SURANGEL WHIPPS JR, PRESIDENT OF PALAU: Good morning. We've got a beautiful sunny day. And I think first of all, we always thank God for the blessings that we have, and more importantly, the family that we have. We are one Pacific family. And this PIF starts out with building economies, life, action and unity. That's our theme. And what a fitting place to be this morning, because this project is a demonstration of how we're building economies, how we're improving lives through partnership. We're reducing energy costs, we're helping families help the planet, and we're making ourselves more secure. The other great announcement this week, and I want to take this opportunity to announce this, the second flight of Palau Paradise Express. We are so grateful for the Australian Government's support to launch that service, which we did about three years ago. And now to add a second flight. This was a dream. And we got one flight, now we got a second flight. I want to take this opportunity to invite all the Australians to come up and visit us. I know that there are some other islands you swarm to. Right now, there's only 5,000 Australians that come here a year. So, you'd be lonely if you come up here. If we double that or triple that, you'd still be able to be in paradise, secluded. We have sharks that are vegetarians, jellyfish that are stingless. We want you to know that you'll be safe. Our crocodiles are friendly too. But we have dugongs, too, just like Australia. But they're all safe here. And we're just grateful that you're here today and we're excited about the Forum and to be able to host our Pacific family here, and this is really a demonstration of looking at solutions on how to power up 100 per cent of our island. Through partnership, it's possible.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Well, thank you so much, Mr President. And it's absolutely delightful to be here at the Pacific Islands Forum, and thank you for your leadership, which will be evident as well over the coming year as leader of the Forum. And I know that speaking to my friends in the media here, they've enjoyed coming up here as well. And the lucky ones are staying here for another couple of days as well. So, I'm sure they will get to see some of the dugongs and get to see the beautiful natural environment which is here in Palau.
Can I begin by just making some comments about the tragic situation in Nepal, where 38 Australians remain unaccounted for. We continue to do everything we can to confirm their welfare and support their families and loved ones. Today, we have announced that Australia will deploy a team of specialist drone operators to contribute to Nepal's search and rescue effort. The team will include members of Fire and Rescue NSW and the Queensland Fire Department. And I thank the state governments of NSW and Queensland for that. They'll leave Australia in the coming days as part of a 15-person disaster assistance response team. This adds to the 19 Australian personnel who've already been dispatched to Nepal. The Government will also provide a further $3 million in humanitarian assistance. This matches the donations that have been made from the Australian public who once again are showing their generosity to people in need. This brings our humanitarian package to some $11 million.
Well, today is the final day of the Pacific Islands Forum and we'll go to the Leaders’ Retreat very shortly. It has been very productive, and indeed the dinner last night was an opportunity to interact with Pacific leaders in an informal setting as well. And Palau's first large-scale solar power farm that we've had the opportunity to look at here today is an example of the Pacific family looking after each other. This has a triple benefit. It reduces power bills. Importantly, we've been given a reminder by the Middle East conflict about the need for resilience and the need to break a dependency on the importation of diesel to countries in the Pacific. That leaves them vulnerable. But as well, it's good for the planet, it's good for lowering emissions. And this project alone will provide, when fully operational, 25 per cent of Palau's power needs, making an enormous difference. It’s part of a new $16.4 million investment to upgrade Palau's electricity grid as it shifts. This will make an enormous difference.
It is a practical and clear example of the difference that Australia is able to make due to our support for our Pacific family. Making a difference based upon the priorities that are set in the Pacific, respecting the sovereignty of these nations, but doing what we can to make a difference to the lives of people in the Pacific, whilst making a positive difference as well to the shift that is required from the transition globally that we're seeing.
So, this makes an enormous difference. And we know when we talk to our Pacific friends, always the first, second and third priorities are climate change, climate change and climate change. For the people of the Pacific, this isn't an academic exercise. This is something that is real, is having an impact and something that needs response and leadership. And that is what Australia is providing in partnership with the leaders in the Pacific. I'll ask Minister Bowen to make some comments and then we’re happy to take a couple of questions.
CHRIS BOWEN, MINISTER FOR CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENERGY: Thanks, Prime Minister. Mr President. It's great to be back at the Palau solar farm. I was here a year ago announcing on behalf of the Albanese Government that we would partner to build this battery. And in just 12 months – congratulations to the government of Palau for getting it up and running so quickly. That's no easy thing. And as the President and Prime Minister have said, this is practical cooperation in action. And it's not only reducing emissions, but it's saving the people of Palau a lot of money which can be spent on other things. Those millions of litres of diesel the President talked about avoiding, that's going to be not necessary because of this battery. That's money that can be spent on services for the people of Palau.
