PRIME MINISTER:
It's good to be here at the United Nations for today's Security Council session on foreign fighters. As President Obama made clear, it's not often that they have a leader-level Security Council meeting.
I was happy to accept the President's exhortation to attend, because this is a very important domestic issue, as well as being a critically important international issue.
I've said often that a free and peaceful and democratic people shrinks from reaching out to a conflict thousands of miles away, but that conflict – as we have seen twice in the last week or so – is reaching out to Australia.
We have exhortations coming from Australian operatives in Syria and in Iraq to their networks in Australia to conduct demonstration executions. There was an ugly incident outside a police station in Victoria about 36 hours ago. I just want to assure the Australian people that their government is vigilant: vigilant at home, vigilant abroad, because the safety of our community has got to be the highest priority of any Australian Government.
As well as attending the Security Council meeting this afternoon, I've had a number of bilateral meetings – with President Yudhoyono of Indonesia, with King Abdullah of Jordan, with Prime Minister Abe of Japan, with President Hollande of France, with Prime Minister Cameron of the United Kingdom. I've caught up with President Obama. I’ve caught up with Prime Minister Rutte – and I'm hoping to see him again tomorrow – and later on today I will be meeting with President Erdogan of Turkey.
So, it's important to talk to all of these leaders, most of whom have a strong interest in what's happening in the Middle East, and obviously the discussions that I'm having here in New York today and tomorrow will help to inform the decision that Australia must soon take about whether to commit our forces to combat operations inside Iraq.
QUESTION:
Mr Abbott, you will be addressing the General Assembly tomorrow. What is going to be the thrust of that message? Will it be similar?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, obviously it will be perfectly consistent with what I've said today. I guess what I will want to do is remind the world of what a good global citizen Australia has been. In times of peace, in times of conflict, we've been a good global citizen – always have been and, as far as I'm concerned, always will be.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, in a personal sense, how did it feel to be in that iconic room partaking in a pretty rare historic vote?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, as I often say it's not about me, it's about our country and it’s about what's in the best interests of our country and plainly it's in the best interests of our country that Australians do not leave our shores to go to the Middle East where they will become radicalise and brutalised – militarised, radicalised and brutalised – and, alas, ready and willing to commit terrorist acts not just abroad, but at home as well.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, what have you been advised in terms of the number of Australians that have been, as you say, radicalised and brutalised and then returned to Australia?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well we've got at least 60 who we know are currently fighting with ISIL, al-Nusra and other terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq. We've got well over 20 who have been fighting there who are returned. We've got over 60 who have had their passports cancelled because we believe they are seeking to go to Syria and Iraq to fight. We've got at least 100 who are supporting those who are fighting in Syria and Iraq. These are quite significant numbers, because as we've seen, it only takes one or two people to commit a brutal terrorist atrocity. It only took two people to murder that unfortunate British soldier in the streets of London a year ago. It doesn't take many people to commit an act of terrorism. As I have said a few times lately, all you need is a knife, an iPhone and a victim. That's why it's absolutely imperative that at all times, and in every way, our government remains vigilant.
QUESTION:
Could I ask you about Syria? Under what circumstances would Australia commit to action inside Syria? If you were asked by President Obama what would the answer be?
PRIME MINISTER:
I haven’t been asked. Australia hasn't been asked. I note that over the last couple of days, there have been air strikes into Syria against ISIL and other targets. Not simply US air strikes but the United States has been joined by five Middle Eastern countries including Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE.
So, there have been strikes into Syria which have been justified as I understand it on the doctrine of collective self-defence. I stress that Australia has not even made a formal decision to commit to combat operations inside Iraq let alone elsewhere. We are carefully considering the situation. We have no intention, at this point, of seeking to enter into combat operations in Syria. We have no intention of independent combat operations on the ground in Iraq. We are prepared to be helpful. We are more than prepared to do what we can to assist a broad international coalition disrupt and degrade ISIL's activities but our intention is to do so inside Iraq.
QUESTION:
On Iraq, Prime Minister, has the prospect of actually committing air force strikes in Iraq got any closer? Have you received more requests while you've been here in New York?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, plainly, I have been talking to our friends and partners, both our traditional partners and more recent
partners, and everyone that I have spoken to has welcomed Australia's readiness to join an international coalition to disrupt and degrade ISIL, because it is so obviously in the world's interest that this happen. This isn't just the Iraqi people's fight, it's the world's fight, because there are at least 80 nations whose citizens are fighting with ISIL and al-Nusra. All of those nations are at risk from returning foreign fighters and by declaring a caliphate, ISIL effectively declared war on the world, because the caliphate claims the allegiance of every single Muslim and the caliphate claims dominion everywhere. It claims universal dominion. That's why it was such an extraordinary and brazen act, the declaration of a caliphate in the wake of ISIL's stunning success a few months ago right across western and northern Iraq.
