Doorstop - Sydney

JOURNALIST: The Government is being heavily advised notto grant access to the Chinese company Huawei for the 5G network, does theGovernment have security concerns about that company?

JULIE BISHOP: No decision has been made, but when adecision is made it will be in Australia's national interest. The Australianpublic would expect no less. We have put in place legislation that maintainsour national security integrity and we will continue to act in the nationalinterest in ensuring that we get access to high quality telecommunications.

JOURNALIST: Could curbing Huawei on the 5G networkfurther risk inflaming relations with Beijing?

JULIE BISHOP: This is purely speculation. We will make adecision based on advice and it will most certainly be in Australia's nationalinterest.

JOURNALIST: Will theAustralian Government offer any diplomatic explanation to Israel, Afghanistan,or any country for that fact, for its troops serving overseas flying the swastikaon an Australian military vehicle?

JULIE BISHOP: It was clearly unacceptable conduct.Immediate action was taken and those responsible were disciplined. If there wasa need for us to take it further we most certainly would.

JOURNALIST: Beyond being an embarrassment, does thatconduct in Afghanistan point to any flaws in the culture of the special forces?

JULIE BISHOP: I'm not aware of the circumstancessurrounding the incident but I do know that immediate action was taken and thatthose responsible were disciplined.

JOURNALIST: One more question, if I could on Huawei,assuming Optus will be allowed on the 5G network, what's the difference betweena Singapore state-owned telco operating in Australia and a Chinese one?

JULIE BISHOP: I'm not going to speculate on a decision thatis yet to be made. I can assure all Australians that we will make a decisionthat is in Australia's national interest, that best serves the interests of theAustralian people.

JOURNALIST: Just on One Nation, please Foreign Minister,what do you say to Pauline Hanson? She broke down a couple of weeks ago. She'sgoing through this period. What advice can you give her? Do you feel sorry forPauline Hanson?

JULIE BISHOP: I wouldn't presume to give another politicalleader advice about their own party but I would urge Senator Hanson to supportthe Government's corporate tax cuts. This is a significant issue of importanceto the growth of the Australian economy. Our businesses have to be competitiveon the international stage. We trade our goods and services around the world.We seek foreign investment into our country so we can grow our economy andensure that we have job opportunities for Australian people. We need to becompetitive and we are not – our corporate tax rate, in some cases, is doubleof that of our competitors. I would urge her to act in the national interestand see that corporate tax cuts as proposed by the Government will in factdrive economic growth, more prosperity, more investment, more jobs.