Director of the aspen strategy group. I should say good morning to the Prime Minister of australia. And to everybody in australia. It is a real honor for us to welcome scott morrison, the Prime Minister of our great ally australia. He leads one of the strongest and most impressive allies of the United States and arguably in arguably the most important region of the world, the indo pacific. In his two years of Prime Minister he has heard the , country through several crises, the wildfires of last autumn, the covid19 crisis where australia has an , impressive record. In Foreign Policy the Prime Minister led a research and of australias influence in the south pacific. Australia was the first government to exclude huawei from its 5g network. Australia is currently undergoing, as are many other countries in the world, a challenge from china on many fronts. With the United States, india and japan, and others. Prime minister, i have the Great Fortune to spend three weeks and australia. Id worked with your government in the past but was very impressed by the depth of everything we are doing together. You will be interviewed by margaret brennan. She is moderator of the pbs show the cbs show face the nation. She is the correspondent for our great network, cbs. Prime minister, welcome and we look forward to a good conversation. P. M. Morrison thank you very much. Good day from australia. It is morning here. I dont know if you want me to pass to margaret first. Margaret good morning to you. I have to say thank you. It is a covid first to be interviewing a world leader from my home studio and across the world. Have thisad we can communication and conversation today. I think all of us miss the aspen mountains around us at the aspen security forum, but im glad we can have this conversation. As nick said, australia is a vital ally of the United States. You are in a very interesting neighborhood at the moment, finding yourself in the midst of these driving tensions between beijing and washington. I have lots of questions for you. I know our viewers will have some questions. But you will start us off with 15 minutes of remarks. I want to set the stage for our viewers online. If you look at your zoom screen, you can ask a question if you click the raise hand function. The folks of aspen will unmute you. You can ask your question when we are about 15 minutes out from the conclusion. First, i want to hand it off to the Prime Minister. P. M. Morrison good day to australia and everyone joining us this morning. Thank you for the opportunity to talk to you this morning. In my remarks, i have three things i want to cover. First is australias assessment of the strategic outlook of covid19 and the post covid19 environment. Secondly, australias response to this challenge. United states is our wonderful friend, and how we Work Together for open markets, sovereign independence, particularly in our part of the world. In examining the international environment, i want to start with first principles. I want to reference the work of an australian thinker who saw the world almost more clearly than anyone in his era. His 1977 work remains one of the most influential works of Global Politics in the last halfcentury. I have a copy on the bookshelf behind me. We have a society of states, in International Societies that to exist when sovereign nations consider themselves bound by a common set of rules and share in the work of common institutions. So what is the state of todays International Society . Particularly in our shared Indo Pacific Region . Today the indo pacific is the epicenter of a strategic competition. Tensions over territorial claims are growing. The growth of military modernization is unprecedented. Democratic nations face new threats and foreign interference. Cyber attacks are increasing. Misinformation is used to manipulate free societies. The rules that allowed us to for newhave a vault challenges. It is fair to say that in 2020, International Society is under strain. The action of some has been to fret about the weakening of rules based international order. Fair enough. We want to see international framed by agreed rules and norms , not crude, economic or the configuration of powers is going to change. We have to deal with the world as it is, not as we are likely to be. We need to tend to the garden. There needs to be a strategic balance in the pacific. I assure you that australia is acting to shape that tomorrow right now. That came from someone not usually cited in Foreign Policy analysis. Been impressed by the way of doing that. We are doing in australia. This has been a major development. Focus on our immediate region, and increasing our capabilities to enter actions against our actions. We respond to actions and operations and they are falling below the threshold of additional Armed Conflict. Is always more on our defense and most of the United States alliance partner. Target. Is no longer a we will spend even more. Billion. Ent of 270 when we pull our wait and we continue to invest in the relationships in the indo pacific to pursue common interest. Just last month the landmark Economic Partnership between australia and indonesia came into force. Indian Prime Minister announced the elevation of our ties to Strategic Partnerships. In a Virtual Summit with my good friend Prime Minister shinzo abe, we added to our special partnership to an agreement. We are both taking concrete action to support our pacific and asian friends and families. My visit to vietnam was the first visit i am australian and more than 25 years. We want to increase and as first