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JOE O'BRIEN: Now, an Indian man murdered in Melbourne has been laid to rest near his family's home in Punjab. The 21 year old university graduate, Nitin, was stabbed to death in Melbourne's western suburbs a week ago.

The Indian media has been focusing on speculation that race may have been a factor.

MARY GEARIN: The Indian Foreign Ministry has urged the Indian media to show some restraint in its coverage of the fallout. And for more on all of this, we're joined by Acting Foreign Affairs Minister, Simon Crean.

Thank you very much for coming in.

SIMON CREAN: Thank you.

MARY GEARIN: The Indian Government has called for calm - on the Indian media - but just overnight we've got from the Hindustan Times a headline like, racial attack victim Nitin Garg cremated in Punjab. Is that the sort of headline that you would like to see not running in India?

SIMON CREAN: Of course we'd like to see it not running. But it's a fact of life that they do run. It's been part of the difficulty we've had to deal with. I think it's in contrast to where government officials, government ministers are coming from because I think that there has been very active engagement with the Indian Government, government-to-government level, to try and address these problems. And that's understood.

So the call that they made a day or so ago to exercise restraint, not inflame the situation, was very welcome indeed.

But, you know, these are tragic circumstances and it must have been a horrible day yesterday for the family. Again, our condolences go to them. We were represented at the funeral by the High Commission. That was appreciated by the family.

I think what's also appropriate to note here is the dignified way in which the family went about the funeral service. They obviously were grieving, but they were calling for peace, not retribution. They've posted a reward to help apprehend the culprits.

The best thing that we can do in terms of the family is not only to be with them in this grieving period, but to ensure that the perpetrators of the crime are brought to justice.

JOE O'BRIEN: Yeah, as you say, the family has put up that reward. Is there any thoughts that the Government might also put up money towards a reward in the national interest of trying to repair the relationship between Australia and India?

SIMON CREAN: I think we'll do whatever is necessary in terms of trying to repair the relationship. As for the specific question, I don't know, that's a matter for the law enforcement authorities.

But, you know, again, I think that we are dealing with sensitive issues here. But the fact is that in both incidents there is no evidence that they're racially based. And, in both cases, both relatives and friends have confirmed that view, that assessment.

In all of these things, it is far better to wait for the detail, wait for the full facts. We would urge the Indian newspapers to do that.

JOE O'BRIEN: Wouldn't it be better to…

SIMON CREAN: But I think that will fall - it will fall on deaf ears in a number of cases because we're used to that. This is not the first time. It's not surprising that that headline is there, but I think it's unfortunate and it is not in keeping with the urgings that have been made by family, by the governments of both countries.

JOE O'BRIEN: Wouldn't it be better at this stage though, instead of saying there is no evidence that this was race-based, to say that we don't know what the situation is, because we - you don't know yet.

SIMON CREAN: Sure. Well, I don't care which way you say it, Joe. All I'm saying is, let's wait for the facts. Don't proceed on the basis of speculation or grief turning to hysteria.

Now, in circumstances in which we're trying to deal with the facts, that is by far the best way. If, in fact, it turns out - I'm not saying that there is no racism in this country whatsoever, that we're 100 per cent clear of racism. But the truth is, Australia is recognised globally as an understanding, a welcoming and inclusive country and a country built on inclusion and, certainly, not racist in nature. That's clearly understood by the Indian Government.

In all our discussions with them over the last two years, even at the height of that Indian cricket incident a couple of years ago, even then, the view was that Australia was not a racist country.

Yes, there can be racist incidents that people can point to, but in the circumstances of these two cases, there's no evidence to support that view. Let's wait for the outcome before we make judgements about the way forward.

MARY GEARIN: Now, turning to another topic where Australia might have some problems with another country, The Australian newspaper is running a report this morning that the Japanese Government is very upset with, in particular, Julia Gillard, and has made a very unusual criticism, as it were, of a person in this circumstance, criticising her comments and her roles after the confrontation in the Southern Ocean last week. What's your reading of the situation? Do you think that the - what do you think of the Japanese Government's criticism of Ms Gillard?

