Kieran Gilbert: I want to go live to Singapore, though. I've got the Trade Minister, he's joined us now, Don Farrell. Minister, thanks for your time. What's the feedback you're getting from your counterparts in Singapore about the refined oil supply to Australia? You're following up the Prime Minister's visit – are you hearing positive things from your counterparts there?
Minister for Trade and Tourism, Don Farrell: Yeah. Nice to talk to you, Kieran. Yes. We have built, over the last four years, the Albanese government has built very strong relations with our Asian neighbours, and I don't think we have any stronger relationship than, in this region, than with Singapore.
We've been meeting today with the Foreign Minister and the Energy Minister about how we might implement that agreement that the two Prime Ministers entered into last week. Obviously, Singapore is a very important part of our fuel supply. They supply us with 26 per cent of all of our fuel, so one of the biggest suppliers to Australia. And we're working through just how we can guarantee that that goes, and prioritise how that works into the future, so that we can ensure that Australian miners, Australian farmers, ordinary consumers, can continue to get access to the fuel that they need.
Kieran Gilbert: So, it sounds positive on the Singapore front; Malaysia as well, Brunei. What about sort of the regional picture – part of that, I'm thinking, you know, in relation to China, where we get quite a bit of our air fuel, the aircraft fuel from, from my understanding. What's your read on the overall picture across the region, including specifically China, where I know you have good relations with your Chinese counterpart as well.
Minister Farrell: Yes, look, and I hope to be talking with them again very soon, as a number of important conferences that are coming up in the next few weeks that will give me an opportunity to continue those discussions with my Chinese counterpart. Look, you can't disguise what's happening here. There are issues, important issues, about the supply of fuel. What the Albanese government is doing is ensuring that we do our absolute best to ensure that those supplies continue into Australia. A couple of weeks ago, we made some changes to the charter of Export Finance Australia, which enables them to very quickly get access to fuel supplies around the world. And only yesterday we saw thousands of litres of diesel being purchased through those proposals. Of course, in the last 24 hours, we've heard about the fertiliser arrangements with Indonesia and Brunei. So, as a government, obviously, we're in a difficult situation because of the issues in the Strait of Hormuz, but we're doing absolutely our level best to ensure that we continue to get the supply of all of that important fuel and especially all of that fertiliser as we come into the season for planting crops.
Kieran Gilbert: We've had the fire at the refinery in Geelong. Is it inevitable, given the pressures you're talking about there on the supply chains around the world when it comes to fuel, that we will face rationing at some point?
Minister Farrell: Look, we're not at that stage at the moment, Kieran. Obviously, we were pleased that there was no loss of life and congratulations to all of the emergency service people who acted so promptly in that fire situation. There's an old saying, Kieran: it doesn't rain, it pours. And I think that might be applicable to the situation we find ourselves at the moment.
But look, we've been an action government, as you know, over the last four years. Where there's a problem, we're out there trying to solve it. We're not talking about it. We're actually doing things right now, right. Here in Singapore, we're doing things to ensure that we continue to get those important supplies, and that's what we'll continue to do. And it won't be just Singapore that we're talking to. We'll be talking to all of our neighbours in the region, trying to ensure that those important supplies continue and that we do the job for Australia.
Kieran Gilbert: 32 per cent of Singapore's LNG comes from Australia. How much is that message, not just on the LNG front but the food front as well – I know we're a massive food bowl for the region. That quid pro quo has got to be quite important, doesn't it, in terms of saying please keep the refined oil coming the other way?
Minister Farrell: Look, it is. And we understand just how important LNG is to Singapore and how important our supply of food is to Singapore. And we won't be doing anything that threatens either the supply of gas or the supply of food into Singapore. We've got a good relationship, both at the highest levels between the two prime ministers and at the ministerial level. And we want to ensure that, just as we always have been, we continue to be reliable suppliers of gas and food into Singapore. And of course, we're still talking about the SunCable project, that was discussed this morning, where solar energy from Australia gets transported into Singapore to supply them with renewable energy – solar, renewable energy.
So, there's a whole host of ways in which we can build on our strong relationship into the future, Kieran, and that's exactly what we're doing right now here in Singapore.
Kieran Gilbert: Finally, you are a practising Catholic and it would be remiss of me not to ask you about this spat between Donald Trump and his criticism of Pope Leo. What do you make of that?
Minister Farrell: Oh, look, I'll leave President Trump's spat with the Pope to the Americans, Kieran. It was only this time last year that I had the honour to represent Australia at the previous Pope's funeral in Rome, Pope Francis. I think Pope Leo – I've got a grandson now called Leo – I think Pope Leo is doing a very fine job. And of course, he has to speak about peace. That's one of the jobs of religious leaders, and I'm very confident that he'll continue to speak up for the teachings of the Catholic Church right around the world.
Kieran Gilbert: Trade Minister Don Farrell, thanks for joining us live from Singapore. Appreciate it.
Minister Farrell: Thanks, Kieran, nice talking with you.