Thank you very much for joining us. And it is wonderful to have welcomed my friend, Mark Carney, the Prime Minister of Canada to Australia. And to be able to reciprocate the generous hospitality that I received at last year's G7 Summit. Canada is one of Australia's closest and long standing partners. And today in our bilateral we've discussed the Indo-Pacific, developments in the Middle East, the war in Ukraine, cooperation in economic security, the critical importance of the clean energy transition as well as defence cooperation. With the international system under increasing pressure, we want to work together and with our partners to uphold and defend peace, security and prosperity. Today we can announce that we've agreed to deepen our relationship across several areas, building on our Joint Declaration of Intent on Critical Minerals that we signed last year, we have agreed to increase collaboration on critical minerals through a range of measures. Pursuing common positions on key critical minerals issues, increasing alignment between Australia's Critical Minerals Strategic Reserve and Canada's Defence Stockpiling Regime, working together to shape emerging markets as well as Australia joining Canada's G7 Critical Minerals Production Alliance. We're advancing our shared economic security through new annual Economic Ministers' meetings, new formal talks between our Industry Ministers, a new Clean Energy Partnership and a commitment by Ministers to advance cooperation through Australian and Canadian AI Safety Institutes. We will strengthen our defence and security cooperation through a new biannual Defence Ministers Meeting. Continuing our collaboration on the development of Arctic Over the Horizon radar system, Australia's largest ever defence export. We're expanding our institutional connections through a Joint Declaration of Intent between our National Emergency Management Agency and the Public Safety Canada Organisation to boost what has been a long standing cooperation over many years and a new annual Emergency Ministers Meeting as well. In addition to that, the reconfiguration of the Canada Australia Public Policy Initiative, development within the with the Canada Australia Polar Science Partnership and greater cooperation between the Canadian Space Agency and the Australian Space Agency on Canada's wildfire sat mission. Mr Prime Minister, all Australians are forever grateful for the brave contribution that Canadian firefighters have made each year, but in particular, some of our darkest moments were the Black Summer of 2019-2020. As long standing partners and friends, we have so much to build on in our relationship, and as middle powers in what is a complex world, we recognise that we can work together and with all partners to shape it for the better. So, I thank you and Mrs Fox Carney, as well as your delegation, for your visit here to Australia. I look forward to the further dialogue that we'll have this afternoon. Myself and Jodie look forward to hosting you this evening for dinner, and Toto will be there as well, our little dog - so I hope that's okay. She will hunt down who the weakest is in your pack to beg for food. I assure you she is not starving. We have a great relationship. It's been made even stronger by your presence here. And I'd welcome some remarks.
MARK CARNEY, PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA: Thank you very much. Well, I too, am not starving after even 48 hours in Australia. And Prime Minister, I want to thank you, Jodie, thank your colleagues, for your graciousness in hosting myself and my colleagues here. You have more than reciprocated for the hospitality we extended as part of the G7. And to repay the debt, our door is always open to you and anyone from Australia to visit Canada. I'll remind you on June 13th the Socceroos are playing in Vancouver, so I'll be there welcome you off the plane for having seen them in action in the Fall - a great victory at that point. In seriousness, it was a deep honour to address the Australian Parliament, and thank you very much for extending that. Canada and Australia are close partners. Forces trained together, exchange intelligence, we have trade exchanges that exceed $6 billion, and this number is constantly increasing. And we are parliamentary democracies with federal structures, things in common, as I said, a common heritage. But what distinguishes our partnership, our friendship, is how we have built on those foundations. And now, in a more uncertain, more divided world, Canada and Australia are middle powers charting our own course with confidence, ambition and partnership. We're doing that together because we've grown up together. And with an ocean between us, we may not see each other quite as much as we'd like, but whenever we do, like family, it feels like no time has passed. In times of need, we've looked out for each other, in the exchange of firefighters, also as I said in the Chamber, on the battlefield. It's on these foundations we're building. Canada is building partnerships abroad. In the past just under one year, we've signed 20 new economic and security partnerships across four continents. But in that mission, all those partnerships are not created equal. We turn to our most trusted allies, Australia first and foremost amongst them, those who share our values of democracy, freedom and sovereignty. In my very first week as Prime Minister, we spoke, we announced our partnership on the world leading Over the Horizon Radar System developed by Australia that will detect, deter and defend threats in Canada's Arctic. Since then our Governments have worked on several key initiatives as the Prime Minister just referenced. Australia helped launch the G7 Critical Minerals Alliance, a group we're reinforcing today. In November we launched a trilateral partnership with India on AI and innovation - partnership we accelerated this past week in India. So, whether it's in trade, security, critical minerals, getting Vegemite back on the shelves -
PRIME MINISTER ALBANESE: Very important.
