Luke Grant Host: But first, Australia's Assistant Foreign Minister, Matt Thistlethwaite is on the line with the latest. Minister, thanks for your time.
Matt Thistlethwaite, Assistant Minister for Foreign affairs and Trade: Good morning, Luke.
Grant: You said this morning that the number of missing Aussies, Matt, is now up to 41 and I guess it's, you know, it's a work in progress. You get reports that perhaps don't filter through immediately. Do you think we're at the, at the upper end now or is it still possible for that, that toll to increase or that missing number to increase?
Assistant Minister: Unfortunately, it's a very fluid situation, Luke, at the moment. We've confirmed that overnight the number had risen to 41 Australians. That's based on our work in Kathmandu with our officials, working with the Nepalese authorities. Also with the Australians who've contacted our hotline number to indicate that they have loved ones who are in the area. So, it's a very fluid situation, but we're working as close as we can with the Nepalese and Chinese authorities and also family members here in Australia to try and work out who's missing and locate them as quickly as possible.
Grant: Yeah, I just want to point out to my listeners that this is a time where communication's so important. So, too is care, and good on you. You were at a vigil last night with the Nepalese community. Can you tell my listeners about that?
Assistant Minister: Yeah, that's right, Luke. I attended a vigil at Strathfield Square with members of the Nepalese community. And it was the best of Australia. It was Australians of all faiths and backgrounds coming together to support our Nepalese community, who are obviously very distressed at the moment. There's a fair bit of anxiety in that community. I spoke to people there last night who have family members in the region and are extremely worried about them. We've provided $5 million in humanitarian support to the Nepalese Government in the wake of Foreign Minister Penny Wong speaking with the Nepalese Foreign Minister yesterday. And we're doing all we can to try and support the local Nepalese community at this difficult time.
Grant: There has been, and you be aware of this, Minister, there's been reports that Nepal wasn't really open to receiving assistance from outside of their own country. And I know we've offered that support. So, can you give me an idea of what that, firstly, was there a rejection of support and now what our support looks like in terms of people and crews travelling to Nepal?
Assistant Minister: Yeah, that's right. Overnight, that's changed because our Foreign Minister spoke with the Nepalese Foreign Minister and the Nepalese authorities have requested Australia's support. So, we've provided that immediately. Overnight, four members of the Rapid Response Team were deployed to the region, as well as four additional Australian consular staff. So, that's eight personnel who've been deployed to the region. They'll arrive on the ground there today. These are specialists who are trained in humanitarian situations like this to provide management support and help. We've also provided $5 million worth of aid that's predominantly going to the World Food Programme to provide emergency food and water. And the rest of the fund is going to the Emergency Action alliance, which. Which includes NGOs like Oxfam and CARE Australia, who can provide shelter, clothing, blankets, emergency kits and medical supplies. And we stand ready to provide whatever support is needed. And it's a very fluid situation and we'll keep assessing the requests.
Grant: Yeah. I love how Australia puts its hand in the air whenever there's trouble around the world. We just seem to get ourselves involved. I think it says a lot about us as a nation, although that's probably stating the bleeding obvious. Let me ask you about the community that you helped last night by just being there. They would have felt great comfort. Is the Nepalese community in Australia, is it concentrated in certain areas, Matt? Is it just spread all around the country? What's your experience there or knowledge there?
Assistant Minister: Yeah, there's about 170,000 Australians who claim Nepalese heritage mainly concentrated in Sydney and Melbourne but obviously scattered throughout the country. Yesterday, I did a briefing with members of the Nepalese community, their leaders online. We had about 50 members of that community that we updated. I did that with Liberal MPs, with Labor MPs and independents who are also involved. So, it's cross-party, cross-parliamentary support for the Nepalese community. And then in the evening, I attended the vigil and spoke at that. I was joined by Sally Sitou, the Member for Reid, whose local community that's situated in. Most of the Nepalese community is in Sydney, in Western Sydney. And it was a great show of strength and unity last night, support from the Australian community. And you're right, Luke, when disaster like this strikes anywhere throughout the world, Australia is one of the first nations to put its hand up. And I think that that shows a lot about the Australian character.
Grant Yeah. And the other thing, I guess before I let you go, I know you've got other things to do, obviously. But, you know, you hear about the number of missing increasing or the people that have sadly perished increasing, but there's one shouldn't give up. And the best example is the Australian Cara Severino, who was hiking in the region. Her family feared the worst, obviously, but she was able to contact her family and say that she's okay now. She's not completely safe yet. She's got a bit of a hike ahead of her. But there is a potential, even though it looks grim, for good news, isn't there?
Assistant Minister: That's exactly right, Luke. We haven't given up hope at all. That's why we've sent our experts that are trained in these situations around hopefully, recovery to go to the region. And that story about Cara is quite remarkable. Unfortunately, because the road network's been wiped out, the telecommunications infrastructure has gone down, there's been 10,000 homes that have been lost, power plants are out, very difficult to get access to Cara. But we're working with her family to get officials as close as possible to her to provide her with safe transport back to Kathmandu as quickly as possible. But a remarkable story and we're very, very thankful and grateful.
Grant: Yeah, fantastic. All right, Aussies with information or needing information, contact DFAT via Smartraveller. There's a 24-hour consular emergency centre, 1300 555 135. I'm happy to repeat those numbers if you've missed them. And Minister, thank you so much for your time. I don't know if we'd be able to find you tomorrow morning, but if things change and we reach out, if you could make some time. We'd really appreciate it, because you're doing a great job here. A lot of people concerned, obviously, and wanting to know as much as we can. But for now, thanks so much, Matt Thistlethwaite.
Assistant Minister: Thanks, Luke. More than happy to provide an update tomorrow.