 Are you going to stand here or are you going to stand there? Are you going to stand there? Are you going to stand here or are you going to stand there? Are you going to stand there or are you going to stand there? Are you going to stand there or are you going to stand there? Are you going to stand there or are you going to stand there? Are you going to stand there or are you going to stand there? Are you going to stand there or are you going to stand there? Are you going to stand there or are you going to stand there? Are you going to stand there or are you going to stand there? Are you going to stand there or are you going to stand there? Are you going to stand there or are you going to stand there? Are you going to stand there or are you going to stand there? Are you going to stand there or are you going to stand there? Are you going to stand there or are you going to stand there? Are you going to stand there or are you going to stand there? Are you going to stand there or are you going to stand there? Are you going to stand there or are you going to stand there? Are you going to stand there or are you going to stand there? Are you going to stand there or are you going to stand there? Are you going to stand there? Are you going to stand there or are you going to stand there? Are you going to stand there or are you going to stand there? Are you going to stand there or are you going to stand there? Are you going to stand there or are you going to stand there? Are you going to stand there or are you going to stand there? It's a profoundly important thing to say to the countries of the world and as a region that has experienced great power competition and conflict it's even more powerful because you have known conflict and war and you have known what that is like and now you are living in a different type of contest and conflict with climate. So yes we have been elected with a greater ambition on climate. Thank you for your kind words on that. It's a big job for us. We are a very energy intensive economy, a very emissions intensive economy and the majority of our power is from coal. So what we are seeking is not just the 43% which is important but implied in that is to move from majority coal fired power to in excess of 80% renewable in eight years. It's a pretty big change but it's necessary, it's overdue and we think it is also not only the right thing to do, it's also the most cost effective thing to do. In our meeting today let's just get it done. It's a great thing and it stacks up so I am really pleased that we have been able to work together on that. It's an example of practical benefits from this relationship. I said to President Whips, we are not as big as the US obviously. Australians come to this relationship and come to the Pacific though I think we are a real focus on how we can practically assist. What are the practical outcomes? I think it's one of our great cultural attributes and we sit to bring it to this relationship. On regional leadership, thank you for your personal leadership in terms of regional unity. I know you understand Mr President, the importance of regional unity that inclusive, robust regional structures and regional unity is a way of protecting sovereignty of enhancing choices for countries at a time where there is contest and there is COVID and there is climate change. All things which are better navigated together, stronger together and thank you for your personal contribution Mr President to regional unity. We appreciate it and I think when we last met at the Pacific Island Forum I think the first thing you talked to me about was the flights. So I'm so pleased that in February we are going to see the first of the weekly flights from Brisbane which are underwritten by Australia to leverage that private sector activity. We do it also with other parts of the Northern Pacific, our Pacific flights program and it's a very important program because it's about economic connectivity and opportunity. But it's also, as you say, it's about connecting the Northern and the South Pacific and in a time of the importance of regional unity that is a very important thing. So tickets, as you said, having looked on Expedia, tickets are already on sale, flight start in February, we say to Australians please come. So I just wanted to thank you and your Minister of State who was very kind enough to meet me at the airport and participant in the meeting today and your other ministers. Thank you for welcoming us, thank you for your leadership on climate. We hope that the conference of the parties if we are able to get that agreed is an opportunity for the voices of the Pacific to be heard even more loudly and powerfully in the UN context and I'll now hand over to my colleague Simon Birmingham. Thank you Minister Wong and President Whips, thank you. You said in your remarks that we are stronger together and the delegation that we bring of government and opposition from Australia is one of standing together as Australia in support of the friendship and the partnership we have with our Pacific Island nations and particularly with Palau. As you indicated we have a long history, a long history of maritime cooperation, a long history of work across our region. We stand here with some of the symbols of your culture and background beside us but just over to the left some of the relics and reminder of what rivalry and competition can bring when things go wrong. And our cooperation towards a peaceful, stable and prosperous Pacific is such an important one. In recent years we have been able to enhance that partnership and to take it from strength to strength. The opening of Australia's embassy, the establishment of infrastructure financing that has supported solar projects, enhanced digital connectivity, is providing practical assistance in terms of support for healthcare. The efforts the new government is undertaking in terms of