STEPHEN SMITH - Wednesday, 24th September, 2008
TRANSCRIPT
It has certainly created plenty of political hot air before they flew
out, but what are Kevin Rudd, these days Kevin 747 to Malcolm Turnbull
and co, and his Foreign Minister, Stephen Smith doing exactly over in
the Big Apple this week? There's a small matter of an impending
financial global meltdown, sparked by the US credit debacle. 120 odd
world leaders at the UN General Assembly to discuss how the laudable
goal of reducing world poverty by half is faring, climate change, of
course. Australia's ambitious attempt to snare a seat on the UN
Security Council plus what is a dangerously brittle world generally
right now. Enough you'd think to make chewing the diplomatic and
political fat for a few days other than a complete waste of time.
George Negus spoke to Stephen Smith earlier today about these and other
pressing things internationally.
GEORGE NEGUS: Stephen Smith thank you very much for giving us
your time
because things are a bit hectic where you are at the moment?
STEPHEN SMITH, FOREIGN MINISTER: My pleasure George.
GEORGE NEGUS: I was thinking this morning that you and Kevin
Rudd must
be going a bit cross-eyed at the moment because you must be keeping one
eye on the UN and the other eye on Wall Street. What would you say is
the gravest situation that you guys are having to deal with at the
moment - the money, or the UN situation or both?
STEPHEN SMITH: In some respects it is both. The immediate
crisis, if I
can put it that way, is underpinning the international financial
system. We welcome very much the US Government's intervention of $700
billion intervention to underpin the financial services market in the
US. Our own analysis so far as Australia is concerned is that we think
not so much that we're immune but we're in good shape to absorb any of
the difficulties but the overall problem, of course, is in a context of
declining economic growth internationally. We're very concerned about
the adverse international repercussions of the shock to the financial
system. There's no doubt that that's become the topic of conversation
amongst leaders.
GEORGE NEGUS: How do you describe what's, the so-called
bailout?
Depending upon whether you're coming from it from the left or the right
- it's either being called the socialisation of the free market or
regulated capitalism. Can they have it both ways? How do you describe
what’s going on?
STEPHEN SMITH: Some people are describing it in both ways.
It’s not every day you see a $700 billion intervention. It's
one of those cases where whilst there might be some criticism for or
about the action, the consequences of doing nothing were far greater,
far greater not just for the American financial system and market, but
internationally. And, the reason the Australian Government has welcomed
it is because the consequences of doing nothing would have been
catastrophic.
GEORGE NEGUS: Does it bother you, though, that the details
seems to be
pretty thin on the ground? Exactly what this $700 billion bailout is
going to mean - people complaining that where is the detail fellers?
STEPHEN SMITH: What's occurring here, I think, is you've had
both
presidential candidates, Senator Obama and McCain, indicating the
course of today, New York time, that whilst in general terms they are
supportive, they are starting to put some parameters, requests for
detail, concern about whether the bailout of the market also includes a
bailout of things like performance bonuses to executives. The
consequences of a failure to intervene here would have been
catastrophic for the American market and, as a consequence,
catastrophic for the international economy, and for the international
community.
GEORGE NEGUS: Now, of course, the Secretary General of the UN,
one of
your major Considerations in this situation, is urging the richest
nations to spend more money but he's also saying that this credit
crisis, that's now acknowledged as being global, could actually get in
the way of the UN's millennium goals to reduce poverty, to increase
health, to improve education which is aimed at 2015, this could upset
that apple cart completely from the UN's point of view?
STEPHEN SMITH: The Secretary General made his opening address
and he
started with the financial services crisis, and he did make that point.
There's no doubt that's a valid point. And there is that old adage that
the best form of development assistance, the best form of aid is
economic growth. And, so, if we find a contraction in the international
and domestic economies, then nation states will find it more difficult
to meet their development assistance aspirations.
GEORGE NEGUS: We still haven't met our aid goals at all? We're
under
the mark?
STEPHEN SMITH: The Government came to office with the
commitment to
increase our development assistance to 0.5% of GNI, gross national
income, by 2015. We're on track to do that, and we fully intend to meet
that.
GEORGE NEGUS: Isn't 0.7 the figure we're supposed to be aiming
at?
STEPHEN SMITH: That's an aspiration. The PM, when he was
Opposition
leader, indicated that was an aspiration that he would set for the long
term, but the express election commitment we gave was 0.5% of GNI by
2015. We're on track to do that.
GEORGE NEGUS: You must be breathing a sigh of relief, you and
the PM at
the moment, because he was criticised for going to the UN in the first
place and now it would appear that the world credit crisis of the UN
meeting that you're at, they're now being linked? You must be heaving a
sigh of political relief at the stick you got here back at home?
