KARL STEFANOVIC:
The Prime Minister joins us now from Canberra. PM, good morning to you. Tensions are extremely high, as you know, between Ukraine and Russia. How close to war are we, do you think?
PRIME MINISTER:
Let’s try to ensure that we don’t get to that precipice, Karl, but yes, this is a fluid and a dangerous situation and really the only way to resolve it is for Russia to pull back; for Russia to stop what appears to be a blatant aggression against a neighbour that has done nothing to justify it.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
The problem is – as you know only too well – Vladimir Putin does not seem to care what any foreign leader is warning against him doing in terms of actions right now. So, what are you going to do? What is the world going to do to counteract him?
PRIME MINISTER:
That’s a good question, Karl, because, in the end, when you’re up against a bully you’re often faced with doing nothing or doing something and doing something can have very dire consequences indeed. But Australia is consulting with our friends and allies and while we are a relatively small country a long way away, we are consulting with our friends and allies and we do hope that decency and justice will prevail.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
He’s also really not responding to anything the US President is saying at the moment. I guess at some point you decide if he takes action, do we take action? Are we part of some kind of military action? Is Australia prepared to commit to that at this point?
PRIME MINISTER:
I think we’re a long way away from that, Karl. I think we’re a long way away from that and, as I said, I don’t want to make a difficult situation worse by engaging in alarmist speculation.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Alright, let’s move on. Last night was a busy night for you – plans to scrap constraints on Qantas domestic operations while keeping Australian control of international. Effectively, what you’re doing is opening the door to foreign investment into the domestic arm of the company. You also repealed provisions that require Qantas to keep principle maintenance, catering and their head office in Australia for that domestic arm. Is any of this going to save Qantas?
PRIME MINISTER:
Karl, what we’re on about is giving Qantas its freedom. The Labor Party sold off Qantas about 20 years ago. Now, this Government wants to give Qantas its freedom. We want to do what Martin Ferguson actually urged the Howard government to do back in 2002. We want to liberate Qantas from the shackles of the Qantas Sale Act and given the competitive pressure that Qantas is under, if Qantas is going to have a strong, long-term future as one of the world’s great airlines, this is the kind of thing that needs to be done.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Is it going to save them, though?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, they think that this is what’s necessary to give them the best possible chance to remain one of the world’s great airlines.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Ok, given the concern about jobs shifting offshore if that does go ahead with the domestic arm, do you think you’ll have any chance of getting those changes through the Senate?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, the interesting thing is that the Labor Party’s answer here appears to be a subsidy. We want to give Qantas its freedom; they want to give Qantas a subsidy. We want to give Qantas a hand up; they want to give Qantas a hand out. Basically, the Labor Party is reverting to cheque book government and that’s the kind of thing that got us into a lot of trouble over the last six years.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Ok, so that debt guarantee is not going to happen on your watch?
PRIME MINISTER:
We’re not going to play favourites between private companies. We want Australia to have two highly competitive, highly successful, dynamic airlines competing on a level playing field and we’re not going to pick winners or play favourites. We’re going to give everyone the same fair chance.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Alright we’ll wait and see what happens with the Senate if that comes through.
On a much lighter note this morning, families wanting to adopt children from some overseas countries will now be able to do it at greater ease – some of that red tape that was always a bit of a problem. What is the gist of these new laws? How is it going to affect families?
PRIME MINISTER:
Karl, about 40 per cent of overseas adoptions come from South Korea and Taiwan. This is a very good thing to make it easier for families to adopt from overseas. Kids without parents go to parents without kids. It’s a win-win situation. At the moment, if you adopt from those countries you not only have court processes overseas, you’ve got court processes here in Australia. We’re going to cut that red tape out so it’s going to make it much, much easier for dozens of families every year to adopt from South Korea and Taiwan.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Ok, I mean the Ethiopian intercountry adoption programme – that’s being closed. How will these new laws affect families wanting to finalise those adoptions?
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes, the former government did close the programme, but for Australian families who have adopted from Ethiopia who still haven’t finalised the paperwork, this will make it much easier for them.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Well, there’s going to be one very happy camper and we’re talking to her after eight o’clock this morning and that’s Deborra-Lee Furness who’s done amazing work on these laws. She will be very excited.
PRIME MINISTER:
Look, I understand that my office was in touch with Deborra-Lee yesterday. Yes, I gather she is quite excited. Look, for dozens and dozens of families this is very, very good news because what could be better than giving an orphan child the love of parents? And that’s what we’re all about here.
KARL STEFANOVIC:
Alright, well done on these laws. A busy day for you. We appreciate your time as always, PM.
PRIME MINISTER:
Thank you so much, Karl.
[ends]