PM: Osama bin Laden declared war on innocent people and today he has paid the price for that declaration. Osama bin Laden was directly responsible for despicable acts of violence against innocent people and he inspired acts of violence by others.
Today of all days we remember the lives lost, particularly the lives of Australians. We remember the 10 Australians who lost their lives on 11 September 2001. We remember the 88 Australians who lost their lives in Bali in October 2002. We remember the 5 Australians who in 2005 lost their lives in London and Bali, and we remember as well the 2 Australians who lost their lives in Mumbai in November 2008.
These Australians died in acts of violence. They died alongside people of many other nationalities and many other faiths. Their families still grieve their loss. We, as a nation, still remember their loss and we remember it today.
I trust that today's news comes as some small measure of justice for those who still grieve the loss of their loved ones.
Just as people in Australia and around the world will always remember where they were when they first heard the news of 9/11, and just as we Australians will always remember where we were when we first heard the news of the Bali bombing, I believe each of us will always remember where we were when we heard of the death of Osama bin Laden.
I welcome the death of Osama bin Laden. I welcome this news, and I thank President Obama and the US forces who have made this possible, and I also take this opportunity to thank Pakistan for working with them on ensuring that Osama bin Laden was brought to justice in this way.
Can I say, too, about the death of Osama bin Laden, that whilst al Qaeda has been hurt today, al Qaeda is not finished. Our war against terrorism must continue. We continue to be engaged in Afghanistan so that that country does not again become a haven for terrorists. That work will need to continue. That work has already cost Australian lives, but that work is vital and we will continue the mission in Afghanistan. That's a mission I had the opportunity to talk to President Obama about when I visited Washington.
In addition to considering the continuation of our work in Afghanistan, we do, as a country, need to make continuing preparations against acts of terrorism, the kind of security work we do as a country. We must continue to do that work.
I think it's very important that Australians do not succumb to the impression that with Osama bin Laden gone that al Qaeda is gone. Its leader is gone, but al Qaeda still poses dangers for Australians and we will continue to make proper preparations in the face of those dangers.
I've the opportunity today, through the National Security Committee, to take advice from relevant agencies about the implications of Osama bin Laden's death. One of those implications that I want to draw people's attention to is we have updated the general travel advisories issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
People may have already seen on the television that the US Government has issued a worldwide travel alert. Our Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has advised all embassies and consulates of the need for security awareness following the death of Osama bin Laden, and we are advising Australians in areas likely to be affected by gatherings outside hotels, gatherings and demonstrations, to exercise enhanced vigilance regarding their personal security.
They should continue to monitor the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website for further information, and of course we always strongly recommend that Australian travellers register with the Department's website.
Can I conclude by saying that every Australian was touched and affected by acts of terror by al Qaeda; by the losses we saw in Bali; by the losses we saw in New York; by the losses of Australian lives we saw in other parts of the world.
Consequently, I believe every Australian will be touched by this news today. They will think about its implications. They will remember the grief of their fellow Australians. They will spare some time to think about them today, but they will also reflect on the fact that justice has been done.
I'm happy to take questions.
JOURNALIST: What level of information did you and the Government get on today's operation? Were you briefed on anything when you were in the U.S recently? Did you have any information in recent days, and have you spoken to President Obama today?
PM: I haven't spoken to President Obama. I have spoken to the American Ambassador to Australia, Jeffrey Bleich, and discussed with him the implications of Osama bin Laden's death, and I've also conveyed to him my congratulations on the work of US military forces in this matter.
Ambassador Bleich took the opportunity to thank me for Australia continuing to be a steadfast ally of the United States of America, and of course we will need to continue the mission in Afghanistan. The fight against terrorism is not over.
On, you know, being advised, I was advised a little bit earlier today in the course of a Cabinet committee meeting, I was in the Cabinet room, that President Obama was shortly to make a statement in relation to Osama bin Laden.
Yes, Andrew?
JOURNALIST: What foreknowledge, if any, did Australian agencies, intelligence agencies included, have of operations against Osama bin Laden in the context of the US President today saying that information started trickling through as long ago as August?
PM: Look, we never comment on intelligence matters and I'm not going to break from that convention today.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, could I ask you to elaborate on that travel warning? You're not, it's not a general travel warning like the US, is it just (inaudible) specific cities where there may be-
PM: -Sorry, let me be clear about this. We are really asking people to just be more careful about their personal security.
