Doorstop, Canberra

Penny Wong, Foreign Minister: Today I'm announcing that the Government is imposing counter-terrorism financing sanctions on Terrorgram. Terrorgram is a network which enables and is utilised by white supremacist groups, people and groups who spread hate. So, this is the first time an Australian Government has imposed these sorts of sanctions on an online entity in this way. And we are doing it because we are working to keep Australians safe. We have to use all the tools of government to prevent the rise of extremism, to confront antisemitism and to confront hate in all its forms, and we are doing that today. Happy to take questions.

Journalist: Is it your belief, Minister, that there is a direct correlation between what's happening on this group or this app and some of the incidents we've seen in Australia?

Foreign Minister: Well, I'm certainly not going to get into operational matters. What we need to ensure is that all those who are involved in the hateful acts we have seen are identified, apprehended by police and face the full force of the law. That is what we want to do. What Government can also do is put in place measures that keep people safe. These sanctions are one of them. You've also seen we've previously done things like outlawed the Nazi salute, to criminalise doxxing -

something Mr Dutton voted against - voted against the unauthorised release of private information for malicious purposes, and we put in place an antisemitism envoy. These are all important matters. We all have to work together because fundamentally this goes to who we are as Australians. We're a country where a lot of us come from overseas or have a parent from overseas. We have managed to make sure we navigate the diversity in our community because we treat each other with respect and acceptance and we all have to hold on to that.

Journalist: Is there any evidence that Terrorgram has been financing criminals in Australia to do the antisemitic acts?

Foreign Minister: Well, again, I think it's the same question, but there's certainly evidence that Terrorgram is used by people in Australia. Extremists, white supremacists and extremists. And they have to be confronted.

Journalist: Do you have any updates on Oscar Jenkins? And what do you say to these suggestions that Australia should engage in a prisoner swap? Perhaps swapping the Korolevs and Aussie Cossack with Oscar Jenkins?

Foreign Minister: Well, I've seen some of those suggestions and what I'd say about it is this, as your Foreign Minister, whether it's in relation to Sean Turnell or Cheng Lei or Ken Elliott, who are all people who, under this Government, we have seen released, our job is to maximise our support for Mr Jenkins, to reach out to his family and to maximise the likelihood of him returning home. And I have no intention of engaging in a public discussion about that unless it's helpful to him and at this stage it's not.

Journalist: How do you feel about the stability of the ceasefire deal?

Foreign Minister: Well, look, obviously we're talking about the Middle East. We're talking about a war, a conflict that's been going for over a year. Obviously, these things are always difficult. What I would say is that we, like President Trump, support the ceasefire. It's a ceasefire that Mr Dutton opposed, remember that. But we want to add our voice to continued support for the ceasefire and the next phase of the ceasefire.

Journalist: Senator, on the hate speech laws, I'm just wondering if there's any update on negotiations. Do you expect it to come before the Senate this week? And sorry, just on the mandatory minimums, is that something you support?

Foreign Minister: Well, we support tough penalties and we've demonstrated that. But obviously, the Attorney-General will be handling the hate speech amendments, so I'll leave it to Mark Dreyfus to speak to that.

Journalist: Sorry, just on the trade war with Trump, President Trump, is Don Farrell going to have a meeting with his counterpart anytime soon?

Foreign Minister: I'm sure, knowing Don, Don will be extremely persistent at seeking meetings. And what I can speak about is the meetings I had, and I was privileged to be at the inauguration on your behalf, on the country's behalf, which was a great honour. And I had the opportunity from the very first day of the Trump administration, to put Australia's position in relation to trade. And I made the point, which I've made a couple of times today already, the US has a two-to-one surplus, trade surplus with Australia. And every good and service from the US comes into our country free of tariffs or impediments.

Journalist: Economists say the tariffs on China could hit growth here in Australia. How worried are you for mining jobs, the iron ore industry?

Foreign Minister: President Trump is implementing the agenda he said he would, so that is no surprise. Obviously, that's going to affect global markets, and we understand that. And we also understand that we best approach this by our close engagement with the United States.

Journalist: Just on Terrorgram as well. Are there other groups, whether they be online or in some other capacity like Terrorgram that you're aware of, where you would consider similar sanctions?

Foreign Minister: Well, this is the first time an Australian government has imposed these sorts of sanctions on an online network. And we will continue to look at all the ways in which we can use, certainly, the sanctions framework to keep Australians safe.

Journalist: Part of the agenda that Donald Trump did say was to introduce sanctions on Australia, though. So, how much weight do you put on those early representations that, you know you've had in order to have staved off being part of this first round?

Foreign Minister: Well, I'm not sure what you're responding to.

Journalist: The tariffs, sorry.

Foreign Minister: President Trump has made clear his approach to trade. What I would say is I was very pleased to have the opportunity to put Australia's position to the new administration.

Journalist: Have there been any meetings since the inauguration with any Australian counterparts to the US administration?

Foreign Minister: In the last couple of weeks? Well, I can't speak for all my colleagues, but I can say I was very honoured to not only be at the inauguration, the first Foreign Minister from this country ever to be invited. I was pleased to have the Quad meeting with Japan and India, as well as Secretary Rubio, and to have a bilateral with Secretary Rubio and to speak to the National Security Adviser. We were there so early, they were still moving out furniture when we arrived, so it was good to have an opportunity to engage.

Journalist: Sorry, just one more on Terrorgram. I understand you don't go into operational matters, but are you able to tell us in the group, how prolific is the group here? Does it have how many members, how many users, how real is the - these are targeting young kids?

Foreign Minister: Well, two points. First, obviously, online networks, it's difficult to identify the geographic location of every user. What we can say is that groups that have operated in Australia and in other countries utilise this network. But you make an important point about radicalisation. In part, this is about making it more difficult for the extremist groups to operate because we don't want them to be able to operate. A part of that is we don't want our young people to be radicalised. Thanks very much.