dollar partner, australia is working more closely than ever with the association of Southeast Asian nations. Its crucial, trade, technology, people to people exchange. And again, to reinforce what we call the International Society. Its the sign for our family in the islands of the southwest pacific where we have a special responsibility. We all want a region thats strategically secure, economic stable and politically sovereign and thats what australias pacific step up which weve initiated is all about. As we fight the challenges of covid19 its never been more important. Weve provided ppe, and medical, and where maintaining essential services in the humanitarian corridor. The critical supplies get where theyre needed most. This is happening despite the increasing uncertainty in the indopacific and beyond. Australia is not a bystander, were not leaving that to others. Not in our region, thats not in our interest. Not in the multilateral and the twin crisis of our lifetime. We are all using elements of state craft to shape the world that we want to see. I emphasize that we are not uncritical participants in a Multilateral Forum. Well call it as we see it, International Institutions are most effective when theyre driven by and responsive to the society of sovereign states that fall them. And there are systems of a wellfunctioning society at stake, not the cause. Global institutions and their bureaucracies become unaccountable, when they become vulnerable to manipulation or coercion and lose the confidence in their membership, they fail in their task to help the sovereign nation, a common set of rules to guide their relationships. In my institute speech last year, i described this trend as negative globalism and my view hasnt changed. As ive said and believe now, we believe in positive globalism where nations like australia engage directly with others as equal sovereign nation in pursuit of common. Common objectives. Its a cornerstone of our approach to the situation and to engagements with nations large and small. We have welcomed chinas rise as a Major Economic power, it has been great for our economy and the Global Economy in the indopacific region, but with the economic rise does come economic and broader strategic responsibilities. China has a role to enhance regional and global stability commensurate with the new status. Such a role is about the broader global and regional interests rather than a narrow national or aspirational interest. Because global expectations are china are now higher and for the United States, together china and the United States have a special responsibility to uphold what are described as the common set of rules that bildt an International Society. That means respecting International Law and peaceful resolution of disputes, including trade disputes. That means a commitment to rules based on economic interaction. Not the way forward. Finally i want to make this point. After the lessons weve learned of covid19 and were going through as a Global Community. Covid19 has been an unmitigated calamity for the world. Ill not go into them because were living them. Covid19 has also created new opportunities, including new groupings of likeminded countries working together like never before, sharing information, supporting each other. Many new friendships have been with leaders and energizing old ones, enhanced and making a dynamic system. This is a development that our nations must continue to build on and expand the scope and scale of goals of likeminded countries. We must do this thoughtfully. We need to build a greater sense of unity across all elements of engagement. That means taking a more pragmatic, an australian way for relationships. Weve got to do what works. A sense of unity amongst likeminded partners can be undermined if positive political and security relationships are accompanied by abrasive or confrontational trade relationships. And the two have got to go together. Im not suggesting we should con strain the national instincts of Business People to compete in global markets, god forbid, but i do not argue that anyone should turn a blind eye. Security and trade policy approaches must be willing to they cannot work against each other in isolation from each other. A transactional approach can undo so many of the gains made in other parts of the relationships amongst likeminded powers. And its not particularly transactional. As we work with global partners, our alliance with global democracies will endure and strengthen with supply chains particularly in these times. Australia is committed to the closer ties with friends in europe. We look forward to the values and institutions that the United States has championed and shared. We respect each other as equal partners with the United States. We do our fair share of the heavy lifting, weve got each ours backs. And as i said on the south lawn last year, we look to the United States, but we dont leave it to the United States, thats not who we are. Providing the balance underpins in an International Society depends greatly on the leadership of the United States. Americas long been a major stabilizing factor in the indopacific region and its continued here engagement is vital and welcomed. So the australian way it clear. We will play our part in maintaining the streak balance in the indopacific. We will invest in regional relationships because we all have a stake in the future and well strengthen our ties with federal liberal democracy and likeminded working with all partners in the region as well. Ladies and gentlemen, this marks 75 years since victory in the pacific. 