WILKINSON: Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, thanks for your time this morning.
PM: Good to be with you Lisa.
WILKINSON: Now, can you tell us where the situation stands this morning?
PM: Yes Lisa, I met with Foreign Affairs and Defence officials about 6:30 this morning. And then about a quarter of an hour or so ago I spoke with the High Commissioner, Chris Moraitis, in Port Moresby. There was a meeting of the PNG search and rescue authorities this morning at 6 am.
I am advised that the weather this morning is relatively clear, though there are concerns about this clouding in and coming in by about the middle of the day. As a result of that meeting there are further, there are two PNG choppers aloft now, heading in the direction, if not already, at the actual area of concern. We also have Australian assets on standby, ready to be deployed, subject to co-ordinated direction.
That includes a Royal Australian Air Force Caribou on the ground in Port Moresby, and we have a Sea King helicopter, which will be on the ground at 8:30, after we diverted HMAS Success to Port Moresby last night. It'll be on the ground at 8:30 ready for use as well. So we are throwing all assets at this and we have further assets on the way from Australia as well.
WILKINSON: Prime Minister, is there any hope of finding survivors?
PM: We have, the reason we are deploying all these assets Lisa, is because we believe we've got to throw everything at this because we do not have any confirmed reports in terms of fatalities. Therefore, we have to throw everything at this, because these are members of our Australian family.
It would be the nightmare of every Australian watching your program this morning who have got friends and love ones abroad, whether they are parents, brothers, sisters, or children, to have them missing in a foreign country, and particularly in such a rugged environment as Papua New Guinea.
So therefore our attitude is, we throw everything at this, we do whatever we can to try and find this aircraft. And also onboard a C-130 on its way from Richmond to Papua New Guinea at the moment, we have an aero-medical evacuation team also on board, together with the despatch of two Black Hawk helicopters through a C-17 aircraft later today.
So we intend to do everything physically possible in coordination with the PNG authorities. I spoke with the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea last night to confirm all of those arrangements.
WILKINSON: Prime Minister, I'm sure this is particularly close to your heart, you have walked the Kokoda track, you know how tough that terrain is. Do you have any further information on exactly what went wrong on the flight?
PM: No, nothing confirmed Lisa, and that's why we're being very, very careful about this, in terms of all assets being deployed for the search and rescue effort. Also our consular officials are in close contact with the families of the nine Australians who are on the flight manifest, and therefore we are making sure we maintain the closest possible contact with them, and we'll continue to do this throughout the course of the day.
You are right, Kokoda has a huge significance, for I think all Australians. Tens of thousands of Australians have walked the track, and I believe everyone would be drawing breath this morning and feeling deeply, this sense of empathy for all those families who are going through the absolute anxiety and the sheer hell this morning of waiting for news.
And our job as their fellow Australians and our job as the Government, is to do whatever we physically can to support them at this very, very difficult time.
WILKINSON: It sure is Prime Minister, we'll have to leave it there. We do thank you very much for your time this morning.
PM: Thank you Lisa.