 Okay, everyone alright? Okay, thank you very much for coming. Well I was sworn in on Monday of this week and obviously the Prime Minister and I attended the Quad meeting in Tokyo. We left immediately after the swearing in, got back to Australia and I came straight to Fiji and I wanted to come here because it was important to underline and emphasise the importance of our Vivalhe partnership, the importance of the Pacific family and to underscore that for the new government, our relationship with this region and your relationship with us matters. It is a new government in Australia and our message to the Pacific is clear. We're listening and we've heard you. And one of the areas in which the new government is determined to make a difference is on climate. I'm very pleased that so many Australians voted for stronger action on climate and I recognise that that has been something. Fiji and other Pacific Island nations have been saying for many years. I remember when I was Minister for Climate Change between 2007 and 2010 that the voices of the Pacific were so strong and so authentic and spoke with so much power because for you climate change isn't abstract. It's not a political argument. It's real. So we have put on the table as the new government a much stronger policy on climate change. Not only the net zero emissions by 2050 but a strong 2030 target of 43% reduction which will lead to the majority of Australia's energy and its electricity grid being renewables about 82% renewables by the end of this decade. So that's a good thing. We've also put a range of other policies on the table for the Pacific which are about recognising that we want to build stronger relationships, stronger links so reforms to the Pacific Labor mobility schemes, additional infrastructure funding as well as additional ODA. So these are all part of our suite of policies which we can talk through in detail with governments of the region in terms of implementing them. But what is at the heart of this is a strong desire to play our part in the Pacific family and to build stronger relationships. So I'm happy to take questions now on the issues that people want me to address. Minister Wong, we're there from the ABC. My question is with regards to a difference maybe in the foreign policy of Australia with regards to how you work with specifically the government of the region. Can you tell us about some of the changes if any to the way your administration is going to work with the Fijian government, some of the caucus areas that you're going to be relying on. But also more importantly, what was the result of your bilaterals with the Prime Minister and the Deputy Attorney-General? I do want to say in terms of the program first can I talk about that. I actually haven't met the Prime Minister yet. I think I'm doing that later today. I met with the Attorney-General. Obviously I met with Secretary-General Puna and I met with some Pacific workers this morning. I think it was this morning. Everything's glaring into one and talk to them about the opportunities that they have under the current scheme but also how we might build on them. So you talk about what are the differences. Look, a lot of the ballast in the relationship is bipartisan. And there you go. I came to the Pacific a number of times with Julie Bishop when they were in government. And one of the reasons I said to her we should do this together is because I do believe in bipartisanship wherever you can and that we could say together as the minister and the shadow minister, regardless of who's in government, you know, our relationship, Australia's relationship with your nation matters. But there are some differences and the two ones that I would go to are climate and also the Pacific scheme. So we obviously want to do more with the Pacific Labor schemes. We want people to be able to bring their families with the longer term visa. We have a Pacific engagement visa which would allow permanent residency that we want to put in place. And of course on climate, regrettably the previous government for nine years, we have a lost decade on climate action. We're determined to make up for it. Anyone else? I'm Lovina Khemem. I'm from Fujisan. Let me mention this morning that those who will be on longer contracts and workers more than six months will be able to take their family over. So for the longer term visa which I think is up to four years. And this comes out of actually our engagement with workers on the current program that people were saying there were a lot of benefits for them but it was pretty hard to leave their family for that long. So as part of our announcement we said we would allow people on the longer visa to bring their families. We've obviously got to work through the details of that including with the providers and with your government. But we will do that. I think it's a good idea. You speak of specific solidarity and the need for all Pacific nations to come together. Yes. As of this point, the Micronesians are not really that happy with after the appointment of Mr Puna although he's very capable. Australia did vote for Mr Puna. How are you proposing or thinking about solidifying the Pacific? Well ultimately the unity of the Pacific Island Forum is in the hands of Pacific Island Forum members. And to find a way through to that unity would I think benefit the Forum and all of its members. I think it would benefit the region. Particularly at a time where there are a lot of challenges. COVID, climate, obviously the strategic circumstances in which we live in this world. So I would encourage Forum members to work together to find a path to unity. Certainly it's not for me to tell people what to