Prime Minister
Prime Minister: Well, good morning, everyone. It's great to be here in Melbourne. It's great to be at the Melbourne International Airport, because this place is about to get busy and international airports all around the country. The wait is over. There's some more than 1.2 million people around the world who are visaed up and they can come. And in the next 24 hours, some 56 flights are going to touch down in Australia, and that number is only going to grow.
I want to thank all of those in our international tourism industry here in Australia. To them, I say, whether they're up in Far North Queensland or here in one of our biggest cities, where international tourism is so important, thank you. Thank you for pushing through over the course of this pandemic. The wait is over. The tourists are coming back and my message to them is, to tourists all around the world, pack your bags, come and have one of the greatest experiences you could ever imagine - the experience you've been waiting for. You can come here and have it, have that here in Australia. And don't forget to bring your money with you, because you'll find plenty of places to spend it and have the trip and experience of a lifetime.
The tourism industry has really borne the brunt of this COVID pandemic, not just here but all around the world, and particular parts of the country have felt it more than others. That's why I'm excited to know that we're going from COVID cautious to COVID confident when it comes to travel. And that is also true and we're seeing that around Australia increasingly as our borders open up, we're pushing through again. It's been tough, but Australia is pushing through.
So we're very excited that from tomorrow those international flights for visitors are able to return again. They can come and we can start building, once again, our very important tourism economy here right across the country - from our biggest cities where I am today, to our Far North Queensland regional locations all around the country, and the Top End where I was yesterday up in Darwin and in central Australia, in Alice Springs.
Tourists are coming back. That means those jobs become more certain going forward. Those earnings start to roll back into the country again and we start building up again as we push through this pandemic and we come out confidently on the other side. Happy to take some questions.
Journalist: Fifty or so flights tomorrow, is that, do you feel like that's a soft relaunch rather than a flood?
Prime Minister: What we'll see is these flights obviously increase, and I think we'll particularly see them increasing in in ports like here in Melbourne. Already in Sydney where where we've had the airports and other areas open for much longer, we will see, I I have no doubt, Melbourne start to receive even more of those flights.
What's also important is Tourism Australia, got a $40 million tourism campaign, which is out there to coincide with this. They've been getting ready over the course of the pandemic. I know the tourism industry has been getting ready. I know the airlines have been getting ready. So all the readiness puts us in a strong position to go forward from tomorrow.
Journalist: WA's still waiting a couple of weeks. What do you, in short, I guess, what do you firstly make of WA's decision to finally reopen its borders?
Prime Minister: Well, I welcome the fact that Western Australia is safely reopening, just as I welcome the fact that Australia is safely reopening, and I want to say to Australians as we move into this next important phase of our response to the COVID pandemic, it was one of the first things we did, is we shut the borders, starting first of all with China. And that was incredibly important and that helped us achieve in this country what few others could around the world. We have one of the lowest rates of death of COVID in the world. We have one of the strongest advanced economies coming through this pandemic anywhere in the world. We have the highest, one of the highest rates of vaccination anywhere in the world. We've got the treatments, we've got the vaccinations, and we're here managing this pandemic better than almost any other country in the world. And that's why we can take this step. That's why the wait is over, Australia. Because you've done the hard yards, you've done the work, you've pushed through, you've persevered. And now we can start going forward together.
Journalist: Just on Ukraine, what additional supports will the Australian Government provide Ukraine?
Prime Minister: Well, we've been in dialogue with Ukraine for some time now. The Foreign Minister, Minister Payne, will be meeting with her counterpart tomorrow, and there is currently the Munich Conference going, Security Conference going on presently. And while of course there's never been any contemplation of Australian troops being deployed, at the same time, there are many ways we work with both our partners and our allies and can work directly to support Ukraine in the work they're doing, whether it be in the cyberspace area or things of that nature, the planning and various other elements, working with our partners and allies. I can't go into too much detail on this, but these are rather conventional ways where we do provide assistance, in in areas that don't require deployment of troops on on the ground.
