Hon Patrick Gorman MP on Afternoon Agenda Interview

TOM CONNELL, HOST: Joining me live now in the studio, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister, Patrick Gorman. Thank you for your time.

PATRICK GORMAN, ASSISTANT MINISTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER: Thank you, Tom.

CONNELL: Is this a war?

GORMAN: It is obviously a significant conflict. I think what we've seen is a huge level of escalation, significant change in Iran and clearly the United States said that they're not finished yet.

CONNELL: Should Australians know if Pine Gap is being used?

GORMAN: We have been very clear that this is a US-led activity. We are not a party to this conflict. We support the action that the United States has taken. We have been very clear about that. But this is led by the United States. And very clearly, it's their assets in the region that are doing this work.

CONNELL: All of the work? So it's the assets in the region doing the work, meaning it's not Pine Gap?

GORMAN: Tom, I think you know, and I think your viewers know, that there's been lots of speculation about Australian assets. We don't engage in that speculation. This is not something that the Australian Government is a party to. It is being led by the US.

CONNELL: Do we ever deny the US? Say 'no, you can't use Pine Gap for this'. Because what we heard from the Government was they weren't given advanced warning. So if they've got general access to Pine Gap, then I guess it could have been used.

GORMAN: What happens with Australian assets is that we know what those assets are used for. You know that, your viewers know that. But pretty clearly we are talking about something that's happening on the other side of the world, Tom. Genuinely in the other hemisphere. It is clearly happening using the significant naval assets the United States have placed there. Significant aerial assets they have placed there. That is pretty clear.

CONNELL: Statement issued by the Government, you said it's clear we support the US, it was. There was no mention of Israel. They are joint partners in this action. Does Australia also support Israel in this action?

GORMAN: It is a US-led operation. Israel is assisting the work that the United States is doing, and of course, Israel is rightly defending itself from some of the retaliatory fire we've seen coming into Israel. And that's obviously deeply concerning. But it's not just concerning for Israel, it's concerning for a range of countries in the region, including United Arab Emirates. We've got a large number of Australians who live and work in the Middle East. Our focus right now is on those Australians, as you'd expect it to be, but this is a US-led mission, and -

CONNELL: It's US-led, but it's everywhere described as joint. So, when the statement comes out from the Australian Government saying 'we support the US mission', is Israel being left off deliberately?

GORMAN: And we support the outcomes that it is seeking to achieve. That is to deny Iran the ability to develop nuclear weapons. And that's been a concern that Australia has had for a very long time.

CONNELL: And you support proponents, US and Israel.

GORMAN: It is a concern that a range of nations in the region have had. Israel obviously has that concern. We share that concern, but it's a US-led mission.

CONNELL: But you seem determined to not talk about the Israel part in it, or say you support that too. There are obviously sensitivities around -

GORMAN: I just said I support Israel's right to defend itself, and -

CONNELL: Israeli actions -

GORMAN: Israeli actions are in their self-defence.

CONNELL: For Australians stranded, for people who can't get out, will military planes be provided? Is that being looked at? Where is that aspect at?

GORMAN: We have already activated the Consular Emergency Centre to assist Australians, I encourage them to contact that Centre if they are in the region and looking to leave. Obviously, our travel advice has been clear for Iran for a long time and is constantly reviewed. And when we review that travel advice, we also review what is necessary to make sure we are providing assistance to Australians in the region. I don't want to rule in or rule out actions we might take. This is a significant escalation that we've seen over the last 48 hours. It's very clear from statements from the United States that they plan to continue these actions for a period of time. We will do what's necessary where we can to keep Australians safe, recognising that in some parts of the region, we don't have consular support or embassies.

CONNELL: And on the ISIS brides, ISIS cohort - the Government has said they don't want the cohort back, they've made the wrong decision. Are you working, or open to, any new laws that would help that to happen if current laws don't prevent it?

GORMAN: There are a range of laws that we can use right now, and you've seen in some cases the Minister using those laws. I think the speculation around the laws that were announced about a week ago from the new Opposition Leader is a bit hard to deal with, because they say they've drafted the laws. They have said that for a week now. They haven't passed them around, they haven't even introduced them into Parliament, so.

CONNELL: So what does that mean? You'll look at them when you see them, you're open to them?

GORMAN: We'll take advice on the laws necessary to keep Australians safe from our security agencies, not from Angus Taylor. Angus Taylor has sat in the Home Affairs portfolio. He knows, he was a junior minister in that portfolio in the previous government. He knows that you take advice based on national security advice from those agencies -

CONNELL: And is that it? There's no element of Labor that says, 'we're not comfortable with a step of blocking someone getting a passport'. Is that an issue you would need to debate separately to whether or not that's a safe thing to do for Australians?

GORMAN: When it comes to the issuing of passports, that is something that is tied to people's citizenship. It's not tied to an active government decision. You don't have a minister deciding every single person who receives a passport. It is tied to people's citizenship. How we treat people when they arrive on our shores, when it comes to whether or not they've breached criminal codes, very clearly: whether you're an Australian citizen or a visitor to this country, the law applies to you, and you've breached those laws. Of which they are extensive when it comes to criminal acts, where it comes to supporting or assisting terrorist organisations.

CONNELL: So you wouldn't, on a whim, raise that bar on a passport. You'd consider that something that needs more debate before you do it. Is that your point, that there's a certain element of right that comes of being a citizen you don't want to trample on?

GORMAN: Look, I'm quite conservative when it comes to how we look at making sure we put the safety of Australians who are doing the right thing as our primary focus, when it comes to how we deal with these very complex questions. But we are also dealing with this under the same passport laws that have existed for a long number of years, including under the former government, where we did see people come back from some of these conflict zones.

CONNELL: Okay. I'm getting told I must wrap. I'll obey that. Patrick Gorman, appreciate your time, thank you.

GORMAN: Thanks Tom.