Fauziah Ibrahim, Host: Now we're joined by the Assistant Immigration Minister, Matt Thistlethwaite, who's in the studio with us, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us.
Matt Thistlethwaite, Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade: Good morning, Fauziah.
Ibrahim: Very, very concerning the number of people who are still missing. Do you have an update on the number of Australians who are still missing?
Assistant Minster: Yes I do, unfortunately the number has risen to 41 overnight, Australians that are unaccounted for. We're working with, through our DFAT staff on the ground in Kathmandu to try and make contact with as many Australians as possible that we know are missing. If there are any next of kin or Australians who have information regarding relatives or loved ones that are missing, we're calling on them to please contact 1300 555 135 and register with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade so we can work with them to try and locate their loved ones.
Johanna Nicholson, Host: Tell us more about the work that you're doing with the families here who are obviously anxiously awaiting news.
Assistant Minster: Yeah, they're desperate for news, and yesterday I held two online forums, one with the Nepalese community one with the Tibetan community to outline the latest situation, to advise of the support that Australia is providing, the $5 million in humanitarian aid, and the best way for us to keep in contact with them. We're providing them with the latest information through our officials. I also attended a vigil last night with the Nepalese community in Strathfield and obviously there was quite a bit of despair and anxiety in that community, but we're doing our best to support the Tibetan and Nepalese communities here in Australia.
Ibrahim: We know that some family members have flown over to Nepal to try to help with the search as well and try to locate their missing loved ones. Is the Government helping out with that in any way?
Assistant Minster: Obviously we're working with people who are in the region, the Australians that we know, the roads are cut off, about 10,000 homes have been destroyed. There's no telecommunications infrastructure to the region, power's being cut off, so our DFAT officials are getting as close as they possibly can to the region and we're working with those Australians that we know are on the ground there, that are trying to locate their loved ones, to provide them with as much support as possible.
Nicholson: That $5 million worth of support, the humanitarian assistance that's been pledged by the Australian Government, what's that going towards? And when you look at the scale of destruction of this disaster, is there, is there room to increase that?
Assistant Minster: The $2 million goes to the World Food Programme. They will provide emergency kits of food and water immediately, so that's been rolled out as we speak and the remaining funding goes to the Emergency Action Alliance, an organisation, 15 NGOs, Australian based NGOs like Oxfam and others who have expertise in rescue and recovery. At this stage that was based on the requests from the Nepalese authorities. When there was the earthquake in Nepal in 2015, Australia provided over $20 million worth of support so that humanitarian support figure may grow into the future, it just depends on the requests that we get from the Nepalese authorities.
Ibrahim: This disaster was basically on the border of Tibet and Nepal. There have been reports that information coming out of Tibet is very scarce, or scarce, at the moment. Is the Australian Government working with the Chinese Government to try to get as much information out of that affected region?
Assistant Minster: Yes, we are. Our officials in Beijing are working with the Chinese Government to provide support, and as much information as possible. The Nepalese authorities have requested support from Australia, and overnight we've sent 8 officials, four crisis response team members and four consular members to the region. These are experts that are trained in management of rescue and recovery. At this stage, the Chinese officials have not requested support, but we do stand ready to provide that support if it's required.
Nicholson: The Foreign Minister, Penny Wong, spoke to Nepal's Foreign Minister last night, I understand, what was involved in that conversation?
Assistant Minster: Mainly to convey our thoughts and prayers and our sympathies. Obviously, it's a deeply anxious time for the Nepalese Government and the Nepalese people to and to relay the humanitarian support that we've provided and to say that Australia stands ready to assist if there's further requests for support.
Ibrahim: Minister, as you can see the pictures that are coming out of Nepal and Tibet, very distressing, no doubt a lot of Australians want to help, and a lot of Australians who have family there are also devastated and anxious. What message can you give to them?
Assistant Minster: Yeah, we're doing our best to support both the Nepalese and Tibetan diasporas here in Australia. We encourage Australians to support, but to do that through the Emergency Action Alliance, they're the best organisation. They're a trusted partner and their website is emergencyaction.org.au. That's where people can go to donate. Unfortunately, in circumstances such as this, there are scams that can be set up. We just ask Australians to please verify that you're donating to registered organisation. But the best approach is to go through Emergency Action Alliance.
Nicholson: Right, Matt Thistlethwaite, Assistant Immigration Minister, thanks so much for your time this morning.
Assistant Minster: Thank you.