And this is something we're doing across the region. There are some Pacific Island countries that use 25 per cent of their gross domestic product on fossil fuel imports, 25 per cent, to power their diesel generators. There is a better way, but it's a complex task, as the President said, and it's something which is best tackled together. That's why we have agreements with the Governments of Tuvalu, Marshall Islands, Palau under the APPET agreement to lift the capacity to install renewable energy, with advanced negotiations with Solomon Islands and Vanuatu as well.
And it's also what we're doing in COP31. When we first started talking about bidding for COP31, the President said to me, one important priority if we are successful in playing a role in COP31, is to showcase our plans, the Pacific's plans, to be 100 per cent renewable and to work together to make it a reality through the auspices of COP31. And that's exactly what we're doing. It's what we'll do at pre-COP and what we'll do at COP. It's what we're doing with the Renewable Energy Commissioner for the Pacific, which we've announced $1.89 million in funding for, to take the government support and private sector support that is there around the world for renewable energy, but to help Pacific nations navigate it and to put it into place.
So, this is about displacing diesel imports. It's about a better, cleaner way of producing energy, better for the respiratory health of the people of Palau, better for the finances of the people of Palau, and better for emissions as well. So, it's been a great pleasure, Mr President, to partner with you on it, and I look forward to doing so much more.
JOURNALIST: President Whipps, you said you were hoping to get a strong, united statement from the PIF against the Chinese ballistic missile test recently. Are you going to get that in this Forum? And what would your message be to Beijing as it considers future missile tests in this region?
PRESIDENT WHIPPS: Well, that's definitely something that we'll be discussing today. And a unified Pacific voice is critical in getting Beijing to respect sovereignty, to respect transparency and to be a responsible partner. I think that's the message that should be sent to Beijing. So, it's important that we have a unified position and we'll work on that.
JOURNALIST: President Whipps and Mr Albanese, if that's right, just on the two issues, if that's okay. On the missile launch, some countries that are hesitant to criticise the launch say that it's unfair to single out China because the US also conducts tests in the Pacific, in the Marshall Islands, under the Compact agreement. Why do you not see those situations as comparable? And just on the energy transition, President Whipps, how big a shock do you think the Strait of Hormuz situation has been systemically to the Pacific, and how has it shifted understanding in the Pacific about the economic and social imperatives around the transition?
PRIME MINISTER ALBANESE: Thank you. On the first, the situations are very different. The US gives proper notice, has an agreement with the Marshall Islands. What we saw with the Chinese test was a firing of a missile with very little notice, certainly not what is expected internationally, from a submarine which went across and landed in the Pacific near Naoero, near Tuvalu, with no respect for those nations. And that is why it brought such a strong response from the Pacific, including from Australia.
PRESIDENT WHIPPS: You know, between Tuvalu and Naoero is Palau. They sent a missile next to French Polynesia, another one next to Tuvalu, crossing over our airspace. They never bothered to tell us that that's what's happening. And the Prime Minister is absolutely correct. The United States has an agreement with the Marshall Islands. They notify and they say it's going there. What about the rest of us in the Pacific? Don't we deserve the same? And I had said, I said there's a lot of space between Japan and Guam. Why don't you send it there? Why does it have to come to the middle of the Pacific when last year we just signed a declaration of peace for the Pacific? You know, we don't want our backyard, our homes to be threatened. And really, disrespected.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, how does Australia reconcile its national wealth, which to a large extent is built on fossil fuels, with the calls of the region for 100 per cent renewables, including the gentleman next to you?
PRIME MINISTER ALBANESE: Well, the Pacific are looking at how they transition. And we support the Pacific's objectives, and we're providing support for it. A lot of Australia's wealth has been built through our resources. Australia is also undergoing change. We had in the December quarter over 50 per cent of our energy coming from renewables. And what that does, of course, it's the lowest-cost form of new energy, in spite of some of the rhetoric and that has occurred. The former government was there for almost a decade. There weren't new coal fired power stations built during that period. So, we continue to engage constructively, and I think that that is well received in our region.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, have you this week discussed with your New Zealand and Tongan counterparts the potential for them to join the Oceans of Peace Mutual Defence Alliance, and how are talks progressing in terms of other countries joining that alliance?
