TV interview, ABC News Breakfast with Bridget Brennan

Bridget Brennan, Host: Australia is expected to face added pressure to end fossil fuel exports and go further on climate action at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa, which officially kicks off today.

The Prime Minister is attending along with the Foreign Minister, Penny Wong, who joins us from the capital, Apia. Good morning to you, Penny Wong.

Penny Wong, Foreign Minister: Good morning, good to be with you. I am here in Samoa, and I'm afraid it's quite wet and windy.

Brennan: Oh, is it? Oh, well, not a bad place to be despite the rain. What's on the agenda there in Samoa?

Foreign Minister: Well, as you know, this is the first time the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting has been held in a Pacific Island country. So obviously that is a big deal, it's a big deal for Samoa, it's a big deal for the Pacific, and it's why we're so focused on backing in Samoa's priorities, which are particularly looking at oceans, but also making sure we work with others to explore the benefit that is the Commonwealth; 56 nations, 2.7 billion people, and importantly, the majority of Small Island States are members of the Commonwealth.

So, it's a great opportunity for Australia to work in partnership with countries around the world.

Brennan: Well, that's right. King Charles himself will get a look at the sea level rise and what's happened with the warming ocean there, I believe, today.

These nations are so susceptible to climate change, it's a very matter of survival. You must be cognisant that they're pressing Australia to end fossil fuel exports. Are we listening?

Foreign Minister: Well, look, I have spent the last two and a half years or two and a bit years travelling through the Pacific. I've visited every Pacific Island Forum member, I am acutely aware, as is the Prime Minister and our whole Government, of what climate change is here in the Pacific.

You know, you might recall Peter Dutton made a joke about water lapping at people's doors. Well, we are with them, working with them on how we increase climate resilience, climate adaptation. We have the groundbreaking treaty with Tuvalu which enables mobility with dignity, and also, we have legislated very ambitious targets.

Brennan: So then how do we explain our decision to enable the expansion of coal mines, for example, to countries where they're seeing the water rising very quickly?

Foreign Minister: Well, it is the case that we have to transition our economy, and we will do that; we are doing that. That is a big task. When we came to government, I think some 30 per cent of our electricity was from renewable sources, and obviously our target is 82 per cent by 2030. That's a very big turnaround, and we're well on the way to doing that.

But I would make this point: the whole world needs to work to reduce our emissions. The majority of new, the vast majority of new coalfired power is in developing countries, as it is in China. Australia has to reduce its emissions, but the whole world, if we are going to combat sea level rise, temperature rising, the whole world will have to peak and reduce emissions.

Brennan: Will gender equality and violence against women be on the agenda, because that's also a really pressing issue for a lot of these nations, and it's a pressing issue for our nation as well, Penny Wong.

Foreign Minister: It's a pressing issue everywhere, and thank you for asking the question, because it is increasingly a part of our international development work. It is obviously a big focus, rightly, in Australia. We have a responsibility to try and reduce the unacceptable levels of violence against women and girls domestically, but also in the world, and we are focusing a lot more of our development assistance on women and girls.

As I have spoken at the UN about it, and I'll be speaking here at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting too, so country can achieve its full potential if it leaves behind 50 per cent of its population. So, this is an equity issue, this is an ethical issue, but it's also a development issue. No country will achieve its full development unless it ensures it brings all of its people, including women and girls, to that task.

Brennan: I'm sure you know the UN is gravely concerned about displacement in Northern Gaza, the lack of aid going to civilians in that area and attacks on civilian infrastructure. What is our message to Israel about what's unfolding in Northern Gaza right now?

Foreign Minister: Well, our message is as it has been for months now; we support a ceasefire in Gaza. We have for 10 months now, and we support the United States Secretary of State, Blinken, in his efforts to broker that ceasefire, which the United States, Australia and others has been calling for, for some time.

Brennan: Senator, do you think it was appropriate for Senator Lidia Thorpe to pledge allegiance to the sovereign's “hairs” and not heirs, and is there anything the Government is considering around the response to this revelation?

Foreign Minister: Look, it was an unusual thing for her to come out and say, I have to say. You know, we're all part of an institution, that is the Parliament and our democracy, and within that, we have very different views. I don't share many views with some of the people on the other side of the Parliament, but we are all part of the same institution, a very important institution and our democracy, and that is the Australian Parliament, and, I think it's a matter for Senator Thorpe to reflect on, the institution of which she is a part and how she wishes to play her role in that institution.

Brennan: All right. Well, we hope it's a successful summit there in Samoa. Penny Wong, thanks for your time.

Foreign Minister: Really good to speak with you. Thanks for having me.