that is very manifest is a skills challenge. You know, we need to be training people to give them these opportunities. And that's why this is such an important announcement. The training piece is a really fundamental building block here. South Metro TAFE is just a fantastic organisation and we couldn't be happier with the partnership that we have with the West Australian government in putting this investment in place. And it builds on other investment that we've done–work we've done with South Metro TAFE, the Jobs for Subs that we announced earlier, or last year, I think back in October when the USS Hawaii was in town. These all should give young people, and indeed older people, a sense that this is a great industry to get into. It's an industry that will be here in Perth. It's an industry that will be predictable and that will provide lifelong jobs. And it really is, as I said earlier, it represents, I think, the biggest diversification in the West Australian economy in decades.  

ADSHEAD: Last question. Obviously, headline inflation down to 2.4% today, Deputy Prime Minister. It’s time that the RBA took the break off, isn't it?

MARLES: Well, it's not going to surprise you that I'm not going to give the Reserve Bank advice, because they don't take that well. They're independent and they'll make their own decision. But look, we obviously welcome the news in relation to the inflation number. It will be– well, it speaks to some relief for Australians. But I think the important point to make here is we understand how difficult it's been, you know, we've seen an inflationary environment around the world and what Australians have experienced has been experienced in other countries. And it's why we've been really focused since the moment that we came to power on putting in place cost of living relief. That's why we put in place a tax cut for all this time last year. It's why we focused on energy bill relief, more affordable childcare, cheaper medicines, and I could go on. But the focus of all the Budget– the three Budgets that we've done has been cost of living relief, all of our Budget statements. And yes, this has been good news today. The Reserve Bank will do what it's going to do. But what you know from this government is that we will continue to make easing the burden of cost of living front and centre in terms of our policy and our budgetary measures.

ADSHEAD: Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles, thanks very much for joining us today here on Drive.

MARLES: Thanks, Gary.

ENDS

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