We anticipate that there may be mass gatherings and demonstrations in some locations. We are obviously warning people not to become caught up, swept up, in those mass gatherings and demonstrations, so we are asking them to be careful in relation to their security if they're in a country where such mass gatherings are likely. We haven't nominated individual countries, but we will as, you know, any more information comes to hand, continue to update the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade travel advisory website.
We'll go to Phil and then come across.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, is there any concern about security within Australia? You've talked about travelling overseas. Any concern within Australia?
PM: We have not upgraded security alerts in Australia but we always take a prudent approach and proper precautions in relation to the potential for terrorist activity in Australia. Nothing has changed in relation to that. I want to be very clear about that - nothing has changed. We have not upgraded any security warnings, so nothing's changed but we work consistently with our intelligence professionals, our counter-terrorism professionals, our security professionals, including the police, to make as prudent preparations as we can against any risks.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, you say that the mission will continue in Afghanistan. Does the death of Osama bin Laden make that mission easier or more difficult?
PM: Well, I think what we'd see in Afghanistan is we've seen the leader of al Qaeda obviously brought to an end. Al Qaeda will continue, so circumstances in Afghanistan continue to be difficult for our soldiers who work there.
As I've had cause to say to you in the past, this is a very hard fight, very difficult fight, and we are moving again to what is tragically known as the fighting season. So, that will continue to be a difficult fight.
Al Qaeda has been hurt today but it would be far too early to make conclusions about what that might mean for the nature of the fight in Afghanistan. It will continue to be a difficult place for our soldiers to go and do their vital work. We've lost soldiers there. We've tragically lost lives. We've seen soldiers injured. It's a hard place, hard place to go and fight and that fight will need to continue.
Yes, I'll go to Mark.
JOURNALIST: Victories in the war on terrorism have been few and far between. Would you describe this as a critical morale victory and important in that sense?
PM: This is a very important day, which is why I think people will remember where they were when they heard the news. I think people remember where they were when they heard of the despicable acts of violence against civilians that Osama bin Laden wrought or inspired. People remember where they were on 9/11. People remember where they were when they first heard of the Bali bombing, when we knew Australians had been killed in such large numbers along with Indonesians and people of many other nationalities, people just out for a good night in Bali, a rite of passage of so many young people and we saw such despicable violence against them. I think as we remember those events we will remember where we were the day we heard this news.
This is important news. It is important news for those who sought some justice for the loved ones that they lost. It's also important news in the war on terrorism, as we've seen the leader of al Qaeda brought to an end.
But I do also want to be very clear - the death of Osama bin Laden is not the end of al Qaeda. That is why here in Australia we will continue to do what we need to do to keep the nation as safe as we can from threats of terrorism. We will continue to provide Australians overseas with our best possible advice, and of course we've added to that advice today and we will continue the very vital work we're doing in our mission in Afghanistan.
JOURNALIST: Did Australian authorities or Australians embedded in other intelligence agencies or elsewhere play any role in the operation that saw Osama bin Laden killed?
PM: I'm not going to comment about intelligence agencies in any way, shape or form.
JOURNALIST: Could you just, Prime Minister, explain the process by which your Government was informed of his death? Who came to advise you? Who made the call? Was the call made from the US embassy to your office that the President was about to announce something, or were you-
PM: -Our agencies were advised and then they advised my office and my office advised me as I sat in a Cabinet committee meeting.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible) US agencies, or?
PM: They heard directly from their US counterparts.
JOURNALIST: What about the safety of our troops in Afghanistan? Is there an upgraded alert for our troops there at risk of any retaliation attacks because of this?
PM: Well, for our troops in Afghanistan each and every day they work in a harsh and difficult environment and a very dangerous environment, so everything they do every day to keep themselves safe in that environment they will continue to do.
It's a hard fight and that hard fight does need to continue. We are moving to what is called the fighting season. It is always a more dangerous phase of operations in Afghanistan, but they make proper, professional, comprehensive preparations to do what they do every day in Afghanistan, and tomorrow will be no different.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)
PM: I don't think we can, standing here today, make every comprehensive judgement about what this means for the fight in Afghanistan or more broadly, but what I can certainly say to you is the mission in Afghanistan needs to continue, and our soldiers will continue it with all of the professionalism and world-class fighting ability that they are famous for.
Thank you.