PRIME MINISTER CARNEY: Very important. That's probably the biggest legacy of the past year. Canada and Australia are getting big things done together. And now here in Canberra for the first bilateral visit by Canadian Prime Minister to Australia in nearly two decades, elevating our partnership across energy, critical minerals, defence, AI and also in investment. We know that middle powers must work together to build up our sovereignty in these key strategic sectors. We're also building our defence capabilities across the next generation of drones, surveillance aircraft, cyber, AI. We're developing sovereign AI capabilities so we're not caught between the hyperscalers and the hegemons. And in a world where access to capital is increasingly weaponised, we're leveraging our pension funds and our supers to be a force multiplier.Yesterday, when I was in Sydney, I had the opportunity to meet with some of Australia's largest institutional investors, including the IFM, who announced their intention to invest up to $10 billion in Canada. Two sovereign nations, two proud democracies. Prime Minister Albanese, as you said in the chamber, we may look to different skies, North Star in our hemisphere, the Southern Cross in yours. I'm glad to see the Canadian connection there, the flag. But as you said today, we are at our very best when we look over our wide horizons. For when we do, we find a partner who shares our history, our values and our ambitions to build. Thank you very much, my friend. Merci beaucoup. Look forward to the questions.
PRIME MINISTER OF AUSTRALIA: Thank you. We have a number of questions. Australia first.
JOURNALIST: Thanks, Prime Minister. Can I ask both leaders, as you're aware, the war in the Middle East appears to be widening with Iran launching missiles towards Türkiye. And we saw of course, it now spreading to our region with the US Navy sinking an Iranian ship off the Sri Lankan coast. Can I ask both leaders, are you troubled by the expansion of the conflict and do you have any comments, most particularly on the recent actions of the US Navy, particularly given Prime Minister Carney your call recently for a rapid de-escalation in the conflict?
PRIME MINISTER OF AUSTRALIA: Well, we both, of course, the Prime Minister, can speak for himself, but I think the world wants to see a de-escalation and wants to see Iran cease to spread the destinations of its attacks. We're seeing Gulf states that have not been involved attacked across the board, including the attacks on civilian and tourist areas as well. We also want to see the objectives achieved. I want to see the possibility of Iran getting a nuclear weapon removed once and for all. And I also want to see a removal of the ongoing threat that has been there for such a long period of time, of Iran endangering peace and security and stability, not just in its own region, but here in Australia. Of course, we saw at least two events linked to the IRGC, to acts of terrorism here, funded, sourced, motivated and driven by the Iranian regime. And we want to see that end.
PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA: Yes, thank you, Prime Minister. I associate myself entirely with that response. First, let's recognise the regime we're talking about. It's a regime that first and foremost in its own country for almost five decades, has repressed its people. Repressed women, killed its people, large numbers even in recent weeks, up to 15,000 peaceful demonstrators murdered by this regime. It's a regime that's exported terrorism for decades across the Middle East. It's reached the shores here. It's a regime that's killed scores of Canadians, including in the disaster, the tragedy, rather, in 2020, PS752, where scores of Canadians died and that airline or that aircraft was shot down. As the Prime Minister just said, it is a regime that reacts to this by attacking civilians and civilian infrastructure in other countries. And so while we want to see a broader de-escalation of these hostilities with a broader group of countries than just the direct belligerence involved, we recognise, we stress that that cannot be achieved unless we're in a position that Iran's ability to acquire a nuclear weapon, develop a nuclear weapon and to export terrorism is ended. So, that process must lead to those outcomes.
JOURNALIST: A question for Prime Minister Carney. You've said that Canada will not participate in US military action in Iran. So, can you definitively say that's going to remain the case even if hostilities broaden, escalate or are prolonged?
PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA: You've asked a fundamental hypothetical, in a conflict that can spread very broadly, today's events and recent events, point to that. So, one can never categorically rule out participation. We will stand by our allies. But it makes sense. There's a distinction between the offensive actions that were taken and are being taken by the United States and Israel, that were taken by them without consultation with Canada, with other, with other allies. And we're not party to those actions. But we will always defend Canadians. We will always stand by and defend our allies when called upon.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister Carney, given your scepticism about the United States' foreign and defence policy and the old world institutions that you've discussed a few times now, is the Five Eyes alliance still a viable operating model? Does it need modernising?
PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA: I would say that many things, there are many challenges, but there are many things that continue to function very well and the Five Eyes would be top of that list.
JOURNALIST: The Defence Minister called for a ceasefire in Iran. Do you also call for an immediate ceasefire?
PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA: Before there can be a ceasefire, there needs to be a de-escalation of hostilities. Right now we have a spreading of hostilities. We recognise that. And before we get there, there needs to be the ending of targeting civilians, civilian infrastructure. Those are necessary conditions before ceasefire can exist. Thank you.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister Carney, you spoke a lot about trust in your speech. Given the actions of America, particularly on tariffs recently, do you trust Donald Trump and can Australia trust Donald Trump? And Prime Minister Albanese when it comes to your campaign on a Future Made in Australia, how does today's critical minerals deal cooperate and interact with that plan to be Australia first in all cases?