do. It's a decision for the Pacific Island Forum members. But we would encourage a path to unity. And Secretary General Puna and I spoke about that. Madam, the timing of your trip to Fiji coincides with the trip of the Chinese Foreign Minister. Was it a planned trip? No, I was very keen to come to the Pacific as soon as I became Foreign Minister. And this is my first bilateral visit. I was a few days late because I had to go to Tokyo. You'll forgive that I'm sure. So this was always in the plan and not reactive to the announcement? No, I mean we've been... Look, I don't know how much you watch Australian elections. You probably don't. It's not that interesting is it? But we did a lot of work on Pacific policy and we thought when we did it we'd have an announcement but it would probably get picked up here in the Pacific press. But it became quite a big part of our foreign policy during the election. We understand how important this is. And we understand that Australia has more to do. And we wanted to put out there the things that we wanted to do. And one of the things I wanted to do was to have a Pacific trip as my first trip and Fiji is a very important partner. We have a Vivale partnership. Excuse me. And the chair of the PIF. So we thought it was appropriate. Madam, there's been some criticism of previous Australian administrations. The activation is it relaxed some of their stance on democracy and human rights in order to keep Chinese influence away from Fiji in particular. What is your reaction to this? What is your stance? Well, I'm not sure what you're referring to. I'd just say as a general principle, obviously we have values. They define who we are. They are universal principles that Australia will always assert. We also recognise it's not for us to tell every country how to behave. We recognise that we're not perfect. So our view is you try to adhere to universal principles and you also try and work respectfully with other nations. Is the new Australian government concerned about China's great influence in the Pacific? They've been helping us economically and through developments but they have not only shifted to security. Look, it's for Pacific nations to make their own decisions about who they want to partner with and in which areas. We respect that. We want to be a partner of choice. We want to demonstrate to your nation and other nations of the region that we are a partner who can be trusted, who can be reliable and historically we have been. I think you've seen a lot of Australian development assistance. We want to work with you on your priorities. We want to work together as part of the Pacific family. Obviously we've expressed our concerns publicly about the security agreement between Solomon Islands and China. And the reason we have is we think there are, as do other Pacific nations. We think there are consequences. We think that it's important that the security of the region be determined by the region. And historically that has been the case and we think that's a good thing. You mentioned last night that the region is based on the triple-strike dimension, COVID, climate and strategic context. We'll be able to clarify and give specific examples. I think we all know that the world is changed. There's a lot more strategic competition. There's a lot more disruption of international norms. The Russian invasion of Ukraine is a demonstration of that. We all have to find our way through that. We hope to find our way through that with you. Did you also? It was highlighted for 3000 Pacific Islanders to be granted their permanent residence. Pacific Engagement Visa. So how will they be chosen? Yes, so that is one of the policies we announced during the election campaign. It's modelled actually on the New Zealand visa, which I think people would be familiar with. We've got to work through with our department and with your governments how that will work, how to make sure we maximise the positive benefit and manage any of the downsides. So we'll do that and I'll make those announcements in due course. Madam, can you talk to us about some of your agricultural exports, market access for some Indian agricultural exports which our government has been asking for for a couple of years? Where is that in your list of accounts? Well, I can tell you that I think the CAVA export issue has been resolved, I understand. So that's a good thing because when I was last engaging with your government there was an issue which was raised with me. So I'm pleased that's the case. Can you ask? Fiji will be having its own elections. Some time before. What is it, the 9th of January or something like that? I'm just wondering if the Australian Government's support initiative that it has announced will that remain in check even if the Government, Fijian Government changes? The Government of Fiji is a matter for the people of Fiji. We obviously are, I'll be very pleased to meet with the Prime Minister later and he's obviously been a great friend of Australia's but ultimately we deal with your nation. Anyone else? Probably, last question. Have you had discussions around assistance towards Fiji's 2022 election? No, we haven't, that hasn't been sought as far as I'm aware but obviously we're always happy to assist if people wish us to. Australian academics have said... Which ones? This is always interesting when people start a question with academics. Ask the new Government to stop the colonist attitude when dealing with the Pacific? Well I can tell you, I was born in Malaysia and my grandmother was a servant to the British so I have a very personal understanding of what you're talking about and I hope I will not speak to you in that way. Thank you.