Prime Minister
GREG JENNETT: Good morning Prime Minister. A bit of a late night last night. In a meeting that ran overtime with President Trump, who did most of the talking, him or you?
PRIME MINISTER: It was a very congenial discussion and it reflected the strong relationship we have as nations, but also a great relationship which I think is really forming between the President and myself and my team. His whole senior team was there as well, which was very important. We were able to go around the grounds on a lot of the issues.
JENNETT: You have been very up-front with your concerns over the trade dispute with China. Did you leave the meeting with any greater confidence that a resolution is going to be found soon, if not here in Osaka then very quickly?
PRIME MINISTER: I think there is genuinely a commitment to seek to resolve these issues, but also a determination by the United States that the serious things that sit at the heart of this are very real and cannot be dismissed, and I made similar points in the speech I gave earlier this week. But for Australians, we are a trading nation. One in five jobs are dependent on trade. That is why events like this are important. Not just dealing obviously with the United States, but also the many other participants.
JENNETT: Did you think the President appreciated the collateral damage, as people describe it, for Australia if this drags on?
PRIME MINISTER: I think they are very focused on getting this issue sorted and that is where a lot of their efforts are going. And so long as they are on that track and as long as the discussions continue, then I will always remain optimistic. But I think it is also an opportunity to reflect on what the broader opportunities are in the region and our trading partners throughout the region are all here as well. So there is a great opportunity on that front.
JENNETT: Separate to the US-China dispute, there have also been drums beating out of Washington that Australia's own exemption on steel and aluminium tariffs might come back into play. Did you get any reassurance from the President that they will not be touched?
PRIME MINISTER: Yeah, well we discussed that last night and the President in fact while the cameras are on made a few comments to that effect as well. We are working through some particular issues on that matter right now, but we are both very confident about the way we are handling it. That is the point of dinners like last night - the relationship is so good that you can work this stuff through.
JENNETT: There has been reporting in the US that the hard-line taken by America towards Huawei and 5G networks might become a bargaining chip in this trade dispute. If the President bargained that away that would leave Australia in a difficult position, wouldn’t it?
PRIME MINISTER: I think we are getting into some pretty hypothetical territory there. I mean, the decisions we have made about our sovereign interests, our national security, have been made independently on our own terms and one of the things you’ll see from us is I have been very consistent on these matters and very patient about these matters. People know where we stand. We are respectful of all our other partners, particularly China, when it comes to this issue and look forward to positive relations with them as well.
JENNETT: As a trusted ally, the President has been flagging the potential for military conflict with Iran. Inevitably that would raise questions about potential Australian support or involvement. Was that sought or discussed in any way last night?
PRIME MINISTER: It certainly wasn't sought. Obviously we talked about these issues and we have been watching them very closely as well, but there are no requests and at this stage I think those issues are a bit premature. But we are obviously concerned. We will obviously work closely, but any request like that will be dealt with in the normal way.
JENNETT: You wouldn't be ruling it out?
PRIME MINISTER: We would deal with any specific request from an ally such as the United States very seriously and on its merits.
JENNETT: Elsewhere on security, we have got the Australian Alek Sigley missing, unaccounted for at least, at a critical time when it looks like President Trump might want to bring Kim Jong-un and his regime back in to some sort of dialogue. Firstly on what you know about Mr Sigley, is there any further information that you have been able to obtain about his welfare?
PRIME MINISTER: Nothing further from last night that has already been reported. It is very troubling and concerning to me and I'm sure to his family as well. The expressions of support and assistance that have come from other nations I have met with while I’ve been here has been very welcome. We will continue to focus very sharply on that and seek to clarify what exactly has occurred and then take steps from there.
JENNETT: With whom have you discussed it and whom will you discuss this matter with here in Osaka?
PRIME MINISTER: This matter has been raised with me just as an expression of support and sympathy and a concern about the welfare of an Australian citizen. I appreciate that care and support.
JENNETT: So diplomatically you won't be seeking the support proactively of other countries? They are raising it with you?
PRIME MINISTER: They have raised it in the spirit of friendship with Australia, but we need to determine the facts and we need to determine the specific circumstances that are involved here.
JENNETT: Do you see any suspicion in the timing because of what I mentioned previously which is some momentum to bring the Kim regime back into dialogue?
PRIME MINISTER: I'm just interested in the welfare of an Australian.
JENNETT: We also heard the President, in the short period that cameras were in the meeting room last night, at least playing with the idea that he might come to Australia for a golfing tournament, you rate that as a real possibility?
PRIME MINISTER: I think there is a reasonable chance. He is obviously a passionate follower of the sport and the tournament is actually named after the President, so I think it would be great for Melbourne and it would be great for the tournament. We have certainly issued that invitation for him to join us for what should be a great time.
JENNETT: Would you throw on a parliamentary speech as well or something along the lines of a state visit as well as the golf tournament?
PRIME MINISTER: The President is always welcome in Australia.
JENNETT: Today, further discussions in the G20 proper, who do you intend to speak to?
PRIME MINISTER: We have meetings right across the board, whether it is the President of France or later today I will be meeting with the Prime Minister of Thailand, and we will be dealing with issues around the East-Asia summit and the RCEP agreement is a very important agreement I think right now. We are hoping to conclude that by the end of the year. There are meetings coming up in Beijing on that. That is one of the main game issues on trade for us right at the moment and we are very focused on that. So there is a range of meetings right across the board.
JENNETT: Just finally, domestically Prime Minister do you have a book left in you over the events of last August. Seems everyone else has one?
PRIME MINISTER: I'm a reader, not a writer.
JENNETT: Any thoughts on the reports that the Prime Minister at the time, Malcolm Turnbull, may have sought to raise with the Governor-General the constitutional eligibility of his challenger, Peter Dutton - was that a proper course of action?
PRIME MINISTER: Ancient history.
JENNETT: Nothing - were you aware of that at the time?
PRIME MINISTER: All of that is ancient history.
JENNETT: Prime Minister, I know you have a big day in Osaka, we will leave it there.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks very much.