Interview with Greg Jennett, Afternoon Briefing, ABC News

Greg Jennett, Host: Tim Watts, good to have you back with us again on Afternoon Briefing. Many people will have heard the Prime Minister and Penny Wong imploring Australian citizens and residents who might be in Lebanon to leave and leave quickly, anticipating of course an escalation of missile or other armed conflict in that area. Just to start our conversation, how many Australians does the department estimate might be in Lebanon?

Tim Watts, Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs: Well, Greg, Australia and Lebanon are connected intensely through our diaspora community and at any moment in time, there can be up to 20,000 Australians in Lebanon. So, this is a significant Australian community and we have one very clear message for all Australian citizens and residents in Lebanon, and that is: now is the time to leave. You're hearing it from the Prime Minister, from the Foreign Minister. If you're an Australian citizen or resident in Lebanon now, now is the time to leave. If you're considering travelling from Australia to Lebanon, we recommend very strongly: do not. The situation in the region at the moment is precarious. We could see an escalation in the circumstances in the region at very short notice. We could see a deterioration in the security situation with very little warning. At the moment, Beirut airport is still operating. There are still commercial flights in and out, and we are asking Australians to take those opportunities. The best time to leave a crisis situation is before it starts.

Jennett: I might talk further about logistics planning which we know DFAT would routinely do, Tim Watts. But as you'd understand the ABC has made contact with members of the Lebanese community diaspora, and some are conveying obvious human concern for relatives who are not Australians in Lebanon, that is they would like to stay out of concern for them. Do you appreciate that and would the government be open to assisting if it came to this non-Australian citizens, that is, family members?

Watts: Well, Greg, we share those concerns. You know, we do not want to see large-scale conflict between Israel and Lebanon. And we've sent a very clear message to the Netanyahu Government, to Lebanon, and to Tehran, that the time for de-escalation is now. We want to see restraint. We want to see the current situation resolved through diplomatic channels and we really encourage all parties involved in this issue, to engage with the US and with the French processes that are currently underway to try and deal with these tensions. So, we do not want to see conflict here. The civilian consequences of such a conflict would be enormous and that's for Israeli citizens, for Lebanese citizens, and for the tens of thousands of Australian citizens and residents in Lebanon.

Jennett: They are general and broad representations to the parties involved. Would you make a specific one or has one been made to the Israeli Government not to make Beirut airport - the main airport there - a target, so that it can remain open in any event?

Watts: We have made specific representations to the Netanyahu Government, to the Lebanese Government, and to Tehran, that the time for restraint is now, that there is no scope for escalation of this conflict because of the civilian consequences of such a conflict in Israel, and in Lebanon, and for many, many Australian citizens. We have a significant interest in - and I just say that, you know, there's a history here, and many Lebanese Australians might be saying, you know, ‘I've heard this before’, well can I just say to them, don't push your luck. Don't wait and see how this turns out. The time to leave is now. There are commercial options available. Please, take them up. Don't look back in a month's time and regret not having taken that option now.

Jennett: Yes, noted. That is very clear advice. Of course, there would remain a risk that if things deteriorated, Beirut airport could close. So, can we discuss logistics and planning, Tim? Richard Marles has said contingencies - his word - are being examined for possible evacuations, what are they?

Watts: Well, Greg, even before the October 7 terrorist attacks, I travelled to Beirut in Lebanon to review Australian consular contingency plannings for a crisis in Lebanon. You know, regrettably, we have experience with seeking to evacuate Australians from crisis situations in Lebanon. We saw a significant evacuation in 2006. But can I say that recent developments in the region and the immediate area surrounding Lebanon mean that any such evacuation this time around will be significantly more difficult. You know, if Beirut airport closes, we are saying to Australians that we cannot guarantee our ability to evacuate you. You may need to remain in Beirut for an extended period of time during that crisis period. That's why we're giving very strong advice. Take the options available to you now to leave by the commercial flights that are still operating from Beirut airport.

Jennett: Are there any RAAF assets or more broadly Australian defence assets already positioned in the region as part of contingencies?

Watts: Well, Greg, we've made extensive contingency planning and a lot of those contingencies involve evacuating Australians from third countries. But the point that I would make is that you need to be able to get from Lebanon to those third countries and it is very difficult in this situation. The region broadly at the moment is on the brink of a very significant escalation and that complicates the consular efforts and the contingency planning of all countries. You know, that's why we're trying to be absolutely clear here in saying that now is the time to leave.

Jennett: I think in previous crises going back more than a decade now, there has been seaborne transportation to places like Cyprus. Is that within scope and planning for DFAT or the government?

Watts: We certainly plan for all available options in a crisis like this. But you know, since the 2006 evacuation, we've seen that terrible, terrible explosion at the Beirut port, which has affected port capacity there. We've also seen a deterioration in the security situation of adjoining countries to Lebanon. So, you know the context that we are operating in, the context that we would be deploying the plans that we have made for consular contingencies are far more complex today than they were in the past. So, that's why I'm saying the simplest way to get out of Lebanon is to get the next flight out of Beirut airport now.

Jennett: That message is coming through loud and clear. I'm just trying to look a little further down the track, I'm certainly not trying to undermine your messaging here, Tim Watts. But cooperation with other governments including for instance the UK, is that meshed into what you're doing?

Watts: Look, absolutely Greg and that was probably one of the lessons that we took from the 2006 crisis, the need to work very closely with other like-minded countries with significant diaspora communities in Lebanon. You know, I'm thinking in that respect of Canada, the US, the UK, all of which have very significant communities of citizens, residents and family in Lebanon. But can I say to you, Greg, that all of those countries, the foreign ministers, the foreign secretaries of those countries are giving the same message at the moment and that is that now is the time to leave.

Jennett: And if it came to it, what are the limits or extent of government planning as to DFAT responsibilities? Is it to get Australians home to Australia or simply to a safe place from which they could then make their own commercial or private arrangements?

Watts: Well Greg, every consular crisis is different, and every consular crisis is shaped by the immediate circumstances that precipitate it, so we would need to assess that according to the circumstances that we confront in that eventuality. But, you know, when I look at other crisis responses that we've made since we came to government, when I think about the evacuation from Sudan, for example, you know, some people left Sudan overland to countries like Egypt, and they were supported by Australian consular officials, in outposts in Egypt. You know, some took our boats to Jeddah where they were met by Australian consular officials that were deployed there. Some were evacuated on flights operated by partner countries, or some were evacuated on RAAF flights that left the country as well and they were met in third countries by Australian consular officials who then assisted them with onward travel. You know, the circumstances are different in every crisis, and we would make an assessment based on the facts as we confronted them.

Jennett: Your advice has been very frank today, Tim Watts. And who knows with how events unfold, we may have you back before too long.

Watts: Thanks Greg.