Emma Rebellato, Host: Cabinet Minister Pat Conroy joins us now from Suva in Fiji. Minister, thanks for joining us.
Minister Pat Conroy: My pleasure.
Rebellato: Syria is saying that your government was the deciding factor in their departure. What's your response to that?
Conroy: Well, let me repeat statements we provided previously. We have not and will not provide any assistance for any cohort of these particular people to come back to Australia. They all made a horrific choice to go to ISIS controlled areas and they have not, they will not receive assistance and will face the full force of the law should they make it back to Australia.
Rebellato: The Syrian government officials said they had to wait until the Australian Government had put procedures in place to receive the women. So, what exactly is going on here then?
Conroy: Well, we obviously have been monitoring the situation and monitoring this cohort. The Director-General of ASIO has been very clear about that. But they've not received assistance from us. As the AFP Commissioner indicated yesterday, some of the group when they arrive in Australia will be charged and prosecuted and the others will be subject to monitoring.
Rebellato: Some Australians are pretty worried about this. What do you say to them?
Conroy: Again, from Prime Minister Albanese down, we've condemned the actions of these women. They chose to go to a war zone. They chose to go to an area controlled by ISIS to participate in that conflict in some form. And as the AFP Commissioner has said, some will be charged, some will be arrested and charged. Others that won't be charged will be subject to constant monitoring. And we always follow the advice of our security agencies, and in this particular instance ASIO. We follow their advice and we implement what they say is the most appropriate course of action.
Rebellato: Minister, we're all watching very closely the situation in the Middle East with talks between the US and Iran. Your privy to a lot of information that we don't have. How close are we to getting a deal?
Conroy: Look, we're always hopeful that a deal can be arranged. We've called consistently for de-escalation, for the ceasefire to continue, for de-escalation to occur, for a peace deal to occur and for the Strait of Hormuz to be reopened. That's the interest of the entire globe. We've been very clear that on the stated goals of the United States that they've been achieved and there's no reason why this cannot be de-escalated. So, any move towards that is one we would welcome. We've been working very hard behind the scenes to secure additional fuel for Australians, recognising that's the primary impact on Australia at the moment post the initial conflict where we saw thousands of Australians stranded. So, we've been very focused on getting sufficient fuel supplies for Australians. But we want this conflict ended and we want the strait reopened.
Rebellato: Well, speaking of fuel, you are in Fiji in Suva as we mentioned. Australia is giving Fiji $30 million to help deal with fuel costs. Why is that? Is this just about getting in and locking in a deal before China does?
Conroy: Well, Penny Wong and I are here to continue negotiating to the Vuvale Union. We announced yesterday an intention to establish a Vuvale union between Australia and Fiji, an elevated strategic partnership. That will be another treaty that we've negotiated throughout the Pacific to ensure that Australia is the partner of choice. We also made a separate announcement that we would be providing $30 million in budget support to the government of Fiji to deal with the price shock associated with the fuel crisis. This fuel crisis is having a big impact in the Pacific as it is in Australia. And we're there to support the Pacific nations as they deal with this. Funding is coming out of the existing official development assistance, or foreign aid budget, that we have at our disposal. But it was unallocated and we've used that money to provide budget support to Fiji so they can deal with the price shocks that they're dealing with. And we're working with the rest of the Pacific to help them because we're good neighbours. We're all part of the Pacific family and we want to ensure that they have adequate fuel not just for transport but for electricity generation. All these countries rely on diesel generators for electricity to run things like hospitals. And it's a good neighbour that helps a neighbour when they're in trouble.
Rebellato: Well, speaking of what's going on at home as well, the government's $10 billion fuel package boosting fuel stockpiles by about 10 days, does that go far enough?
Conroy: It's a really important initiative as part of the Albanese Government's commitment to building national sovereignty, whether it's in heavy manufacturing, fuel security or my area of defence industry. We want to be able to make more things in this country, want to have more resilience, independence. And that's why yesterday's visionary announcement was so important. We've worked very hard to secure additional fuel. Fuel holdings are actually, particularly in petrol, higher than where they were before the conflict began. And we've secured additional shiploads of fuel through our export finance mechanism. But we need to do more. And that's what yesterday's announcement was about. And it's about an Australian government responding to the crises with long-term planning and vision so that we have that sovereignty and independence that every Australian wants us to have.
Rebellato: Minister Pat Conroy, thanks for your time.
Conroy: Thanks, Emma. Have a great morning.