enhanced people-to-people connectivity and indeed I echo the encouragement for Australians to look to those flight opportunities and to come and support the relationship of the people of Palau to learn more about the regional fora in the work you do in Micronesia, across Pacific Island and globally, the strong voice that you bring to important regional matters and global challenges such as climate change. They are messages that we must hear, we must heed and we must continue to learn from you and to act upon with you. Thank you once again for your hospitality and your friendship and partnership. It's one that we look forward to furthering in a bipartisan way as strong as we can in the future. Any time I may, President, I'm wondering, we have seen China switch or take diplomatic recognition with solemn knowledge and care of us. I'm wondering if you could write the chances of Palau making a similar change? I think Palau has been very consistent that we are friends to all and enemies to none. Of course, like every country in the world, when it comes to trade, everybody trades with China. Tourism, we get tourism from China. However, what we've told China is that as friends, you shouldn't tell your friends who their friends can be. And so we've made a very clear statement that we have diplomatic relations with the Republic of China, Taiwan. And if you want to be our friend, they're our friend also. But you're not going to tell us we can't be their friend, which is what they want to tell us to do. And that's why they say, you know, we can give you all the tourist you want. Just switch. And we say, that's okay. And that's what they've done. They've turned off the faucet, played games with us. But you know, I don't think that's the way you treat true friendship and true partnership. And I think Palau has seen that over the years. And there's no, there's, you know, like Australia and the United States, Taiwan has been a strong ally and partner. And we feel that that relationship is important to continue to maintain. And nobody else should tell us that we should dissolve that relationship. The changes in China's, I guess, your country drastically, how much of an impact has it had? And would you say that was economic coercion? And is that why you are now looking at countries like Australia to bring on tourists here? Well, just to give you an example, Palau at one point was graduated and became a medium income country. And that was when the number of Chinese tourists went through the roof in Palau. This was back in 2015, 2016. By the time we reached 2019, we're almost, you know, with our GDP a drop and with COVID we're back down into low income country status. So what's interesting is that's just the reality that we live in. But I think what we did see is that with that large influx of tourists, there was also consequences with it. And I'll give you an example. Their respect for the environment is not quite the same as the rest of us. And their ferocious appetite. So we had, unfortunately, because of that, treasure clams that are giant clams that are hundreds of years old, because of that pressure to get seafood and to eat the beautiful parrotfish, they were poached during that time by fishermen because it was fast money. So one thing that we've learned is we need to diversify the tourism base that we have. We need to bring people that share the same values about our environment and protecting it. And I have really that will be an opportunity to have many visitors come from Australia. I know you're already flooding the Cook Islands in Fiji. Just add Palau to your bucket list. Mr. President and Minister, you've spoken, and we're seeing also two debate about the ship free trade between Australia and the United States. For both of you, what is your reason for Taiwan's participation in these things like that? Well, I've said it at the UN and I've said it at COP. The 23 million people that live in Taiwan need a voice. They should be allowed to participate at the WHO. They should be allowed to participate at UNFCC. I mean, these are issues that impact all of us. And 23 million people in a country of that size should not be denied or allowed to participate. So that's Palau's view. And maybe we're going to minister. It's a very dangerous prayer we've got there. Look, every country makes its own sovereign decisions about recognition and so forth. And I think President Wipps answered the previous question very clearly on that front. In relation to Taiwan, obviously the bipartisan position we have is a one-china policy. But what that means is we will continue our unofficial people-to-people economic relationships and engagement with Taiwan. And I'd make this observation, and obviously these matters have to work through in either WHO or through the conference of the parties or whatever for. You're talking about problems here which require the whole world to resolve them. So whether it's COVID or climate, we need everybody to be part of the solution. So, you know, we want to work through how that can occur in those forums. But I think the reality is they are issues that require the whole of the world to tackle them. Compass. Look, it's a very good question and you're right. One of the things we've seen through COVID is the effect on economic development and prosperity in many parts of the world. And we've seen that effect far greater in countries with narrower economic bases. So whether the parts of Southeast Asia and parts of the Pacific, including Palau, the challenge for countries which don't have very large diversified economies is far greater. And the scarring effect has been greater. Now, you know, we are, as I've joked before, you know, we're not a market the size of the US. But what the Australian government can do is to do what we're doing which is to support flights, so connectivity, to try and open up those channels. And New Guinea will commence the weekly services from the end of next month. Sorry, end of February. And we are underwriting the costs of that through the Pacific flight program in the initial establishment phase. And that program is in fact supported, I think, in excess of 400 flights in the Pacific since December 2020. So it was originally to deal with COVID, but we are now extending it to try and support the private sector recovery. So it's something that's what we can do. Leilani, did you want to question? Australia has expressed its intention to deal with COVID-19. 