Media Release

Transcript - Doorstop interview Brisbane

Tuesday 27th July 2010

Subjects: Coalition talks with Nauru Government and Opposition, Nauru Government and Opposition’s willingness to enter negotiations for reopening of offshore processing facility

EandOE

JULIE BISHOP: This morning my colleague Scott Morrison and I have been speaking with Dr Keke, the Foreign Minister of Nauru. I have spoken by telephone and now met him and Scott has been meeting with Dr Keke. Dr Keke has indicated the willingness of the Nauru Government to assist Australia should it so request with the reestablishment and the opening up again of the Australian taxpayer funded detention centre facility on Nauru. It is a fact that the previous Coalition Government took decisive action to stop the flow of boats via the people smuggling trade and we had a number of initiatives in place which included the establishment of an offshore processing centre on Nauru. It was purpose built, it was funded by the Australian taxpayer and it remains available to be used again as an offshore processing centre.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has made up a whole range of excuses as to why she has not picked up the phone to talk to the Nauru Government about using this facility which is already available yet she is pursuing some fanciful idea that she is negotiating with East Timor over a processing centre on East Timor. That negotiation is not taking place according to the Deputy Prime Minister of East Timor. It will never happen. Yet here we have a solution to the problem that Labor has created. All of the issues that the Prime Minister has raised have been dealt with in the discussions we have had with Dr Keke and under a Coalition Government we will re-establish discussions with Nauru to find a solution to the problem Labor has caused. Labor has lost control of our borders, its border protection policy has failed. We have the answer and I will hand over to my colleague Scott Morrison as Shadow Minister on Immigration to elaborate before asking Dr Keke to make a few comments.

SCOTT MORRISON: Thanks very much Julie and to Dr Keke and Mr [Riddel] Akua who is here joining us as well from the Nauru Parliament. As Julie has said it has been a very productive this morning and we thank Dr Keke for coming along and Mr Akua coming along en route to other discussions they are having in the Pacific today to have these very important discussions here. The matters we have discussed today deal with the practical issues of establishing, re-establishing I should say, the centre on Nauru and there are some very clear points that the Prime Minister of our country has failed to grasp and that is the constitution of Nauru enables the President to enter into an agreement with Australia to reopen the centre at Nauru. There are no constitutional barriers. That can be done today, it could have been done three weeks ago, it could have been done three months ago. There is no constitutional barrier that would prevent the Nauru President from forming agreement with Australia at any time.

The second point that is very clear is that the Nauru Parliament also has already enacted legislation some time ago when the centre was last established which would enable the processing centre to be reopened in Nauru. These are two very key points of difference with the Prime Minister’s never never solution in East Timor. The East Timor Parliament is opposed to the centre in East Timor and there is no progress and there is no legislation that is in place in East Timor that would enable a centre to be established. The other point which is important to make and as I have discussed with Dr Keke after some preliminary discussions were held with the President, is we have also met with the Leader of the Opposition of Nauru Mr Scotty, Mr Ludwig Scotty, I held some discussions with him yesterday and he also indicated the strong support of the opposition parties, not that that is a requirement of the arrangement, the president can act without this. But it’s quite clear that there’s a clear consensus amongst the people of Nauru, and their government, and their parliament that this is something that can be achieved. I’d really like to thank Dr Keke for his kind invitation for the opportunity to visit Nauru. Its welcome, and for me to be able to inspect the facilities that are currently there and then start working through what then might be the practical issues that would have to be addressed in formal discussions, issues such as water and the re-fitting out of the premises and things of that nature. So I would look forward to an early opportunity to inspect those facilities and with that, I’ll ask our friend Dr Keke to make some remarks.

JULIE BISHOP: Just in introducing Dr Keke, might I point out that he is a medical practitioner, he spent some time working in Melbourne and also in Nauru. He was in the Cabinet of the Nauru Government at the time that Australia, under the Howard Government, negotiated with Nauru to establish an offshore processing centre and he’s now been the Foreign Minister of Nauru for a couple of years. So, with that introduction, Dr Keke, would you like to say a few words?

DR KIEREN KEKE: Good morning. Firstly I’d just like to say that we’ve been very happy to meet today with Julie and Scott at their request while we’re in Brisbane transiting on to other business that we have in the region. We understand that the issue of asylum seekers and the challenges that poses to Australia. Nauru has excellent relations with Australia. Australia provides Nauru with a tremendous amount of assistance and, in the same way, if Australia asks Nauru for assistance in ways that we can provide we’re always very keen to provide that assistance and reciprocate. We have done so in the past, we have done in the last few years we’ve been involved in the Bali Process that looks at people smuggling and the issues related to that. Again the proposal or the concept of an offshore facility has come up sometimes and so Nauru has again responded by saying that we are open to negotiating and discussing the feasibility of that . We believe, given the experience that we’ve had in hosting a facility in Nauru that we know how that can work, we’ve seen how well it can work and we believe that we can work very constructively with the Australian Government in this. We understand the situation that Australia is in at the moment, we’ve indicated our willingness to proceed with formal negotiations post the election outcome and at this time we are very open to discussing the issues to assist either side of the Australian Government and politics to understand what’s involved in doing this.

