LIZ HAYES:
Prime Minister, good evening to you. Thank you very much for your time. Do you know any more information about the bodies of the 37 Australians?
PRIME MINISTER:
Liz, we all woke up this morning to very disturbing imagery of a crash site, an event site, that was being absolutely trampled and we saw bodies being put into bags and carted off to who knows where.
I have just come out of a National Security Committee of the Cabinet meeting. The discussion was dominated by our concerns to ensure that those bodies, all the bodies, but particularly the bodies of the 37 that we now know were on that plane who called Australia home. Our discussion was dominated by our concerns to ensure that those bodies are treated with respect, are taken to a place where a proper investigation can be carried out because we owe it to the dead – all the dead; we owe it to the families – all the families to do everything in our power to respect the bodies, to find the truth and to ensure that justice is done.
LIZ HAYES:
Prime Minister, you have been our voice and a strong leader on the international stage articulating our outrage, but it has been three days now we have been forced to view this shocking crime. Where do you draw the line in the sand on this?
PRIME MINISTER:
Liz, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop is in New York. She is in New York to prosecute our case at the Security Council for an immediate securing of the site, proper treatment of those bodies and a full and fair international investigation that has access to the site, the debris, the black box and any persons who can shed light on this. So, Julie Bishop is there at the Security Council to make the case for Australia, to make the case for decency and justice. She is there and she will stay there for as long as needs be. But we are consulting with our friends, we are consulting with our allies, because, frankly, it is simply unacceptable – simply unacceptable – to see what is happening on this site given that 298 innocent people have been murdered.
LIZ HAYES:
What more can you do, though? And what will you do?
PRIME MINISTER:
We will consult with our friends and allies to ensure that no steps are neglected – no steps are neglected – that can bring the bodies to a place where they will be treated with respect, proper investigations can be carried out, the truth can be ascertained, and justice can be done.
LIZ HAYES:
Prime Minister, I understand the need for diplomacy but Russian President Vladimir Putin has to take direct responsibility, doesn’t he?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, all of us have views about the rights and wrongs of the situation in the Ukraine and all of us have views about who may ultimately be masterminding what is happening in the Eastern Ukraine right now. I am seeking a conversation with President Putin. I will be putting to him that we are profoundly concerned at what is happening to these bodies, all 298 of them, and any assistance that can be provided by Russia to ensure that these bodies are conveyed forthwith to a place where they can be dealt with, with respect, where they can be properly investigated and then with respect and dignity repatriated, and I know that will take some time, but if he wants to be a friend of Australia, if he wants to be a friend of decency and humanity, all assistance that he might be able to offer would be deeply appreciated at this time.
LIZ HAYES:
Yes, certainly at this point it seems the buck does stop with him. I mean, how long can the international community continue to tolerate his stance?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, that’s a very good question. I will be doing my best – should I be able to speak with him – to put the case for common decency to him, that’s what I’ll be doing. Let’s see what the reaction is. But I just want you to know, Liz, that we are looking at all the options. We are in discussion with our friends because what is happening at the moment is simply unacceptable. It’s simply intolerable. I don’t want to underestimate the difficulties and the dangers of what’s happening in the Eastern Ukraine right now but nevertheless there are 37 people who called Australia home, who were scattered over the fields of the Eastern Ukraine. They deserve respect and dignity and their families deserve justice and it’s our duty to do what we humanly can to bring that about.
LIZ HAYES:
They certainly deserve it, but might we be in a position to force it?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, let’s wait and see what happens in the next 24 or 48 hours, but we’ve got Julie Bishop at the UN, we will soon have coordination in Kiev and coordination of Australia’s effort in Kiev. We will be talking to our friends and partners around the world. We will do what we can and we shouldn’t underestimate what can be done. We will do what we can to ensure that there is dignity for the dead and that there is justice for the living.
LIZ HAYES:
How are you keeping yourself nice? You’re angry.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, Liz, it’s not about me. It’s about doing the right thing by the Australians who have died, by the 298 from around the world who have died, and we can’t let grief cloud duty and we can’t let anger cloud judgement and that’s what I am striving to do at the moment.
LIZ HAYES:
Prime Minister, thank you very much for your time this evening.
PRIME MINISTER:
Thanks so much, Liz.
[ends]