Subjects: Bali tragedy
E&OE...........
JONES:
PM, good morning.
PRIME MINISTER:
Good morning, Alan.
JONES:
Have you…what difference do you think you can make?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I hope that I can bring some further reassurance and comfort to the people who have lost so much from this and that is the people who have lost their loved ones or who fear inevitably that they have also lost their loved ones. I've had an opportunity last night after spending a lot of time with family members, I then had a meeting with the Ambassador and the Consul and the people responsible for every part of the operation, the Commissioner of the Federal Police, the military, the two key forensic people Dr Hilton who I spoke to yesterday, Professor Griffiths and all of the other people. I am in this very difficult situation, I am so far from what I've been told and what I've been able to find out through inquiry and talking to the people, I believe that everything is being done. The hardest thing at the moment is the people waiting on identification. And there is, I believe, a growing understanding, difficult though it is, of the international process, the certification process according to DNA, dental records or fingerprints, does have to be gone through and that is still going to take some time. I mean, no prime minister, nobody in my position can accelerate a process like that. If you try and cut any corners, you try and come the heavy and override a process, some terrible tragic misidentification will take place. And that will just compound the anguish. I mean, you could just imagine if somebody…they've suffered the loss; they've waited days; they get identification; they try to claim a body when it gets back to Australia and they find it's the wrong one. I mean, it is…can I just say that the local people on the ground, I think the Australian Consulate staff have done a fantastic job.
JONES:
You've stomped up that, haven't you? There were 16 yesterday and you've added another…
PRIME MINISTER:
Yeah, a whole lot of new people come in. I mean, we really do have a huge army of people and it is very important because the magnitude of what has happened warrants nothing less than a very big response.
JONES:
PM, just before we go any further on the detail and without revisiting any unhappiness for people listening to you, you obviously went to the scene of the tragedy. You were there also in New York. What was…can you just articulate…?
PRIME MINISTER:
I'm going to the site this morning. What I did last night, what I did last night, I went straight to the service when I arrived and then I said to the Ambassador that I wanted to spend as much time with the family members as they wanted. And what happened was that after the service, a lot of the family members who were there came back to the Consul's residence and I talked to them there and of course, John Anderson and Simon Crean were there as well. And I just, I stayed there while there were any left to talk to them and listen to them…
JONES:
I should say to my listeners, It's a quarter past five in the morning as I'm speaking to you. So, you haven't had a lot of sleep?
PRIME MINISTER:
No, well in situations like this, you don';t sleep a lot, do you? And I spent time with them and then after that we had, I had a lengthy briefing from all of the Australian personnel who in different ways are trying to handle this and…
JONES:
So, you put Ric Smith in charge, now…
PRIME MINISTER:
Yeah, Ric Smith is the…
JONES:
Ambassador?
PRIME MINISTER:
He is the Ambassador and that's not a reflection on Ross Tysoe the Consul, it's just that Ric has a little bit more overall experience and he will be the coordinator in chief, the boss of the operation. I mean, Ric's going to become the Secretary of the Department of Defence in a few weeks time. And he's one of the most experienced, he was a former Ambassador in China and he's been the Ambassador in Indonesia. And he is a very, you know, he's a very effective knockabout bloke and he will be completely in charge. But as I say, it's not a reflection on the others…
JONES:
PM, sorry. Can I ask you this, because you have said and now I think everyone understands that, you're saying that identification is going to take some considerable time, there will be family members who will want to stay there. What are we as taxpayers and a nation…?
PRIME MINISTER:
We've made it clear that if anyone wants any financial help to stay there, they can have it.
JONES:
Right and accommodation?
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes.
JONES:
And we'll pay for that?
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes.
JONES:
Right, good on you.
PRIME MINISTER:
I mean, some people don't ask for that. But anybody who has got a problem, they only have to approach the authorities and we'll look after it.
JONES:
And in terms of squaring up those who are…who's bodies haven't been discovered, that is knowing who is missing and whether they might be dead or whether they might not have been found. Do we have the kind of mechanism in place to make the….?
PRIME MINISTER:
Yeah, we have that. I mean, the figure there is…there's 119 unaccounted for, that's the number that that's come down to and because as each day goes by, the reduction in that number is less and we're obviously getting closer to the point where because they're now unaccounted for, you have to reconcile yourself to the worst. Although, the experience of New York was that people turned up weeks, months later and for some extraordinary reason, they haven't bothered to let anybody know beforehand. But it is getting pretty close to that. But it will, I have to say again, it will be quite difficult and it will still take time. And the other thing I should indicate is that the…you know we are making…I noted that the State Coroners were meeting yesterday in Sydney and they'll be communication with them so that, consistent obviously with Australian law, arrangements concerning any coronial clearances can be expedited, so that once identification occurs there will be a minimum of delay in the repatriation of the bodies. The other thing I should mention and I know it is necessary to go into some of the more traumatic details, but the international mortician company Kenyons, their people arrived a couple of days ago and they are working very closely as well with the local Australian people, and they have an arrangement with Qantas about the repatriation, and that's an added support mechanism which I hope will be a reassurance. But can I just say obviously people are just so devastated by what has happened. I understand feelings of frustration and anger and I'm here to listen to people. I'm here to help. I'm here to encourage and if any further decisions are needed on the spot, any further offers of government assistance, they'll be made available.
JONES:
So, you've done a brilliant job. I'll just ask you one last question before you go - what is your latest intelligence briefing about the region?
PRIME MINISTER:
Oh, it's very serious and that is why we have issued the upgraded warning. I mean some, I've heard the odd criticism that it might be going too far, can I tell you - nothing is going too far in these present circumstances. It is unfortunately quite an unstable situation. There was that explosion in the Philippines and the way in which this particular atrocity, the one in Bali, was organised indicates that we are dealing with people who have no respect for human life, none whatsoever. And it saddens me to have to say it, but we have to prepare ourselves for the possibility of further attempts like this. Therefore, I have no alternative but to reinforce in the strongest possible terms the travel warning that Mr Downer issued yesterday.
JONES:
Thank you for your time, Prime Minister. And on behalf of families who are listening to you right across our country, we're very grateful for what you've done; the energy that you've taken; and also the way in which you've articulated your concern on behalf of all Australians.
PRIME MINISTER:
Thank you.
[ends]