1945 was the defining year in history, the year the Second World War ended the year that the United Nations formed. It was a year of doing, action that is built new friendships including with old enemies. Actions that laid the foundations for unprecedented peace and prosperity. Actions that assured a global strategic balance. Todays task is no different. We must rebuild these International Societies anew. Thanks for your attention. Happy to take this. Thank you very much, mr. Thank you very much, mr. Prime minister. And i will dive right in. You called covid19 an unmitigated calamity. Today we heard from the World Health Organization that their investigators had begun conversations in wuhan, china, about the origins of covid19. Australia was the first country that came out and really pressed the World Held Organization to open such a probe. Do you know when the world will find out conclusions . Will there be australian investigators included in any part of this team . What do you plan to do with the information you receive . Im pleased its underway, were not naive to the challenges of these types of reviews and inquiries. It will be challenging, and we look to new zealand and the appointment to the panel. Helen clark with our she will understand, i think, very acutely of what the expectations are of this inquiry and how much is at stake for the who in getting to the answers that are necessary. And answers that are simply necessary, the sole motivation of our call for such inquiry, so we understand what happened and that it doesnt happen again. We live in a part of the world where these types of viruses can spawn from any number of different locations. These could happen in many countries around the world. And so, its important that we just simply learn lessons. It is a practical task and it should not be seen in any political lens whatsoever and any suggestion it is, i think is very unhelpful. This is an honest and practical request why sovereign nations through an important Multilateral Forum to find out what happened and how we can prevent is going again. Thats our aspiration, our ambition. Whether the task pursued by those running it can make at that aspiration ambition is up to them. Strategies support that every which way we can with making suggestions in response to nominations and well follow that through, but whether were formally part of the process or not is not our concern. We just want to make sure its a success. I welcome the appointments for the panel cochairs and that someone downunder was involved. And experience in the multilateral with particularly the u. N. And i took a lot of encouragement for that appointment. Will you be able to trust the results and conclusions of this investigation if australias efforts arent part of it . We are part of the International System that produced this. Right. So we have no choice, but to and thats why theres such a heavy burden that falls on those driving it. They understand, im sure, the worlds expectations of them and the process now. Australias happy to play a role in that. We dont consider that our direct participation is a necessarily prerequisite for that to be a credible protest. That would be an arrogant thing to decide from australias point of view. And we will be welcome how it started, but whether it changes job, that will be determined by the job it does. I want to talk about how you have handled the pandemic within your own borders. Australia had some initial success with strong actions at the beginning with establishing this emergency cabinet for the state to make decisions, focusing on the unified message there. Schools in parts of your country have reopened. Were debating whether or not to do that in this country. Why do you think your country had success . We call it covid we started moving in february shutting down our borders, particularly from mainland china. As the virus came out of wuhan, out of china, we have a large flow of people from australia and china. Those border changes were critical in preventing the first wave in australia and particularly our wonderful chineseaustralian community here, a million in a population of 25 million people, the chinas heritage. And came back and the discipline they showed in their communities was outstanding. We were able to contain and pulled together a National Cabinet as i described, called it, along with our state, province territories because under our constitution, theyre the level of government that makes decisions whether schools open or close and its important that we got a nationally consistent approach and provided in a sense, a national calm. Calm is the critical. Seven of our states and territories are pretty much covidfree. There are cases occasionally that come. We have strong quarantine arrangements for australias returning. Were experiencing right now a serious community outbreak. In our southern states, victoria particularly melbourne, known to , all, im sure, many have contacts in melbourne. Today we go into a further stage of lockdown in melbourne that will run for six weeks. The other part of our response has been the economic response, we have concerns about Emergency Centers being run or anything like that, we built up our icu capacity or Risk Capacity very significantly so were in a good place there, but what we also did was put massive economic support. Over 300 billion Balance Sheet and direct fiscal interventions to support the economy, income support payments, stimulus payments toward their beneficiaries, cash flow supports for the businesses, and support for child care centers, the list go