PRIME MINISTER ALBANESE: Prime Minister Luxon only arrived last night, and the informal discussion that took place there was really about him boasting about how well the Warriors are going, and the NRL was his main topic of conversation, I've got to say. But we'll have a chat today. With regard to Tonga, we had a discussion with the Prime Minister. We had a bilateral. And we are progressing the treaty negotiations that we have with Tonga, and they're very constructive.
JOURNALIST: The Foreign Minister of Papua New Guinea made comment that perhaps inviting Taiwan was a distraction and maybe they should be banned in future. What's your response to that sort of sentiment and has Taiwan's presence been a distraction from the purpose of peace?
PRESIDENT WHIPPS: I think that's disappointing if he did say that, because the bottom line is that Taiwan is a partner and so is China. And I think what we are doing here in Palau is respecting that they're partners and they're all invited to come to PIF. One's a dialogue partner, one's a development partner. So, Palau's position is we stick to the 1993 agreement. And that's what's keeping the Pacific together, because we respect each other's sovereignty, we respect each other's partnerships, and we should maintain that because we are one family.
JOURNALIST: We hear a lot about the permanent state of contest that Australia is engaged in in this region. I'm wondering if you can reflect on how that's going for Australia. How do you see the sort of scoreboard at this point?
PRIME MINISTER ALBANESE: Australia – we don't see it in those terms. What we see it as a member of the Pacific family, what we want to see is the Pacific look after each other when it comes to the economy, when it comes to security issues, when it comes to acting on climate change, when it comes to engagement in international forums. So, one of the things, for example, that will occur at the United Nations in a few weeks’ time, this month now, is that we will all catch up with each other as well and have the sense of common purpose going forward. So, we see it as being very constructive. I think that Australia is regarded with respect here in the Pacific, and that is why we give respect to the Pacific as well. That is why we act, respecting the sovereignty of the nations who are here. The leader of French Polynesia was just here as well. And so that is very important for us, and it certainly is in Australia's national interest for that to occur.
JOURNALIST: President Whipps, you referred to renewable energy being necessary and stable because of the fuel crisis that was of course triggered by the US and its war with Iran. How do you reconcile your closest ally essentially putting that cost crunch on your citizens?
PRESIDENT WHIPPS: It is unfortunate that we are in this situation. We didn't have any say in the war, and it is happening. And a lot of times, I like to choose at the positive side. And I think one thing that we've all learned from the war is it was a wake-up call that we really need to transition. And for the islands who have been sitting saying that this is our number one issue, climate change, now we have people transitioning because it's economic security, it's energy security. So, I look at it in a way as a blessing. It's terrible – wars are terrible. But let's look at what's happening and at the end of the day, we want peace, but I don't necessarily think that cheap energy is what we want. We want people to understand that we need a transition because it's better for the planet.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, you said the difference between US military tests and Chinese is the lack of notification that China gives us. Has China given the Australian Government any indication as to why it gives such short notice of these tests? And what would you put it down to – is it a lack of courtesy or to intimidate?
PRIME MINISTER ALBANESE: Look, it’s not up to me to speak on behalf of China. We've made our position very clear, which is we are opposed to the actions that China took. We made an immediate response to that. It's a clear response. It's unequivocal and China has certainly heard that message.
JOURNALIST: President Whipps, what was your response to the UNEP's overshooting report that says, you know, containing warming to 1.5 degrees is impossible? And what would you say to Australia, which continues to expand gas production and open and extend coal mines?
PRESIDENT WHIPPS: Well, there's two things. First, it is tragic. You know, the Pacific has said we need to stay 1.5 and then been a leader on that. We know that we're going to overshoot. I think we all knew that that was going to be the report. And I think most importantly, we have to understand that people are going to use gas, they're going to use coal, but what are we doing to reduce it? So, we know we're going to overshoot. And I don't think we penalise countries that are producing oil and gas because people need it. What we need to focus on is how do we reduce that need? And that's what Australia is doing. This is an example of that partnership on reducing the need for fossil fuels and demonstrating. So, that's what partnership is about. The good news is that Australia is then redeploying those assets and helping the Pacific and helping Australia become renewable.
PRIME MINISTER ALBANESE: Thanks very much, everyone.