PRIME MINISTER CARNEY: Thank you. Well, certainly, look, the facts are we're in a position where Canada has a comprehensive free trade agreement with the United States. There's certain protocols under that agreement. If temporary tariffs or other tariffs are put in place, those have not been followed. So, that agreement effectively has been broken in the short term by US actions. That's a fact that would be acknowledged, I think, by all sides. Maybe slightly more diplomatic terms would be used, but that's the reality that puts us in a position where we need to build on what we have in order to reestablish that trust commercially. What we have and what we have to build on is considerable. It is the case, beneath the headlines and the noise, if you will, more than 85 per cent of our trade is tariff-free. Our actual average tariff rate is less than 5 per cent with the United States. There are issues in certain sectors, and we want to address them. We are engaging with the United States as part of what they call the USMCA process, we call CUSMA, for that review. And it's that process that is the process to reestablish the trust, if you will, the viable agreement that individuals, companies, investors and others can look to with confidence. So, yes, we need to do that, but there's a process to do that and we're committed to do that if the United States is.
PRIME MINISTER ALBANESE: Our critical minerals deal that we've upgraded today is perfectly consistent with our Future Made in Australia agenda. Both of us, when we had our ministerial discussion, spoke about the need for economic resilience. Now, that has a number of aspects. Our trading relationships and both of us are seeking to diversify those trading relationships and make sure that we're not vulnerable to a shock of any one particular nation and a breakdown in those relationships. But secondly as well, part of economic resilience is making sure that as two great suppliers of critical minerals, and the Prime Minister outlined in his speech to Parliament just how that combination in some of the critical minerals such as lithium represent a large percentage of the world's production. If we work together, then what that does is obviously have an impact not just on supply, but also on price, but also on value-adding in our respective countries as well. That is one of the ways that you avoid economic dependency, where you build that national economic resilience. And the combination of us working together on this just makes both of the strategies that we have stronger. So, for example, our critical minerals strategic reserve, working with Canada's defence stockpiling regime, is a strength for both of those structures that have been put in place, if we're actually talking to each other and working together. And that's what we aim to do.
JOURNALIST: Hi, Prime Minister. And I will be asking a follow up as well. You're calling for de-escalation of hostilities in Iran. Your comments at the Institute last night acknowledged there was some predictability that this conflict would be widening beyond the initial strike. So, if that was your logic from the outset, why in your first statement did you not call for any kind of de-escalation?
PRIME MINISTER CARNEY: Because it was, look, it was the very beginning. We made a statement, Australia made a statement within hours of the beginning of the hostilities. And the objectives of the hostilities, as we understood it, could not have been achieved in that, in that period. So, you cannot at the same time as the action is starting, you cannot stop this action immediately. And that's consistent and logical, isn't it?
JOURNALIST: Did you speak too quickly or should you have taken your time?
PRIME MINISTER CARNEY: No, it was essential for us to highlight the nature, the grave threat that emanates from Iran in terms of our efforts to disarm, to prevent nuclear weapons and the export of extremism and terrorism.
JOURNALIST: But your European allies called for de-escalation immediately, didn't they? Why didn't you?
PRIME MINISTER CARNEY: Because we are sovereign. We make our own decisions.
JOURNALIST: How can you say you initially - I understand your first statement, you said, was made in hours - but you also said there was some predictability, you knew this was going to widen. So, how can you have it both ways? And in hindsight, should you have called for de-escalation in that first statement?
PRIME MINISTER CARNEY: No, in hindsight, to that point, in my judgement. Secondly, in terms of war, there are likelihoods, there are possibilities. You have to plan for the worst, but there are no certainties in conflict. And so now that the conflict has moved on, now that the conflict is involving a much wider group, but even if, I don't want to say even if, but moving into the Gulf, moving into civilian infrastructure, we're seeing a few things. One, it is not solely the decision of the principal belligerents to move to the de-escalation. We should recognise that the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council are showing tremendous restraint at the moment. They're solely acting in a defensive manner. That's true for a range of others. It's true for a number of our allies as well. And so, bringing those partners into these discussions - look, it is a very volatile, extremely complex situation. It's getting more complex as time goes on. But we absolutely stand by the fundamental principle that Iran should not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon and to continue to be a serial violator of international law. And these are not niceties. A serial violator of international law that is killing our citizens, that murders citizens by the thousands in these regions, that funds all the terrorist groups in the Middle East, from Hezbollah to Hamas to the Houthis. That aspect, that objective starts and that's where we stand. Thank you.
PRIME MINISTER ALBANESE: Can I thank you very much, Prime Minister. And can I invite you to be here next week and the week after, because this is the first press conference I've done for some time where someone else has got most of the questions. So, I thank you very much for it. And I welcome our Canadian media friends who are here with us as well. Thank you very much.