JOURNALIST: Have you made any effort to meet with anyone from the Gillard Government during this trip?

DR KIEREN KEKE: To tell you the truth we are literally transiting in Brisbane for the day. A request was made for us to meet. We’ve been very receptive and open to a meeting should there be a request from the Gillard Government we would accept that invitation.

JOURNALIST: …inaudible…..the way asylum seekers were treated in Nauru before. Would you do anything differently if you were to process the refugees again?

DR KIEREN KEKE: I think there was a lot of negative perceptions created that were unfounded. The asylum seekers in Nauru were actually treated very well. They had excellent facilities, obviously it was established quickly so the facilities were developed over time, but they did have excellent facilities and they were well looked after. They had freedom on Nauru to move about; they went swimming, they went bike riding, they got involved in community activities and attended the local university extension centre. So we believe that a lot of the misconceptions about there being mistreatment of asylum seekers on Nauru was unfounded.

JOURNALIST: inaudible

DR KIEREN KEKE: I think that the issue that was probably of most concern to us at the time was in regards to possible two, the two that had a prolonged stay on Nauru and that was as a consequence of a negative security assessment by ASIO. That was unrelated to their stay on Nauru and unrelated to the process of assessing their claims for asylum. And that will happen anywhere, wherever they are being processed.

JOURNALIST: inaudible

DR KIEREN KEKE: That’s not correct. We have a different constitution and legal framework that actually does not restrict the executive authority of Cabinet and the President. We can still enter into international treaties; we can enter into bilateral arrangements and agreements with other countries, like Australia and there’s nothing that’s restricting the Government at this time from proceeding with discussions of this nature or implementing the establishment of a processing centre on Nauru.

JOURNALIST: inaudible

DR KIEREN KEKE: The Convention…by signing the Convention you’re putting yourself in an international legal environment and that can be achieved without being a signatory to the Convention. We can still protect the rights of people that are seeking asylum without being a signatory to the Convention.

JOURNALIST: inaudible

DR KIEREN KEKE: We’re not saying don’t want to, we will if we decide that’s in Nauru’s interest. But in terms of the arrangement that is being proposed with Australia we don’t see that is either required or an obstacle.
JOURNALIST: Would that be a precondition for you, Mr Morrison?

SCOT T MORRISON: No its not, its not a pre-condition that Nauru be a signatory to the Refugee Convention. Nauru is a participant in the Bali Process that the Coalition established back in 2002. The Refugee Convention requirement from the Government is an excuse; its an excuse not to act; its an excuse not to do anything; its an excuse to try and get them to shuffle through an election without having to pick up the phone to a country that is clearly willing to put in place an offshore processing centre. The centre would be run in accordance with our obligations as well as any others, and the Nauru Government have got an excellent track record in this regard and we have total confidence about how the centre would be run because we’d be very, very involved with that process.

JOURNALIST: inaudible

JULIE BISHOP: On the last occasion when the Australian government and Nauru worked together to establish the offshore processing centre, the UNHCR were involved, the Australian Government obviously set standards and conditions and the Nauru Government met them and the centre was run under the auspices of the International Organisation for Migration. The issue of the Convention is irrelevant for the purposes of running the detention centre given that the UNHCR were involved, given that the Australian government set the conditions and given that the Nauru Government met those conditions.

JOURNALIST: inaudible…..during the election. Some might see that as actually siding with the opposition…

JULIE BISHOP: Excuse me, doctor. Let me make this point; next week there is a meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum. All of the relevant nations in the Pacific will be there, including East Timor as a special observer, representatives from the Government of Nauru will be there but Australia is not sending either the Prime Minister or the Foreign Minister to the Pacific Islands Forum. Now this is unprecedented. In 1998 and 2007 when the Pacific Islands Forum coincided with a Federal Election, Alexander Downer, as Foreign Minister of Australia represented Australia’s national interest at that Forum, underscoring our commitment to the Forum and to the nations that are part of it. Foreign Minister Smith or Prime Minister Gillard has an ideal opportunity to discuss the issue of an offshore processing centre in Vanuatu at the forum with representatives of Nauru. East Timor will also be there and if its to be a regional offshore processing centre, according to the Government, why would you miss the opportunity to meet with the nations of the region in one place at the Pacific Islands Forum. The Government is running away from the solution because it cannot be trusted with border protection. This is all a fig-leaf on the part of the government and Julia Gillard’s statements about Nauru are manifestly wrong; her refusal to talk to the people who clearly can provide a solution indicates that she cannot be trusted on this issue.

