NEIL MITCHELL: And straight to it today, standing in for Kevin Rudd in his regular spot, the Acting Prime Minister Julia Gillard, good morning.
JULIA GILLARD: Good morning Neil.
NEIL MITCHELL: Will Australia send security personnel with our team to the Olympics given the latest news of terror threats to the Games?
JULIA GILLARD: Well of course Chinese authorities are predominately responsible for securing the Olympics. But we'll be making the necessary arrangements to ensure our athletes are safe.
NEIL MITCHELL: So does that mean we send our own security personnel?
JULIA GILLARD: Well look Neil I'd prefer not to talk about the specifics of security arrangements. But obviously we have terrific security people in this country and they'll do what's necessary to look after security.
NEIL MITCHELL: Have decisions been made on that yet?
JULIA GILLARD: Look Neil I really don't want to talk about security arrangements but people should rest assure that our domestic security authorities are obviously well on notice, that there are going to be the Olympic Games and there are going to be our athletes there.
NEIL MITCHELL: Have you yet been briefed on this threat that emerged overnight on the Olympics?
JULIA GILLARD: I haven't been specifically briefed on that threat Neil no, but I am broadly aware of the arrangements that are being made for the Olympic Games.
NEIL MITCHELL: Ok, is China cooperating then with what we want to do in protecting our own athletes?
JULIA GILLARD: Neil as I understand it the arrangements are proceeding as these things do proceed. We have very expert security people in this country you'd be aware of that, they do a good job but in this area the less said often the better.
NEIL MITCHELL: Ok what from the point of, that's the team we are talking about, what about tourists? Now if Australian tourists go to the Games are they on their own or are they just relying on the Chinese or do they have any outside help?
JULIA GILLARD: Well Australian nationals are never on their own when they travel. We obviously do what we can throughout the world to assist Australians who are travelling. We have our diplomatic resources there. We provide people with travel advisories so that they are aware what our assessment is of risk in any place around the world. So all of those normal arrangements are obviously in place and they step up, if you like, for major events like the Olympic Games.
NEIL MITCHELL: Are you concerned by these reports about the plots to kidnap athletes and there's talk about poison gas, poison meat are you concerned by it?
JULIA GILLARD: Obviously we're concerned, I'm concerned. I'm sure Australians generally understand that around the world from time to time we face problems. But I think Australians understand too that we've got some very sophisticated resources here to help us deal with these issues. So obviously I'm concerned, but in the security area we are very well assisted in this country by some great experts and professionals.
NEIL MITCHELL: There are a number of athletes who have already expressed their nervousness, Australian athletes, their nervousness about going and obviously their families will be concerned. What would you say to them?
JULIA GILLARD: Well we will keep in touch the Olympic Committee on all of these matters. Ultimately people will work their own way through these issues. The role of the Australian Government is to make sure that people have got good advice when their making decisions about travelling and our role of course is to make sure that we can do what we can to keep people safe.
NEIL MITCHELL: Would you agree the Olympic Games should not allow itself to be intimidated by terrorist threats?
JULIA GILLARD: Well look Neil I think we've got to react appropriately to this sort of news. The Olympics are an event enjoyed by people around the world. They've been a great celebration of sporting prowess, a great celebration of bring the world together. We all remember fondly obviously the Sydney Games. These are things that are there to be enjoyed, indeed delighted in. Many of our athletes have obviously spent all of their lives training and focusing on these Games and they want to go there and they want to want to win medals. And I don't want to say anything that detracts from their pleasure in that, that's what they have devoted their lives to. So I think we've got to react appropriately but let's not think this is all on one side. The Olympics is a great event and there are people who from the time that they are kindergarten kids dream of getting to go to the Olympics and participating and some of our great athletes are going to have opportunity this year.
NEIL MITCHELL: Are you likely to go yourself?
JULIA GILLARD: No I won't be, I will be here in Australia. Obviously I have got a big year in front of me delivering the fair and balanced workplace relations system and delivering the Education Revolution, so that's my primary focus.
NEIL MITCHELL: Would you feel comfortable going, given the situation in Tibet?
JULIA GILLARD: I agree with what the Prime Minister has said, indeed not even the Dalai Lama has called for a boycott of the Olympic Games. I think the Games should go ahead. I am not personally in a position to attend because of my responsibilities here.
NEIL MITCHELL: When did you last speak with Mr Rudd?
JULIA GILLARD: We talk from time to time when he's away and obviously we communicate either directly or staff communicate, so I'm kept in the loop and he's kept in the loop about what's happening here.
NEIL MITCHELL: So when did you last speak with him?
JULIA GILLARD: Oh look Neil, I'm not going to go through blow by blow conversations with the Prime Minister...
NEIL MITCHELL: No no I don't want that...
JULIA GILLARD: I think there are some things that happen between Deputy and Prime Minister that happen between Deputy and Prime Minister...
NEIL MITCHELL: Well yes but I don't want the detail of the conversation but roughly when did you last speak?
JULIA GILLARD: Neil we keep in touch as necessary and obviously he is kept in the loop about everything that's happening here.
NEIL MITCHELL: So you don't want to tell us when you last spoke to him?
JULIA GILLARD: Oh look I just think we're Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister obviously we talk all the time. We talk all the time when Kevin's here, we talk as necessary when he's overseas and I think he and I need to be able to do that in our own time and in our own way.
NEIL MITCHELL: The only reason I ask is he looks tired, is he?
JULIA GILLARD: He is a man with enormous stamina, an enormous work capacity. When you are moving round the world and you would know this Neil personally, moving through time zones obviously that can bring its own stresses and strains. But Kevin because of his former work as a diplomat and then of course as the Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister is well use to being on the international circuit and dealing with the kind of time zone changes and the things that it can do to your sleep patters, so he's in good form.
