PM Transcripts

Transcripts from the Prime Ministers of Australia

Gillard, Julia

Period of Service: 24/06/2010 - 27/06/2013
Release Date:
03/05/2011
Release Type:
Interview
Transcript ID:
17830
Released by:
  • Gillard, Julia
Transcript of interview with Samantha Donovan

HOST: Prime Minister, the US counter terrorism adviser John Brennan has said it's inconceivable that bin Laden didn't have some sort of support within Pakistan. How concerned are you that the Pakistani army or intelligence service may have been giving that support?

PM: President Obama's words yesterday was that he thanked Pakistan for the assistance that helped lead the Americans to where Osama bin Laden was.So, we've got to remember that there has been counter-terrorism cooperation here and we do cooperate with the government of Pakistan in counter terrorism. We've got a memorandum of understanding and we will continue to do that - to work with the government of Pakistan to fight terrorism.HOST: But for John Brennan and Carl Levin to raise concerns, that must concern you somewhat. Does the Australian Government seek answers from Pakistan or do you wait to hear from Washington tells you?PM: Well, the reference there was to a support system in Pakistan and it's just simple, common sense, I think, that it would have been impossible for bin Laden to be there, in a compound, without some support system that was getting him the necessities of life, but we need to remember Secretary Clinton, President Obama have said that they will continue to cooperate with Pakistan in fighting terrorism, as will we.HOST: Will you be seeking answers, though, from Washington, or perhaps has the Foreign Minister, Mr Rudd had a briefing over night?PM: The Foreign Minister is in Washington and has seen Secretary Clinton, and of course will continue to collaborate with the United States of America, as we do on security matters generally.HOST: Given the concerns being raised about Pakistan, where does that leave the situation for Australian troops in Afghanistan? Are you more concerned about their position now?PM: Well, for our troops in Afghanistan we've got to see our mission through. Afghanistan is a dangerous place and we know from the death toll we've already experienced that this is a hard fight, a dangerous fight, and some very brave soldiers have lost their lives in this fight. We do need to see this mission through, though. The death of Osama bin Laden is not the death of al Qaeda.We're in Afghanistan to make sure that it never again becomes a safe haven for terrorists, a place where they can go and train and plan violent attacks. We need to see that mission through.HOST: What have you been told about the possibility of revenge attacks in countries, for example, like Indonesia?PM: Well, we've got no specific intelligence warnings at this point, no specific information. Obviously there is speculation here and indeed around the world that there may be revenge attacks.What I would say to Australians overseas is do not get swept up in any demonstrations or, you know, meetings of people in countries overseas protesting the death of Osama bin Laden. Do not engage in any of that, don't get swept up in it, don't go and have a look at it. That is not a safe place to be. Exercise common sense about your personal security.For all of us here in Australia, our terrorist alert system remains at the same warning level and our government agencies continue what they do all day, every day to be vigilant about the prospects of a terrorist attack.HOST: On the travel advisories, are we likely to see any issued for specific countries?PM: What we've got on the travel advisory now is a global warning in the terms that I've just described to you. People who are travelling should always get on the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website, they should look at the travel warnings in the broad and for the countries they're intending to go to and they should also register. That is a smart thing to do any day that you are going to travel. It enables us to get information to people when they are travelling.To give you one example, it was very important in assisting us to locate people in Japan following the earthquake and tsunami. So, our message every day, including today, is if you are travelling overseas please register.HOST: On the domestic front, the latest Newspoll is showing that job satisfaction of Tony Abbott is up 6 per cent. Did his tour of the country last week while you were overseas contribute to that bounce in the poll?PM: I'm going to disappoint you. I don't speculate on polls. If I took to speculating on polls I'd get very little else done given the number of polls that we see.I've got a lot of hard work to do as Prime Minister. We've got a lot of hard work to do as a Government and we'll get on with doing that work.HOST: The Budget next week, do you expect that that will have implications for the polls as well?PM: It'll have implications for the nation and that's what my eyes are on - the future of this country. We've got to keep our economy strong and we've got to make sure that we are spreading opportunity to Australians.I don't want there to be individuals in this country that miss out on the benefit of this resources boom, who feel left behind. That's why I've been very passionate and determined to make sure people get the benefits of a great education system and people get the benefits of work. That's why we're so proud we've created 750,000 jobs in this country and we've got to keep the economy strong because there's nothing more important to a family than having breadwinners who are bringing pay packets back home.HOST: Prime Minister, thank you.PM: Thank you.

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