Journalist: How about the deployment of military assistance?
Prime Minister: Pardon me?
Journalist: How about, how about military equipment?
Prime Minister: Well, we've been, we'll work with our allies and partners. Our allies and partners I've had those discussions with very recently, and we'll work together as part of the team. And what are we working towards? It is unacceptable because it's unwarranted, it's unprovoked in terms of the threats of terrible violence that Russia is imposing on Ukraine. This is not a any legitimate action. There is no just grievance which is being pursued by Russia in relation to Ukraine. Ukraine is a country that wants to make its own decisions, who wants to join NATO - that's up to them. It's not up to other countries to seek to bully them out of the decisions that they want to make as sovereign countries, and they cannot use threats of violence to intimidate countries in this way. It's not just about their territorial sovereignty. It's also about the fact that they're trying to bully and coerce them out of making decisions that are ultimately up to them to make, whether they join it or not. That's a matter for Ukraine. It's not a matter for anyone else, and they have every right to make that decision as a sovereign nation. And that's why it's so important that free countries of the world are out there giving them so much support. Australia has always stood up to bullying and coercion and we will continue to do that, whether it's supporting Ukraine or indeed supporting Lithuania, when I met with the Foreign Minister when he was out here recently.
Journalist: Is that a yes to equipment or a no to equipment?
Prime Minister: It's a we'll work with partners and our programs will be announced in in partnership with them. I'm not pre-empting any of that.
Journalist: No decision?
Prime Minister: No, I'm not saying that, I'm not saying that. This is a very serious issue. So let's not go for that sort of thing. We're working closely with our partners. This is a highly secure environment. And we will conduct those discussions in secure discussions with our partners and allies. And I'm not about to telecast to those who want to set, get involved in violence against another country the precise nature of what Australia's action will be. I think that's the responsible thing.
Journalist: Is Australia contemplating additional sanctions or imposing additional sanctions on Russia?
Prime Minister: Well, of course we are, should they follow through on their their acts of violence against Ukraine. We will follow through with sanctions, together and in partnership with all of our other allies and partners, and they, they, that is one of the key issues of discussion that we have been engaged in with other leaders and with other countries, and to ensure that we move together, because the world will be moving together to seek to counteract what would be a terrible act of violence - unprovoked, unjustified, unwarranted, unacceptable.
Journalist: Speaking of unprovoked acts, can you tell us about what happened in the Arafura Sea on Thursday?
Prime Minister: Well, of course, this is very concerning. It's no great surprise that we've got Chinese naval vessels moving through the Arafura Sea. That's not the first time these things have occurred to have such vessels doing that. We've had those vessels, we've had vessels off our coast, off the Queensland coast, keeping a close watch on Australia. And I can assure you, we keep a close watch on them. I'm very concerned about the actions, though, of using the lasers on an Australian surveillance aircraft. That is, I can see it no other way than an act of intimidation, one that was unprovoked, unwarranted and Australia will never accept such acts of intimidation. There were in our exclusive economic zone. It did not occur in Australian waters. But I have no doubt that it had been an Australian vessel, or a British vessel, American vessel, a French vessel, a Japanese vessel for that matter, or German, that was going through a similar waters up in the South China Sea and that was done to a Chinese surveillance aircraft, then I think people can guess about what reaction to that would have been.
So it was a dangerous act. These sorts of things can disable such aircraft and put those on that aircraft at great risk. So I thought it was a reckless and irresponsible act. And and it's, it should not occur. Now, we're raising those issues directly through the diplomatic and defence channels. But what I can tell you is, the way Australia stands up to coercion and bullying and intimidation and threats is what my Government has been doing. That is why we've increased our defence capability spending. That is why we've increased our investments in the intelligence services. That is why we increased our investment in our border protection agencies. That is why, among so many other reasons, we bounded together to form important relationships like the AUKUS arrangement. And why we work with our Quad partners and others in the region to ensure that not only Australia doesn't have to put up with threats and intimidation and coercion, but all countries who live in the Indo-Pacific region can look forward to a free and open Indo-Pacific. And that's why we work closely with them.
