Source: Australia Government Statements 2
Alex Thomas, Host: Let’s get more now by speaking to the Assistant Foreign Affairs Minister, Matt Thistlethwaite. He’s the MP for Kingsford Smith, which borders the constituency that includes Bondi, of course. Mr Thistlethwaite, thanks for your time on Sky News today. What feedback have you received from local people in your area following the announcement of that Federal Royal Commission?
Matt Thistlethwaite, Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs: Good morning, Alex. Firstly, can I just say our thoughts are with the people of Victoria today as they battle those horrendous bushfires. And I want to thank the Rural Fire Service volunteers and the paid firefighters for their incredible skill and bravery in defending people’s homes and property. The feedback that I’ve got regarding the Royal Commission from my community is that they support what the government is doing. The Royal Commission will, of course, focus on the drivers of what led up to the shocking attack at Bondi in December, but also what we can do as a government and as a country to combat antisemitism and what our government agencies can do as well. And we appointed Virginia Bell, a very distinguished former High Court Justice, that will provide that platform over the course of this year for people to tell their stories, which is very, very important for the Jewish community, but also for the nation to come together and work out what we need to do to make sure this never happens on Australian soil again.
Thomas: There still seems to be some unrest. Anthony Albanese has received criticism for saying he called this Commission in record time, and also reports that there’s unrest within the Labor Party itself about the terms of reference. Have you been having any conversations with colleagues that might be not fully behind this?
Assistant Minister: I’ve certainly had conversations with colleagues, and I can tell you there is no unrest. There’s complete agreement and complete support for the Prime Minister’s approach and the calling of the Royal Commission, and indeed the terms of reference. The focus of the Royal Commission will be on combating antisemitism, making sure that Bondi never happens again, and putting in place measures so that our border officials, our immigration officials, can look and have the tools to make sure that they can combat antisemitism in the work that they do as well. The Prime Minister has consulted widely about this, but particularly with the Jewish community. Now, I’ve been in a few of those meetings with the Prime Minister and leaders of the Jewish community where we’ve heard their concerns, and we acted as quickly as we possibly could.
Thomas: Can I get you to put your Assistant Foreign Affairs hat on for a little bit, because there’s been so much news out of the United States, particularly in the last week or so, and we know that Donald Trump in the last hour has been meeting American oil executives to discuss what to do in Venezuela following their invasion there. And we have found out that they seized another oil tanker as well, despite a ruling that he must seek approval from Congress before any more attacks. Are you concerned with what appears to be the sidestepping of international law at the moment?
Assistant Minister: Well, we’ve had concerns for a long time about the situation in Venezuela. And Penny Wong, the Foreign Minister, has expressed that. We’ve always said that the democratic will of the Venezuelan people is what the priority needs to be. And upholding the rule of law and ensuring that the will of the Venezuelan people is done is what’s most important. Australia is a nation that has always supported democracy and upholding the rule of law. And that’s why this week the Prime Minister urged an ongoing dialogue and a peaceful resolution to this issue. So, we want to see international law upheld and the will of the Venezuelan people done.
Thomas: And presumably you’ll be closely following this meeting scheduled for next week between Denmark, Greenland and the US, the Secretary of State Marco Rubio revealing that he had set up those discussions. It seems like America has rowed back a bit on the rhetoric about forcibly taking control of Greenland and offering to buy it. What are you hoping comes out of that meeting?
Assistant Minister: Yeah, I think the world will be certainly closely monitoring this important meeting. Again, our principle is that international law and democratic principles have to be upheld. So, the people of Greenland and the people of Denmark and the Danish government obviously are crucial in this. But it’s important that there’s a dialogue occurring, and we’ll closely monitor what the outcomes of that meeting are.
Thomas: Minister, you started off this interview quite rightly by saying your thoughts are with the people of Victoria affected by those catastrophic bushfires and of course all the emergency service workers who are caught up in trying to save property and save lives. We’re concerned about the extreme heat here in NSW today. What message have you got for anyone watching?
Assistant Minister: Yeah, it’s quite hot here. I went down to Maroubra Beach this morning, as I normally do, and had my Saturday morning surf, and the winds got up quite strongly. There’s a big Ironman event on at Maroubra today and they actually brought that forward, so they started it quite early this morning to avoid the heat. So, that was an example of an extreme heat protocol for that particular sport kicking in, and they moved the start time. Obviously, a lot of sporting events and other events have been cancelled. I guess that the advice today is to stay indoors as much as possible, remain cool as much as possible, and avoid the heat. And of course, follow the instructions of our emergency services. You saw the footage of the Prime Minister visiting the National Emergency Management Centre this morning in Canberra. Our government is closely monitoring the situation. The Minister, Kristy McBain, has been out on the ground. We’re not only monitoring bushfires in the south, but we’re also monitoring a potential cyclone in the north. And welcome to an Australian summer.
Thomas: Yeah, absolutely. It’s nice when it’s early, but if it’s going to get into the 40s, that’s going to cause problems for a lot of people. We appreciate your time, though. That’s Matt Thistlethwaite, the Assistant Foreign Affairs Minister.
Assistant Minister: Thanks Alex.