NEIL MITCHELL: Ok why did he raise the Tibet issue publicly before he met the Chinese leadership, surely that was risky?
JULIA GILLARD: The Tibet issue is one that obviously required response. We've made it very clear all along that we are concerned about human rights abuses in Tibet, Kevin has been very forthright about that...
NEIL MITCHELL: But why raise it before the meeting with the leadership in China?
JULIA GILLARD: Well I think you've got to recall Neil; these matters were first raised when he met with President Bush so...
NEIL MITCHELL: True but it's a bit different from when he is on Chinese soil. I just thought the protocol would be to meet them, make the point privately, then make it publicly.
JULIA GILLARD: Well I think the protocol is to make the point anytime that you can make the point. And he made the point when he met with President Bush. He's made the point publicly in China. He's been very forthright about these things and that shows our degree of concern.
NEIL MITCHELL: Ok, do you think the Torch Relay given its disruption should go ahead in Canberra or not?
JULIA GILLARD: I think it would be disappointing for people if the Torch Relay didn't go ahead. It's one of the things that has historically built excitement for the Olympic Games. And there have been people who have gone out to see the Torch who wouldn't have the financial capacity to go to the Games themselves, but they feel like they are in touch with the Olympic movement because they see the Torch go by. So I think it would be disappointing if it didn't come round.
NEIL MITCHELL: Are you aware of reports that Mr Rudd failed to declare one of his wife's companies, Invisage Australia, which has got $160,000 in government funding over the past four years and he hasn't declared it?
JULIA GILLARD: I have seen the reports Neil, yes I have and I'm advised that the company in question is an inactive company and has been inactive for a considerable period of time and is in the process of being wound up.
NEIL MITCHELL: But it's still registered and he didn't declare it, isn't that a failing?
JULIA GILLARD: When you look at the technicality of what needs to be declared, this didn't need to be declared and in any event it is an inactive company in the process of being wound up.
NEIL MITCHELL: Why didn't it need to be declared if it was getting government money and it's still registered?
JULIA GILLARD: It's not a company that Kevin has a direct interest in...
NEIL MITCHELL: His wife does.
JULIA GILLARD: She has, that's true. And now the company is in the process of being put out of existence.
NEIL MITCHELL: Well I know that's happening now but it was still registered, its wasn't declared and it was getting government money. It was still registered, it was still getting government money and it wasn't declared, shouldn't it have been declared?
Julia Gillard: Well it's been inactive for a period of time and is in the process of being wound up. Look as I'm advised it's been inactive since 2006 and its going to be formally deregistered at the end of this financial year.
NEIL MITCHELL: But according to the reports it was getting government funding as late as May last year.
JULIA GILLARD: I am not in a position to give you specific advice about those claims. But what I'm advised is that it's been inactive for a considerable period, since 2006 and it's in the process of being wound up.
NEIL MITCHELL: Petrol's about to reach $1.60 next week we're told. When are we going to get your Petrol Commissioner in there ‘kicking butts'?
JULIA GILLARD: Well we've obviously got the Petrol Commissioner, he's been appointed, Mr Pat Walker. We've had the ACCC out and about, I'm sure you would have seen Grahame Samuel appearing from time to time in the media. We do want them, to use your terminology ‘kicking butt'. What we want them to do of course is to satisfy themselves that there's no profiteering or price gouging going on.
NEIL MITCHELL: I know you need to get away. Kevin Rudd's had a successful trip by all appearances and one of the things that's amazed me is the attention devoted to the way his wife dresses. Does that irritate you?
JULIA GILLARD: I see all of this come and go generally in politics so I suppose I raise an eyebrow more than I get irritated Neil. I think it all gets a little bit silly doesn't it? Whether it's Therese or whether it's other women in public life, I'd like to think that people get valued for their accomplishments and their character more than the colour of what their wearing that day.
NEIL MITCHELL: But you've had a bit of a makeover yourself haven't you. Do you have to do this as a woman in politics? I noticed it's a new hairstyle didn't I?
JULIA GILLARD: I get my hair cut from time to time Neil, I don't know if that's equals a makeover. On that basis you must have a makeover every six weeks.
NEIL MITCHELL: Oh come on, it's a bit different the hairstyle. I don't knock it, it looks fine but I mean is this necessary?
JULIA GILLARD: I get my haircut the way I like to get it cut, no one tells me about how to get it cut, except I take a bit of advice off my partner Tim. So all of this just gets a little bit on the silly side. I would hope that we are big enough to look at people and to make an assessment about their contribution and their character rather than whether or not we like the blouse they're wearing that day. I think that that is a hundredth order question compared to the contributions that people make and Therese Rein is someone who's made a considerable contribution in her own right. She is a successful businesswoman. She is someone who takes very seriously social issues. She has had a particular focus on homelessness. A particular focus because of her life circumstances on equal opportunities for people with disabilities and that's all a terrific achievement and she should be noted for that.
NEIL MITCHELL: Thank you for your time. When do you hand back the country?
JULIA GILLARD: Kevin returns on Sunday.
NEIL MITCHELL: And does he get it back Sunday or do give it back to him Monday?
JULIA GILLARD: Oh no, no. As soon as the Prime Minister lands then the Prime Minister is back.
NEIL MITCHELL: Thank you very much for your time.
JULIA GILLARD: Thanks Neil. Bye, bye.
NEIL MITCHELL: Bye, bye. Acting Prime Minister, Julia Gillard.