PM: It's great to be here in Beijing with Kate Ellis the Sports Minister and we're both here with one objective, and that's to support the Australian Olympic team.
They've been doing fantastically well in their first day of competition. I went out and saw the Opals yesterday - they did really well. And I was at the swimming pool last night, and I've got to say, we had a fine bunch of Australians emerge through to some finals today. Grant Hackett of course, and we're got Steph Rice and then we have the women's 4 X 100 freestyle relay. So, I think Kate and I are headed out to the swimming pool fairly soon to cheer them on.
I was talking to Laurie Lawrence last night at the swimming pool. Laurie was doing an inevitable Laurie Lawrence actually, which is to encourage the team on and to create a strong, positive atmosphere amongst our athletes.
I've got to say, since seeing the Australians walk onto the field at the stadium the other night, the response I've had from various Chinese with whom I've spoke to including the leadership, was a very strong Australian contingent, a large team, and I think it's fair to say that as they marched onto the arena the other night there was a strong roar of support from the Chinese crowd which was very encouraging for us to hear.
So we would thank our Chinese hosts for their expressions of kindness.
The other thing I'd touch on is which here in Beijing I've also taken the opportunity to catch up with the other various members of the Chinese leadership and various other leaders who are visiting here in Beijing.
Apart from Wen Jiabao, I spent yesterday also in a session of discussions with President Hu Jintao, and also with Zhang Ping the head of the NDRC, which is responsible for China's overall economic policy direction.
I also was able to have breakfast with the President of Vietnam, caught up with the President of the Philippines, caught up last night after the swimming with the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, we talked about our common engagements and concerns in Afghanistan, as well as spending some time yesterday in discussions with Jose Ramos Horta from East Timor.
So, it's been a good opportunity to catch up with various leaders from around the world as well.
The final thing I would say is as that these Games have just begun. This is going to be a very tough, tough competition for Australian athletes. What's happened around the world is that so many people have gone out there and learnt from the Australian example of the last 20 or 30 years, and the competition gets stiffer and stiffer. So, however our athletes do at the end of the day, of course, we in Australia are out there hollering out support for each of them. But, however they do, once these Games are done the challenge will then be to prepare for the London Olympics in 2012. And that's going to mean us working very carefully with the Australian Olympic Committee, and with the Australian Institute of Sport and the other big sporting organisations to make sure that the planning is right, and the investment from our side, which is Government, get it right as well.
As I said the other day, we intend to be long term partners with the AOC in preparation for the next Olympics and the one beyond that as well.
Happy to take your questions.
JOURNALIST: (Inaudible) American volleyball coach was stabbed (inaudible) Are you concerned at all that this might be the source of some anti-Western sentiment (inaudible)
PM: The facts of this particular case are obviously tragic. I do not know the full details, I've just seen the reporting.
This is a very large city of 12 million people. And, in my experience of this city of the years, foreigners have always been made to feel very welcome. And foreigners walking around the city have always been made the feel safe. This seems to be a tragic incident, a tragic occurrence obviously for the family, but beyond that I couldn't comment on the details.
JOURNALIST: Mr Rudd, what did you witness between Mr Bush and Mr Putin at the Opening Ceremony?
PM: Well, as I said yesterday, it was just an animated conversation which to me seemed quite friendly. They were sitting a couple of seats in front of me and as I said quite clearly yesterday, I didn't hear what they were saying. It was just an animated conversation which I observed to be quite friendly, ass was occurring between President Bush and a number of other world leaders. We had a quick chat as well as conversations between other world leaders.
JOURNALIST: What's your view on the situation in regards to Georgia? Do you think Russia has been over the top in its reaction?
PM: I believe that the position of the international community, supported by Australia, is that Georgia is an independent state, it's territorial sovereignty should be respected, and therefore, all states should exercise restraint, and that includes the Russian Federation.
It's important for the United Nations Security Council to deal with this matter. It's regrettable that in the session which has been held on Georgia that they have been unable to reach an agreed resolution on action. But for our part as Australia, and I think in common voice with the rest of the international community, we are calling on all parties to exercise restraint and for the territorial integrity of the sovereign state of Georgia to be respected.
JOURNALIST: Does that mean a ceasefire?
PM: At a minimum we need to see a ceasefire. As President Bush said the other night, a return to the situation at least it was before on the 6th of August - that is the first step. And the important thing here is to recognise the sovereignty of the independent state of Georgia.