If you want to take a strong stance on these issues, it's not just about what we say, it's about what you do, and what our Government has been doing has been protecting Australia's national interest and protecting us from such threats and intimidation to increase our resilience to withstand them, and to ensure that Australia can be kept safe.
Journalist: Should Australians be nervous?
Prime Minister: What we should always be is aware, that's what Australians should be in relation to what we've seen in the Arafura Sea. And I think this highlights why, as a Government, we have made this such a significant issue. It is a significant issue. It is a very serious issue. I said some time ago when we've been doing our defence planning and updating our strategic defence documents and planning about why we need to be taking the decisions we are. That's why we increased defence spending to above two per cent of the size of our economy. When we came to Government, it was at its lowest level since the, before the start of the Second World War. Our Government has demonstrated our credentials on national security by turning around investment in our Defence Forces. We didn't cut funding like Labor did. We increased funding. We didn't cut funding to intelligence services like Labor did. We increased funding. We didn't abandon our borders as Labor did and with the terrible events we saw under Labor. We increased our investment in our border protection and we established the Australian Border Force. They are the measures of comparison when it comes to determining who is best able to keep Australian's safe and stand up to threats and intimidation. It's not just about what you say, it's about what you do, and this is what we have done.
Journalist: Is there any reason to believe that the incident at the Arafura Sea is in response to or is in any way connected to Russia's potential invasion of Ukraine?
Prime Minister: No, I I don't think those links can be drawn.
Journalist: When you say the response would go through diplomatic channels ...
Prime Minister: And defence channels.
Journalist: That doesn't involve you. I'm just saying, should you get involved? Is it as simple as ...
Prime Minister: You can be, well the, well, we'll be making our views very, very clear to the Chinese Government about the dangerous acts that took place in the Arafura Sea, and this only strengthens my resolve to ensure we keep going down the path of boosting Australia's resilience, taking this issue as seriously as you possibly can take it, as we have always done. It has been our Government that has stood up to these threats and coercion over many years now. We've shown that resolve, we've shown that strength. And we've done it in the face of criticism, including here in our own country from those who think an appeasement path should be taken. I won't be intimidated by it. And the appeasement path is not something my Government will ever go down.
Journalist: Why do you think they did that?
Prime Minister: Well, they will have to explain their own actions, and I think that's important. And it's not just important for Australia, but I think all around the region this explanation should be provided as to why a military vessel, a naval vessel, in Australia's exclusive economic zone, would undertake such an act, such a dangerous act in relation to Australian surveillance aircraft, legitimately doing what it's doing, doing their job, being where they have every right to be. And that act of intimidation is not just a message that I suppose they're trying to send to Australia, a message that we will respond to. But it is a sign of the sort of threats and intimidation that can occur to any country in our region. And that's why we need to band together. Ok, thanks very much everybody.
Journalist: Just one more on tourism.
Prime Minister: Ok one more on tourism, fine, yeah, sure.
Journalist: Yeah, yeah, yeah, sorry. So China was obviously one of our biggest incoming tourism markets. Are you at all concerned that your recent rhetoric would see less of them coming into the country?
Prime Minister: No I don’t believe so, and and and they’re not able to travel to Australia at the moment. So that’s why we’re focusing our campaign on those markets that are open to travel to Australia. And that’s where the campaign is being focused. Australia is one of the most popular destinations of choice all around the world, including out of China, and including students. So I know that whether it’s Chinese travellers or whether it’s Japanese travellers, or European travellers, North American travellers, this is where they want to come, and now they can come here, and we’re looking forward to welcoming them and they’re going to get a very special welcome as they arrive here, particularly over the next few days. Thanks very much everyone.
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