JOURNALIST: Are you concerned about the conditions that the asylum seekers were treated in Nauru?

JULIE BISHOP: The Australian government was satisfied that the conditions that we had required had been adhered to and the people of Vanuatu (sic) had been very generous in assisting Australia in this regard and I want to thank Dr Keke for making it clear that his government is prepared to assist Australia. We are partners in the Pacific and we will work closely with Nauru and look forward to working closely with Nauru again. And the question has to be asked why won’t Julia Gillard even pay the respect due to the Nauru Government who are offering to find a solution to a problem, and yet she insists that negotiations are under way with East Timor who do not want an offshore processing centre; whose parliament has resolved not to enter into negotiations ; whose Deputy Prime Minister has said that the Australian Government is not negotiating with anyone and when the Australian negotiating team apparently arrived in East Timor the one person who is charged with the authority to negotiate President Ramos Horta, was in Shanghai. Now this makes the Government‘s position a laughing stock and it should be revealed as such.

JOURNALIST: inaudible

JULIE BISHOP: No, I meant Vanuatu – that’s where the Pacific Islands Forum will be held. Mr Smith should go to Vanuatu, there is no excuse and if he’s too terrified of losing seats , particularly his seat in Western Australia, he should put the national interest first and attend the Pacific Islands Forum in Vanuatu where the representatives of the Nauru Government and other governments in the Pacific will be present.

JOURNALIST: inaudible

JULIE BISHOP: This is not a stunt. Dr Keke is in Australia. He’s not here at my invitation.

DR KIEREN KEKE: Can I just respond to that. We appreciate the perception that this may have but I want to make it clear. We have not taken any sides; we’re not getting involved in Australian political issues. This has been discussed in Australia publicly for quite a long time and we’ve been approached many times earlier for comment and we’ve said we’re not entering the discussion. At that time it was being discussed very clearly domestically in Australia. In recent times that has changed as the discussion has moved to looking at an offshore centre. As that discussion progressed to an offshore centre we thought it appropriate to say we are willing to discuss that concept of an offshore centre.

JOURNALIST: inaudible

DR KIEREN KEKE: I’m in transit in Brisbane today.

JOURNALIST: inaudible

DR KIEREN KEKE: Primarily we have an excellent relationship with Australia. Australia assists us immensely and we always look to reciprocate when requested. There’s different ways that we can do that. We obviously don’t have the economic prowess that Australia has to provide that kind of assistance, but when issues like this arise, these are ways that small countries like Nauru can reciprocate for the long standing assistance that we receive from Australia.

JOURNALIST: inaudible

DR KIEREN KEKE: There’s certainly widespread support amongst Nauruan people. The experience that we had in hosting the facility earlier on was really a very positive one for us and the Nauruan people and public are supportive of this.

JOURNALIST: How many jobs will this create for Nauru?

DR KIEREN KEKE: I’m not sure exactly how many jobs it will create. It would really depend on the arrangements in terms of how Australia would like to operate this facility. We’re clearly open to hosting it; we’re clearly open to being involved in a co-operative arrangement with the management of it.

JOURNALIST: inaudible

DR KIEREN KEKE: It certainly would have some input to the economy, but Nauru’s situation now is markedly different to what it was in 2001 where this was seen as a major economic boost for Nauru. For us at the moment, Australia provides us with ongoing significant assistance and that is regardless of whether we host a centre or not.

SCOTT MORRISON: Can I thank Dr Keke, because we’ve got flights to catch and so we’re going to have to wrap this up. I might hand over to Julie to thank Dr Keke.

JULIE BISHOP: Dr Keke thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule, we know you are in transit, to meet with Scott and to discuss this issue with me. We appreciate the willingness of the Nauru Government to give assistance to Australia at this time and we acknowledge that you are not taking a partisan position, we respect that and thank you for continuing the good will that does exist and I can assure you will continue to exist between the people of Australia and the people of Nauru. We do have a problem in this country and I admire the way that Nauru is prepared and willing to be part of the solution for Australia. And we also want to thank you for being involved in this in the pat and the Australian government and the people of Australia do thank you for your willingness to be part of it again. Best of luck at the Pacific Islands Forum next week I wish I were there, but perhaps another time.

DR KIEREN KEKE: Thank you all.

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