HOST: What was your impression of the situation in Afghanistan?
PM: Well, my impression was that our troops are making progress there. It is very, very tough. It is tough terrain. It is difficult work but they are training the Afghan National Army and they are making progress and of course our aid workers and our Australian Federal Police are making progress too, progress in health and education, in aid work and also progress in training Afghan police.
HOST: When you meet the NATO secretary-general here in Brussels, what will you be telling him about Australia's commitment to Afghanistan? Is it open ended?
PM: I will be telling him that we are very clear on what our mission is - training the Afghan National Army, training the 4th Brigade of that army. We are very clear as a result that we will be there to do that job. The best advice to me from the Chief of the Defence Force is that job is likely to take between two to four years but we are making progress and then we will transition so that leadership goes to the Afghan National Army.
This will not be a day, it won't be transition day. It will be a process where increasingly Afghan forces take the lead in providing security.
HOST: You assured one of the soldiers you met in Uruzgan that your Government deals urgently with requests for increased resources. Have you actually asked the chief of defence what his needs are at this point?
PM: Absolutely. I have had that conversation with the Chief of our Defence Force consistently. I had it with him in Afghanistan as we toured there together and the constant advice to me from the Chief of the Defence Force and this was confirmed by commanders on the ground in Afghanistan is that they have the equipment that they need.
Of course the Government invested an extra $1.1 billion in equipment to better protect our forces. We will act on advice if the Chief of the Defence Force says more equipment is necessary then of course, we will deal with that urgently but I should note that some of the things that have been dealt with in the media in Australia recently have not been dealing with matters that are of real concern in Afghanistan.
There has been a debate in the media about the need for tanks to be in Afghanistan. Now when I was there from the most senior general to the soldiers I met on the ground, everyone was guffawing at how ridiculous that was. You may as well send them a submarine.
So we really need to work on the best of professional advice here and that comes to the government from the Chief of the Defence Force.
HOST: Do they need helicopters?
PM: Well, there are helicopters. Obviously in Afghanistan and we do need access to attack helicopters. That has been provided through the Dutch and obviously we will look to that capability continuing to be provided as the Dutch withdraw from that active combat.
HOST: So that will then be provided by the Australians? By the Australian Government?
PM: We are working in coalition. Particularly in coalition with American forces and so we look at equipment and capabilities across the coalition forces including sourcing particularly air support from American forces.
HOST: So Australia won't be paying for it, Americans will be?
PM: The attack helicopter capability in Afghanistan at the moment is being provided by the Dutch. We would envisage that there would be a transition but it would be the Americans who are taking the main lead in providing air support.
HOST: Now John Howard didn't think it necessary to join this particular summit. Why do you, on the other hand, think the Asia-Europe meeting is important for Australia?
PM: We've pressed to join this meeting for some time because it brings together so many world leaders and so many of our major trading partners. We obviously trade substantially in our own region, in Asia. We also have substantial trade into Europe. It is therefore in our interest to come here, to be speaking to our trading partners, to be pressing them on questions like the Doha round and free trade and of course for us trade equals jobs.
HOST: Will you be meeting the Chinese premier while you are here?
PM: Look, we are still working obviously on final details of the program. I am obviously looking to have the opportunity to meet as many people as possible within the constraints that this is a two days in Brussels and obviously there are a large number of leaders here.
HOST: How concerned are you about the rising tensions between the US and China over Beijing's insistence on keeping its currency pegged?
PM: Well, look these are issues obviously. I can understand the United States pressing. I think for Australia what we do is we pushed hard to create the G20. That does bring the US and China to the same table talking firstly but not only about economic questions so it is the right place to have this kind of dialogue.
HOST: The US House of Representatives passed a bill last week allowing Washington to impose duties on Chinese imports because of its currency undervaluation. Was that a wise move in your mind?
PM: Look, I am not going to purport to tell those who legislate laws in the US what they should be doing. Just they will make their decision. What I would say more broadly is I think it is very important that the world doesn't succumb to a new round of protectionism. I don't think that that is the way forward. Certainly as a big trading nation, I think it is in our interest to be pressing to keep global markets as open as possible.
HOST: You had intended to meet Prime Minister David Cameron in the UK on this trip. What had you hoped to discuss with him or have I got that wrong?
PM: The intention really was to come here to Brussels and my understanding is Prime Minister Cameron won't be here. The United Kingdom will be represented by Deputy Prime Minister Clegg.
HOST: And will you be meeting with him?
PM: Yes, I will be seeing him during the course of the two days here.
HOST: It might be a good chance to get some tips on managing relationships in a minority government.
PM: It may be, but let me tell you as I meet with world leaders here and the discussions I've had on the telephone with a number, minority governments are quite a common experience.
We can talk about the Dutch, we can talk about a wide range of people who are striving in minority governments or to create them.
HOST: Something else you and David Cameron have in common is a stirring media interest in parliamentary expenses. Your government received a report on MP entitlements earlier this year. Do you intend to release that publicly?
PM: That is the Belcher Review and it will be released in the future. Yes, it is our intention to release it publicly and the Government's response to it.
HOST: Do you agree with the head of the Finance Department that there is a public expectation that the Government will introduce further reforms particularly in relation to travel for retired MPs and overseas study travel?
PM: What I would say is I understand that the community wants to make sure that there is transparency about Parliamentarians' entitlements. That is appropriate but people do also want to make sure that if they go to see their MP that they are in an office where there are staff that can help them so that people's concerns can be dealt with. So we have got to get the balance right here.
HOST: Julia Gillard, thank you very much for your time.
PM: Thank you.