PM: [audio break] in my discussions with Prime Minister Kan at the time that we were ringing and offering assistance - you know, we sent the search and rescue team, we sent our C-17s over to help - I was saying to Prime Minister Kan then that he should be optimistic about the ability of the Japanese people to work their way through this, and I will be interested to see when I'm there in Japan the nature of the rebuilding efforts.
HOST: Will you offer more help from Australia?
PM: Well, certainly Prime Minister Kan has got a standing invitation from me as Prime Minister of Australia that if there's anything that they need that we can supply, to just ask. We have contributed to the relief efforts in cash, made a cash donation, as well as having our search and rescue team there and our C-17s up there. We've got three C-17's and they all went to help the people of Japan at the time with heavy lift aircraft capacity.
So, I believe Japan will continue to play its very important role in the region, but this is a huge natural disaster and I think it's a good time for me to be there and to be able to take the best wishes of the Australian people with me.
HOST: You'll be in South Korea for Anzac Day. There's been a lot of tension in the last 12 months on the Korean Peninsula, in particular threats of nuclear strikes and the like and military exercises as well. What assurances can you give South Korea about Australia's support and possible involvement in the event of armed conflict?
PM: As we've seen that aggression from North Korea, on each and every occasion we have made it clear that Australia views North Korea's conduct as unacceptable, that we want to see security on the Korean Peninsula, and that South Korea has our support as it deals with this insecurity.
I will take the opportunity when I am in South Korea to be briefed on the most recent situation there. This, of course, does worry us and it's very, very pressing for President Lee and his people in South Korea, so I will be pursuing dialogue on these security questions.
We do, of course, have military links with South Korea as part of what is a warm friendship, a strong economic relationship, and the sort of friendship that two middle power can have who work together in various forums, including the G20, the East Asia Summit and APEC.
HOST: But if it did come to conflict, would Australia be prepared to assist?
PM: Well, these aren't the kind of things that you do hypotheticals about, but certainly South Korea is aware of Australia's support. We have constantly expressed it.
HOST: Moving to China, which will arguably be the most important leg of this North Asia visit, Kevin Rudd's first visit to China as Prime Minister, he gave a speech in Mandarin at Beijing University, Peking University, where he publically lectured students on the sensitive, very sensitive issue of Tibet and spoke about human rights. Now, you don't speak Mandarin, but will you be delivering a similar sort of message when you're in China?
PM: I'm looking forward to discussions across the breadth of our relationship with China. We have a comprehensive relationship, a constructive engagement, and as Prime Minister on my first trip to China I want to add to that constructive engagement.
Of course, we raise human rights with China regularly. I raised it myself personally as recently as the visit of Mr Jia, one of the senior Communist Party officials who was here in the last few week, so it will be something that I raise whilst I'm there, certainly will raise human rights-
HOST: -But with the leadership? With the Premier and the President?
PM: Certainly, we'll be raising them in my discussions. I will be meeting President Hu and with Premier Wen, and I will be raising human rights as we talk through the breadth of our relationship.
HOST: Specifically, will you talk about the recent crackdown, which is one of the biggest crackdowns we've seen from China in recent decades on dissidents. Will you be expressing Australia's concern about that?
PM: I raised some events with Mr Jia when he was here, and I'll take the same perspective into my discussions in China itself, and when I spoke to Mr Jia when he was here I certainly said we did not want to see China taking backwards steps on human rights.
HOST: On climate change, China is doing a fair bit, investing a lot in clean energy, but not pricing carbon yet. What will you be seeking from China in terms of an assurance that if we price carbon in Australia, if we introduce a carbon tax, our industries won't be on unequal footing to their competitors in China?
PM: We need to price carbon here in Australia because it's in our national interest. This is the prism through which I'm making the decision about pricing carbon here. We have a high-emissions economy. The world is moving. Change is happening. It's not happening in one form in every corner of the world. It's happening in different ways in different countries, which is to be expected, but change is happening.
So, as the world moves to a cleaner energy setting, a cleaner energy future, we can't afford to be stranded with a high emissions economy. That's why I believe we must price carbon, get a-
HOST: -But China isn't pricing carbon yet. That's the point.
PM: But China is acting. China is acting on climate change and they've set very ambitious goals for reducing the amount of carbon pollution per unit of GDP.
HOST: Not as ambitious as our goals, and they're not pricing carbon, which the steel makers here make the very valid point, don't they, that if we price carbon they'll be at a disadvantage?
