Interview with Adam Shirley – ABC Radio Canberra

ADAM SHIRLEY:

Picture for a moment being in the firing line of a tsunami triggered by a massive undersea volcano eruption. That’s what Tongan locals and the surrounding islands in the Pacific have had to cope with in the last couple of days since the Hunga‑Tonga‑Hunga‑Ha’apai volcanic eruption. With communications in Tonga cut because of the damage, the safety of thousands of locals is unknown. Zed Seselja is the Minister for International Development and the Pacific and an ACT Senator. Minister Seselja, we appreciate your time in what is a pretty difficult period of time for our friends in Tonga.

ZED SESELJA:

Yeah, good morning, Adam. Thank you for having me on.

ADAM SHIRLEY:

The initial Australian surveillance flight out of Amberley airbase due at 2.00 am was delayed due to the ash cloud. When might that take off and what further support are you looking to provide?

ZED SESELJA:

That’s right, Adam. It was delayed, but we anticipate that it will now take off in about 25 minutes from now, 8.00 am Brisbane time, 9.00 am Australian Eastern Daylight Saving Time. So, we anticipate that would take a few hours to then get over the relevant areas. So, New Zealand PC – P3 Orion, I should say, has already taken off and is on its way to Tonga. So, we will be working together with New Zealand authorities to make sure we spread those areas that we’re surveilling so that we can particularly focus on some of those outer islands where communications have been completely cut off. Communications into the main island are very, very difficult. There is some satellite capacity at the moment, but very, very difficult. And I know there’s many Canberrans, many Australians of Tongan origin in particular who are very concerned and unable to contact loved ones. That assessment will occur over these next few hours and that will obviously feed into the damage assessments we’re getting.

We are getting damage assessments on the ground, which I’ll go to, but you asked me about what other support. So, we have a C-130 aircraft ready at Amberley, which is filled with humanitarian supplies. There needs to be discussions with the Tongan Government about when it’s safe for that plane to go and to land, but that is ready to go with humanitarian supplies, particularly shelter kits for families and others who have been displaced. We also have pre‑positioned on the ground in Tonga – and this is very important part of planning – through our NGO partners, such as the Red Cross, we have pre‑positioned humanitarian supplies on the ground, and so those would obviously be the first port of call for Australian assistance coming on the ground at a time when obviously flights to the area are still very, very difficult. In addition, we have HMAS Adelaide is deploying from Sydney to Brisbane, where it obviously will be loading up more substantial amounts of humanitarian supplies ready to deploy as needed.

ADAM SHIRLEY:

As far as the ongoing support made with AFP or Army call-ups, what are the priorities that you as minister can see that Tonga will need?

ZED SESELJA:

Well, that’s part of, I guess, the assessments that are being made at the moment. I think it’s almost certain. Obviously, shelter, which I have touched on, but water and fuel we anticipate will be in high demand and potentially in short supply, so that’s part of what HMAS Adelaide will be doing. I should say that with the limited communications we’ve had, we’ve obviously been able to get some reports from Post and from the AFP. Now, the AFP visited the western beaches today and they report significant damage there with inundations of the main road and, quote, houses thrown across the road. That’s obviously quite concerning.

The good news in terms of the reports that we’ve been getting is that there’s no reports of any sort of mass casualties. We’re not aware of any deaths, although obviously we put the caveat on that that there is limited information, particularly from the outer islands. I should also say the other piece of good news is we understand that the airport hasn’t – as we understand – suffered any significant damage which will mean that as soon as it’s safe to do so for flights, there will be the ability for flights to be able to land and deliver humanitarian supplies.

ADAM SHIRLEY:

That sounds like a sliver of good news in the scheme of what we’re trying to assess still. How might the eruption in Tonga and the resulting tsunami affect the nation’s COVID response and how could Australia help in the weeks ahead on that front?

ZED SESELJA:

Yeah, well, the COVID response in Tonga – obviously, they have had very strict border controls, which has kept COVID, basically, out of the country. Obviously, any response – and in discussions with our New Zealand counterparts, obviously this has been a high priority to make sure that if and when we’re able to get, for instance, humanitarian flights in, that it will comply with the very, very strict COVID protocols they have, because obviously the last thing we’d want to do is see the pandemic coming into Tonga when they have successfully managed it to date. So, that will be very high on the priority list, but, obviously, depending on the assessments of damage, depending on our discussions with the Tongan Government as communications come back up, there will obviously be a need to deliver assistance. We’re keen to deliver as much as assistance as we possibly can, but we will, of course, be very mindful of and have very strong procedures in place to keep everyone safe in that regard.

ADAM SHIRLEY:

Senator Zed Seselja, Senator for the ACT and Minister for International Development and the Pacific is with us on ABC Canberra Mornings. My name’s Adam Shirley. It’s 19 to 9. Minister, I know your time is pressed, but I wanted to ask you because I heard you on AM today responding to the court determination on Novak Djokovic. Immigration Minister Alex Hawke said that letting Djokovic stay in Australia could foster anti‑vax sentiment, risk public health and good order in the Australian community. If that’s the reason from the Immigration Minister, what action might your fellow Coalition members like George Christensen or Gerard Rennick face?

ZED SESELJA:

Well, obviously those are very different issues. So, what has been dealt with here and what the courts have upheld in terms of Minister Hawke’s decision is a decision around the granting of a visa, and so obviously the granting of visas is done according to Australian law. It is done according to the rules that are in place for everyone coming into the country. And so, what has happened in relation to Novak Djokovic is a demonstration that the rules obviously apply to everyone who is coming into the country and seeking a visa from the Australian Government, regardless of whether you are a tennis star or whether you are someone else in the community who are seeking to come in. Obviously, our border closures and restrictions, which obviously are gradually being used over these past few months as we see a change in circumstances, but they’ve obviously been very difficult. They’ve been very difficult for Australians. We know that. And we obviously saw some changes to that with Australians being able to return. But Australians have played by the rules and sometimes that’s been very difficult, and obviously it’s a difficult situation, but it’s important that these border rules are applied consistently.

ADAM SHIRLEY:

The visa is obviously the central issue, but if George Christensen suggested in Parliament civil disobedience in response to vaccine mandates, if Gerard Rennick claimed that COVID‑19 vaccinations amounted to experimenting on children, how is that not spreading anti‑vax sentiment, which seems to be the Immigration Minister’s main reasoning for pushing Novak Djokovic out of the country?

ZED SESELJA:

Well, I think the Prime Minister, from the Prime Minister down, he’s made it very clear when he has been asked about those kinds of comments that he completely rejects them, and the Australian Government has been very clear on the issues at stake here. That’s why we’ve rolled out a vaccination program which has seen Australians have some of the highest vaccination rates in the world. That’s why we’ve taken all sorts of decisions along the way. And yes, there have been some colleagues from time to time who have disagreed with those decisions, but that has been the Government’s position. The Prime Minister’s position has not changed. From time to time, when comments from people such as those who you’ve mentioned are put to the Prime Minister, of course, he rejects them. But what we’re dealing with and what you’re asking me about in the Novak Djokovic case is about the application of our border rules. What it’s demonstrated is that we apply them consistently.

ADAM SHIRLEY:

We’ll stay in touch regarding the Tongan situation and we appreciate your time at the start of Mornings on 2022. Thank you, Minister, for that.

ZED SESELJA:

Thanks for having me on, Adam.

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