31. And our President has expressed very strong support for the Australia's depression. But there are those that feel that Australia should not be hosting the Pacific, and our past cuts that I can change. So what is this government doing to change that? Thank you very much for the question. And first, can I thank again President Whips and Palau for their positive response to this? And can I talk to you about our motivation? Our motivation for seeking to host this is because we want more ambition on climate, domestically and internationally. Our motivation for hosting this is because we believe that the voices of the Pacific and the small islands developing states internationally, but the voices of the Pacific are powerful and should be heard. Our motivation for hosting this is because we want to keep the world on track to stable 01.5 and to make sure that the Paris and Glasgow commitments are met. That is our motivation. And of course there are things in the past I would have wished had been different. I was at Copenhagen where I worked with AOCIS and the Pacific Island countries and we worked very hard to try and get a deal. And some of the people who are with me today were officials who were working very hard to get an agreement. And we got a bit, it was probably the architecture for the Paris agreement but not what the world needed. So we come to this with that motivation. And we accept we have to do more and I've been honest about that. But I said to my friends in the Marshall Islands when I was there, I said, you know, our economy and the global economy, it's like a big boat. And it's sailing in one direction with a very emissions intensive economy and you know when you push the rudder, it takes a little while, doesn't it, for the boat to steer? Well, we're pushing the rudder. So we ask for your, I suppose, patience in recognising we have pushed the rudder and it will take a while for the boat to turn. Look, I'm not going to comment on the domestic politics of Fiji, but I would say this. You know, we sent at Fiji's request representatives from our parliament to co-lead the multinational observer group. I think we co-lead with India and Indonesia. It appears to have been conducted, you know, and I can only speak from here, you know, peacefully in an orderly manner. We continue to support democracy and elections and an appropriate election process in Fiji and we're very pleased that the multinational observer group was able to participate. Can I ask a quick question to Senator Birmingham? Sorry to ambush you at this point, but... It's a press conference, isn't it? It's not an ambush. Well, it's on the issue of climate change. I'm just wondering, you know, with the fourth day of our Pacific trip, I'm just wondering if you could sort of reflect on the coalition's climate policy over the years and how that affected Australia's relations with the region and how do you see the change sort of opening the doors to further engagement? Thanks, Ben, and I don't want to get into domestic politics, but I will certainly touch on the issues you raised there. We've taken important steps over the years. We have, obviously, most recently taken the steps towards making a firm commitment, as was taken to Glasgow for net zero by 2050. In terms of the targets that had been set for 2030, we put Australia on track not just to meet those targets, but to exceed those targets, as indeed Australia had met and exceeded its Kyoto 1 and Kyoto 2 commitment period targets as well. Frankly, when you're clearly on track to exceed targets, it makes sense to raise and to elevate those targets, and that probably should have occurred at an earlier stage. What's clear to me from the few days that I've had from engagement with Pacific leaders like President Whips is that it is critical for us to listen carefully and attentively to our Pacific partners, and not just to listen, but to ensure that we act in concert with them. We do so in ways where we also show the maturity of explaining the challenges that Australia has, the change that is underway in Australia. We have seen record levels of investment in renewable energy in Australia, yet at times the domestic element of political debate perhaps hasn't enabled us to convey that message as clearly as would have been ideal for all of our relations. And so ensuring that we have the types of dialogue that we've had through these last few days is important, and when it comes to domestic politics, ensuring that the voices that we hear from the Pacific are heard and that we say the same things at home as we say here is really critical in that regard. And that means, as I say, explaining the difficulties and the challenges when here, but also taking the difficult decisions when at home. And I want to make sure for my part, Shadow Foreign Minister, and I said, I think on our first day here, when you lose elections, it's important to listen, to understand the reasons why you lost. And so, of course, that's about listening to the Australian electorate. But as Shadow Foreign Minister, it's also about listening to all of our partners who we value in the region and globally to understand how we can most effectively shape policy to work with them as even deeper, stronger partners in the future. Okay. Thank you. Thank you, everyone. Thank you. Too long. Thank you. Thank you, President.