PM: Well, I think let's be a little bit clear about all elements of this debate here. There are bipartisan targets for cutting carbon pollution in this country. I've signed up to them and so has Tony Abbott - that is the unconditional target, particularly, of -5 per cent by 2020.
I say, let's get that done, and so does Mr Abbott, so let's get that done. So, we're not looking to China for a lead on whether or not there should be a commitment to that reduction for carbon pollution in our country-
HOST: -But there are two different ways of getting to that target-
PM: -Well, I was just about to yes, there are. There are a number of different ways of getting to that target, and the question in this country is do we choose the one we know is going to be the cheapest, and if you want the cheapest one that's pricing carbon.
So, in terms of making decisions for our nation, we've got a bipartisan commitment to reducing carbon pollution. The question then becomes how do you do it? Do you do it the cheapest way - by putting a price on carbon - or do it Mr Abbott's expensive way and ask taxpayers to pay more tax, $720 a year, so that he can fund it.
HOST: He [audio break] but it gets back to the question, though-
PM: -It's straight maths. It's not capable of being disputed.
Then, in China, of course they are acting in a range of ways to create a cleaner energy future-
HOST: -But not pricing carbon-
PM: -and of course, on my trip I will be keen to understand that range of ways.
Then, on the jobs questions, the steel industry in this country is under pressure. I understand that. It's not about pricing carbon in the future. It's about pressures now - high Australian dollar and the like, and I've said we're very happy to work with the steel industry, given the pressures it faces right now, not to do with pricing carbon.
Then, as we price carbon, of course we'll be working with Australian businesses to assist them in the transition and to protect Australian jobs-
HOST: -Will you consider an exemption for steel, given those particular pressures you talk about?
PM: We'll work through our business roundtable to look at the right ways of assisting industries and steel will be at the table, it is at the table, and participating in those discussions, but we've got to be clear about what is the impact of pricing carbon, as opposed to pressures that the steel industry is facing today and will face in 12 months' time, 2 years' time, whether or not we price carbon.
HOST: But getting back to that question, if we price carbon and China does not, our steel makers and other heavy-emitting industries are at a disadvantage.
PM: Well, we will get the design of the scheme right here, so you are talking about what's called in the carbon pricing world emissions-intensive trade-exposed industries, and the very reason you make special arrangements for them, the very reason we've got them participating in a business roundtable, is to make the right arrangement so that they can continue to sell their product to the world and we can continue to have the benefit of Australian jobs-
HOST: -They will be protected? They won't be worse off.
PM: Of course, we're working through the business roundtable to get these arrangements right, but can I just take a step back here - we are a Government that prizes jobs. We've created 750,000 of them since 2007. Of course I want Australians to have jobs, to have good-quality jobs, and so much of the reform agenda we're driving is about fair access to opportunity, a good education, a great chance at life, and that great chance comes by getting a good job.
HOST: So this-
PM: -So, in designing this scheme we are of course going to work with industry to protect Australian jobs, but the other jobs dynamic here is the clean energy jobs that come, and let's just be a little bit clear about where we are in our economy and with jobs creation.
I know it's easy for Mr Abbott and others to raise fear, but you open up your newspapers each morning and there's fear mongering about carbon pricing, then out in the big, wide world there's BHP - project worth more than $40 billion coming on stream, joining the likes of Gorgon and other projects, huge investments creating jobs.
I was in a coal-fired power station within the last few weeks. It's going to have solar boost technology, less carbon pollution, jobs in construction, jobs locally in manufacturing the solar technology that's going into that power station.
These are the opportunities that will be accelerated by pricing carbon.
HOST: A final question - you finish this visit in London for the Royal wedding. Tony Abbott did have a crack at you a while ago, saying that you're a Republican, you're an atheist and you're unmarried, why therefore are you going to the Royal wedding. For the record, are you in favour of the monarchy, marriage and protecting this relationship?
PM: Oh, look, I'm used to Tony Abbott taking some cheap shots, so I'm sure we'll see more of that. I'm going to the Royal wedding to represent this country and in representing this country I'll take the opportunity to share the delight for the celebration of two young people who are obviously very much in love.
At some point, this country will make a decision about its future as a Republic. I think that will happen at some time, that we will make that decision to become a Republic, but to date Australians have expressed their view and we haven't had a Republic proposal accepted, so I'm there as Prime Minister, representing this country under the constitutional arrangements Australians have wanted to keep and enjoying what I think will be a fine celebration.
HOST: Well, Prime Minister, good luck with the trip. Thanks for your time.
PM: Thank you very much.