We are witnessing a terrible loss of life, a terrible loss of human life and it is important that all countries across the world express their resolute condemnation for these acts of violence.
And it is important that restraint is demonstrated and the sovereignty of Georgia is respected.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)
PM: I am glad you have given me those two alternatives, can I suggest a third, lest I be verballed by a distinguished representative from an Australian newspaper, and it is this.
What was great is that the ambassador was able to organise at the residence, heads of many Chinese corporations, who for us, are very old friends, friends who have been trading with Australia for 10 years, 20 years, 30 years, going back a long, long time. And their relationship with Australia is very deep and very broad.
It was a good occasion to sit down with them, and the heads of major Australian corporations as well. We had BHP, we had Woodside, we had Rio, we had Fortescue, as well as many of their Chinese counterpart organisations.
Good opportunity for a general discussion on the future direction of the economic relationship. It was a good opportunity for a general discussion on the future of the relationship in resources and energy.
I am very confident that this will be a robust and strong relationship into the future - good for Australia, good for China.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, climate change is one of your biggest political issues back home. Is there anything here in China, in your talks with President Hu and Premier Wen, would lead you to believe that China is prepared to take some serious steps towards a new global agreement?
PM: In my discussions yesterday with President Hu Jintao, I outlined the importance which we attached to the challenge of clean coal technology and I regard this as a very important area for future practical cooperation between Australia and China.
Secondly, I took that conversation one stage further in my meeting with Mr Jung Ki who heads the NDRC, the National Development and Reform Commission of China. This is China's, effectively, central economic planning agency.
I believe that if we are serious about climate change there are two courses of action that are necessary. One is, consistent with out negotiations in the Kyoto framework, for developed countries to undertake long term binding targets, and for developing countries to take concrete, measurable and verifiable actions consistent with the resolution we achieved at Bali, going forward also to the Copenhagen conference at the end of next year.
That is one set of actions. The second is this: that in the case of critical technologies such as clean coal technology, that we take these technologies from the laboratory into the power plants.
And that is very much part and parcel of what Australia and China have been talking about in the period since I have been Prime Minister.
We agreed some time ago to establish an Australia - China Ministerial Dialogue on Climate Change. One of its core components is on clean coal technology. We are told that by 2030, 70 per cent of China's energy will still be generated by coal fired power stations.
If we are serious about dealing with greenhouse gasses and global warming in general, we must act on clean coal. And that forms a core part of our discussions with the Chinese, and we will have more to say about that in the months ahead.
JOURNALIST: Labor has done, well pretty badly in the Northern Territory elections. It's the first electoral test since you became Prime Minister. It looks like there is going to be a hung parliament there. Do you have any comment about that?
PM: Well this has been obviously a tough race in the Northern Territory and I would congratulate both sides of politics for having fought a very tough campaign. As I understand it, the chief Minister, Mr Henderson has 12 seats with four yet to be determined and obviously there is a lot of counting to be done.
The Northern Territory election is reminder to all of us in politics that the Australian people will hold us accountable and this is an important lesson for all sides of politics, particularly those of us who are currently in Government.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)
PM: As I said the other day following my discussions with Premier Wen Jiabao, I raised the question of religious freedom on that occasion. And I indicated that going forward, the next step in that process will be the bilateral human rights dialogue.
And religious freedom is an important matter for Australians as are the general freedoms which are part and parcel of our human rights dialogue with the Chinese.
Secondly, in terms of going to church this morning, someone asked me about that. It is typically what we would normally do of a Sunday, whether we are here or whether we are in Washington or whether we are in Canberra.
And it was good to be among Chinese worshippers at the Northern Cathedral. Therese and I, we lived in Beijing in the ‘80's and I remember one very cold winter's night, I think it was Christmas, it was snowing, we went to the recommissioning of that cathedral in about 1985 from memory.
We haven't been back there since. It was good to meet the good folk from the Northern Cathedral who have been pursuing their religious faith these last 25 years.
JOURNALIST: So you weren't there making a political point.
PM: Wherever I am in the world, I think you know me reasonably well, I will try to get along to church, that is just part of our family practice, whether it is Beijing, Brissie, Washington, New York or wherever.
And as I said, the Northern Cathedral has that particular significance for us. We have to go because we have to get somewhere else, so thanks very much folks.