QUESTION:
Given the experience of Australia most recently in Iraq, do you think the Australian people support combat troops, support combat operations in Iraq, whether you agree to go along with them or not?
PRIME MINISTER:
There's no doubt that the difficulties of the 2003 invasion of Iraq and its aftermath do cast a long shadow. Rightly so. We should be very slow to reach out to conflicts thousands of miles away. This is very different from 2003. For one thing, this conflict, for months, has been reaching out to us. That's why it's important that we do what we can at home and abroad to keep our people safe.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, one of the key messages in Barack Obama's speech today was that Muslim communities and Muslim nations need to do more to deal with the extremists. Do you agree with that sentiment and what examples can you give where Muslim communities, Muslim nations, could do more?
PRIME MINISTER:
It was a really outstanding speech by President Obama. It was uplifting. It was honest. It was challenging. It was a fine, fine speech. It was the speech of a great leader, and to his credit, President Obama has been measured and considered here. He hasn't rushed in. He hasn't been quick to reach for the gun. He has carefully weighed the situation as it has developed and he has acted to prevent genocide and to help the people of Iraq, and more recently Syria, to help themselves – that's essentially what he has done.
Now, yes, there was a challenge in President Obama’s speech, but interestingly quite a number of Middle Eastern countries are already rising to that challenge. We saw five of them participate in the air strikes against ISIL over the last 36 hours. There is a very broad coalition, some 40-strong, that is prepared to offer support to Iraq. There were I think 26 nations, including many Muslim nations, that declared that they were prepared to assist Iraq by all means necessary including military means. So, I think the challenge that he laid down is a challenge that is already being met.
QUESTION:
One of the reasons they were looking at that young man who was shot down in Melbourne reportedly was because he was making threats against yourself. I just want to see if there is any response to that?
PRIME MINISTER:
Look, I’ve seen the reports. I haven't been officially briefed to that effect, so I’d rather not further comment on it.
QUESTION:
Just on the meeting with President Yudhoyono. Was the issue of Iraq and Australia being involved there raised? And how would you categorise the meeting with him?
PRIME MINISTER:
As you know, Dennis, President Yudhoyono has not only been a truly historic President of Indonesia, but he’s been a very good friend of Australia. While I expect to work well and warmly with his successor, I certainly, at a human level, am sorry that President Yudhoyono is going. I am sure that Jokowi will be an excellent President of Indonesia, but he does have big shoes to fill – very big shoes to fill.
Yes, that was well and truly discussed. I thanked and praised President Yudhoyono for his very strong statements against ISIL. I cited them in my remarks to the Security Council. He's very appreciative of what Australia is doing – not only in the Middle East, not only at home, but also in the region. As you know, there's been a full resumption of cooperation between Australia and Indonesia in recent weeks, including, critically, counter-terrorism cooperation.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, President Obama also made some very strong comments condemning Russia for its aggression in Ukraine and for not upholding international norms. They seem to be, the strength of those comments echoed some that you have made earlier. I assume that you supported those aspects of his speech?
PRIME MINISTER:
Absolutely. Look, the shooting-down of a civilian airliner by Russian-backed rebels using Russian-supplied equipment is an absolute atrocity and I will continue to speak out on behalf of the 38 Australians that were murdered in this way. I'm pleased that President Obama was as blunt, as forthright and as just as he was in the speech today.
QUESTION:
Given the air strikes are quite well advanced, the [inaudible] can you tell the Australian people, is your announcement on what we'll do and when, is it days away or weeks?
PRIME MINISTER:
As I said the other day, things are hastening to certain probable conclusions. No decision has been taken. There are certain processes that need to be gone through and they will be very genuine processes because Cabinet needs to fully discuss a matter as weighty as committing the armed forces of the Commonwealth to combat operations, but obviously there've already been a number of quite lengthy Cabinet discussions about a range of matters: the humanitarian assistance that was provided by way of air drops, the weapons deliveries to the Kurds and others in Erbil, the deployment of our force to the Middle East. All of these matters, each step in the path, has been thoroughly discussed by Cabinet but obviously there's another thorough discussion that would have to be had before any further decision was made. Ellen?
QUESTION:
You had a brief catch-up with President Obama. Can you tell us anything that you and he discussed?
PRIME MINISTER:
Look, I don't like to go into the personal conversations and the banter that sometimes passes between people. But I've spoken quite frequently to the President recently, and we know where we stand. We're very much of one mind here, and I guess we did have the opportunity to remark on the resolution that we share: to do whatever we reasonably can to combat this deadly threat to the entire world. As I said at the beginning, I am here to discuss something which is an international issue, but it is also a domestic issue. The ISIL threat is it not just a problem for the Middle East, it's not just a problem for Iraq, this is a threat that for months now has been reaching out to Australia. That's why the Australian Government will be vigilant, we will be unflinching – both at home and abroad – when it comes to keeping our people safe.
Thank you.
[ends]