STEPHEN SMITH: The PM always intended to attend the General
Assembly.
The fact there is an international crisis in a particular area, which
gives good reason for him to be in conversation about that matter with
his colleagues, with other leaders of nation states, just shows the
opportune manner and the opportune way in which gathering together at
the United Nations is a sensible thing to do. There will be
conversations about financial services because that's pressing upon us
at the moment, but there will also be conversations about working
together on climate change, working together on food and food security,
working together on the millennium development goals. These are all
things which advance, not just Australia as a good international
citizen, but also advance our national interest.
GEORGE NEGUS: If we have the time, and I've scribbled out a
list here,
we could be talking about Pakistan's sovereignty and the fight against
terrorism and the American reaction to that. South Africa's in turmoil,
half of their cabinet has resigned overnight. Zimbabwe is still
unsettled with Mugabe hanging around. Russia and the US are talking
about a new cold war. China's economic development, let alone Iraq and
Iran and you point out climate change - we live in interesting times to
say the least. Could I ask you about the upcoming American election,
because, as you said, a corner stone of Kevin Rudd's policy and
therefore yours, is the alliance with the US. Are you going to try and
tell me it doesn't make a scrap of difference to that who's elected in
the first week of November, Barack Obama or John McCain? I know the
usual line is, "We can work with anybody."
STEPHEN SMITH: It doesn't to us because we deal with whoever
the US
democratic system throws up and that's one of the enduring strengths of
the alliance between Australia and the US. Whether that's Labor or
Liberal in Australia, or Republic or Democrat here, the alliance
continues. You might recall that our political opponents in Australia
in the run-up to the last election were saying if Labor was elected,
the alliance would be ruined, and of course that was never going to
occur and hasn't occurred. Whoever is victorious, whether it's Obama or
McCain, we will deal with that administration just as we continue to
work closely with the Bush Administration in the final few months of
the current administration's tenure.
GEORGE NEGUS: Let me put it this way. John McCain has said
both
candidates in this presidential election have pledged to end the war in
Iraq and bring the US troops home. You and Kevin Rudd would obviously
agree with that. But would you agree with the next bit, he said the
difference between the great difference between he and Barack Obama is
that he, John McCain, intends to win the war first. Now Kevin Rudd was
opposed to the war, I presume you were opposed to the war. This bloke
McCain still reckons he's not going to get out of there until he wins
it, whatever that means. That's the difference I've been pointing out.
You'd have to agree that's a hard one for you to swallow?
STEPHEN SMITH: I'm not going to agree to any of the
suggestions you're
making to me, George, because to do that would be to inveigle myself in
to essentially the domestic political environment in the US and I'm not
proposing to do that because we will deal with whoever the American
people throw up for us to deal with.
GEORGE NEGUS: How's your blitz going to get Australia in to
the UN
Security Council because we haven't been there for 60-odd years? Why
would people want us to be there now?
STEPHEN SMITH: We make the point that we think we've got a lot
to offer
on the Security Council. It's the key peace and security body of the
United Nations. Australia's got a long and proud history of engagement
in peacekeeping and we think from time to time we have the values and
the virtues and characteristics to sit at the Security Council. I have
to say that the initial response to our candidateture has been very
good. I think a lot of the feedback I get from colleague foreign
ministers is that they see a new government. They've been impressed by
our commitment to ratify Kyoto. There's been a lot of commentary about
the apology that we made. But that good sentiment, we have to transfer
in to votes. And that's a 4-year campaign. A lot of the conversations I
have with colleague foreign ministers is not just about our
candidateture, I've just come from a bilateral meeting with the South
African Foreign Minister and made the point we wanted to enhance our
engagement not just with South Africa but with Africa generally and
there was a warm response to that.
GEORGE NEGUS: You've confirmed one thing for us - South Africa
still
has a foreign minister at this point. There was some doubt that they
might?
STEPHEN SMITH: What we want to see in South Africa is of
course
stability. And I had a good conversation with the foreign minister who
is very confident that in the course of the next few days, the new
president will be confirmed. A number of the ministers who have
resigned have resigned on a point of principle which is there's a new
president. But more than half of those who've resigned have offered
themselves again in a new administration. So, I'm hopeful and on the
basis of my conversation confident that in the course of the next few
days we will see South Africa's political process and parliamentary and
democratic process bring that to a conclusion and we'll see stability,
which of course what we want to see.
GEORGE NEGUS: Stephen Smith, it's good talking to you. There
were so
many things we could talk about because it's almost a case of crisis,
what crisis in the world? Thanks very much.
STEPHEN SMITH: My pleasure. Thank you.