Doorstop - Abu Dhabi

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Australia welcomes President Trump's plan to bring peace to Gaza after two years of conflict and a devastating loss of life. Australia has long called for a ceasefire. We have called for the hostages to be released and for Hamas to give up its arms. I certainly have welcomed the opportunity to discuss the plans for a ceasefire moving forward over the past week with a range of leaders. And Australia affirms the plan's commitment to denying Hamas any role in the future governance of Gaza, calls on Hamas to agree to the plan, lay down its arms, and release all remaining hostages. Australia wants to see aid given to the desperate people of Gaza who need this peace plan. We commend the focus which is there in the plan for Palestinian self determination and statehood and the Palestinian Authority support for the plan, along with so many other nations in the region and countries which have populations of large Muslim populations, such as Indonesia and Pakistan, Australia urges all parties to engage seriously with the plan and to work to bring its vision into reality without delay. Together with our partners, Australia will continue to support efforts to end the war and work towards a just and sustainable two-state solution.

JOURNALIST: PM, there's good news about AUKUS overnight. Does that bode well for your visit to the United States?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, the AUKUS review remains ongoing, but we've been participating very constructively with it and AUKUS has been meeting its milestones. And that is why in discussions I've had with the United Kingdom and with the United States, there has been support for it. We know that AUKUS is in the interests of Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. It is about a partnership which is in the interest of all three nations which will make peace and security in our region so much stronger.

JOURNALIST: Are you satisfied with Optus response to the recent outages? And has the Government done enough?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, we're not satisfied with any of Optus' behaviour. Optus has let down its customers and has let down the nation. And there will be, of course, this ongoing investigation into how exactly this has occurred. And Minister Wells has been very strong, as is entirely appropriate here, for what is an unacceptable failure of service by Optus to its customers and to the nation. Thank you.