SIMON CREAN: Well, I'm not surprised at the criticism because we hold completely different views on the question of whaling. And I've been myself involved in a number of discussions with them in which it's been a very robust exchange. I've got no doubt it will continue to be a robust exchange because we hold different points of view.

What is unusual is that this has ended up in the public domain, because all of these discussions to date have essentially, whilst they've been robust, they've been held respectfully, forcefully through the normal channels.

MARY GEARIN: So what does it mean that it's now in the public? Does it…

SIMON CREAN: I don't know what it means, I think it means that someone has decided to put this story out. It's not a surprising story in itself, it's just the first time it's appeared. But I don't think anyone should be surprised at the fact that the Japanese take the view in relation to us, because we have forcefully and consistently advocated the case in relation to whaling.

JOE O'BRIEN: But is it unfortunate that the Japanese have attacked Julia Gillard personally?

SIMON CREAN: Well, again, I think that's probably putting that story a bit too high. But, you know, these things happen because of intense circumstances, and this whaling issue has become particularly intense over the course of the last couple of days. I don't think it is going to impact upon our relationship and I think that all Julia was doing is the same as all of us have been doing - the Prime Minister, myself, the Foreign Minister - in strongly advocating Australia's position.

The reality is this can really only be settled through diplomatic channels, through a diplomatic solution. We continue to urge the Japanese to engage, not just in the discussion, but engage for the purposes of a resolution.

MARY GEARIN: But as you say you're sticking with a diplomatic solution, but this article shows that things perhaps are slightly different. This criticism hit the public airways, through the media; the Sea Shepherd is stepping up its tactics; the Japanese may very well be doing something different to what they've normally been doing on the Southern Ocean, we haven't seen an incident like that before.

Surely, as the times change with this, the Australian Government should also change. We've heard legal opinion that a case in the International Court would actually have a very strong chance of succeeding. Why doesn't Australia change its policy and pursue international action?

SIMON CREAN: Because we want to exhaust the diplomatic channel.

MARY GEARIN: But if everything else is changing around you, why can't the Australian Government change…

SIMON CREAN: No, everything isn't changing around us. What's occurring around us is in the focus of the whaling season, the robustness of the debate. We had it last year, we had it the year before. We've been three seasons now in which we've been in government. We sent a vessel down there to monitor, that didn't make any difference, it gave us the information that we were seeking.

What we have to do though is to continue to urge restraint, restraint on the waters. People have to observe appropriate safety circumstances on the high seas. That's in everyone's interest.

So I don't see that the specifics and the issues surrounding this case have changed. If, in fact, the diplomatic solution is the best way to get there - and we firmly believe it is - then we should exhaust that before we do anything else.

JOE O'BRIEN: Now, just finally, we're expecting an update on the Stern Hu situation. Now, it's hard to believe he's still in custody over there in China. What's the latest on his case?

SIMON CREAN: The latest on his case is today is an important date because it's a deadline in terms of whether further time will be sought for investigations or, in fact, charges will be laid.

We have taken a very active interest in this case ever since the circumstance of his arrest occurred and we will continue to pursue, again through diplomatic channels, not through the public airwaves, because it's not in Mr Stern Hu's interests - or that of the other employees of Rio Tinto - that we do engage through public channels.

We will await patiently. We continue to say to the Chinese that they have to treat this case both expeditiously and transparently and that due process and justice needs to be appropriate.

JOE O'BRIEN: You are expecting though that he will be formally charged?

SIMON CREAN: I don't want to comment either way…

JOE O'BRIEN: Right, okay…

SIMON CREAN:… in terms of that, it doesn't help him. I'm not privy to the discussions that his legal representatives have had. The decision is in the hands of the Chinese authorities as to the next step and we will continue to not just make our representations but to monitor the progress on the various stages in this case.

MARY GEARIN: Simon Crean, it's a lot on your plate as acting Foreign Minister; thank you very much for joining us.

SIMON CREAN: Okay, thanks very much.

ENDS

Media inquiries

• Mr Crean’s Office: (02) 6277 7420
• Departmental Media Liason: (02) 6261 1555