00:00For the view from Australia on Trump's China trip and the freshly signed EU-Australia trade deal,
00:05I'm joined here in the studio by the Australian ambassador to the European Union and NATO.
00:10That is Mr Angus Campbell. Good morning and welcome to Europe Today.
00:12Hi, Maeve. Thanks very much.
00:14Great. So as we're sitting here, President Trump is en route to China with tech leaders like Elon
00:18Musk and Tim Cook. What are you looking out for?
00:22Look, it's clearly a very important meeting and it's important for the two countries.
00:26It's important for the world. A constructive relationship between China and the United States
00:31is something that I think we all hope for and indeed there are many issues that if they work
00:37together can be of great benefit to our world. So I wish them success and I'm very pleased and I
00:45think
00:45that we should all be very pleased that they are talking and that a summit is occurring and it's
00:52now up to the dialogue and what outcomes might emerge.
00:56And of course, Australia signed a massive trade deal with Brussels this very year, precisely to
01:01reduce dependencies on China for critical raw materials. Will that work though?
01:05Look, we're delighted with the free trade agreement. The negotiations have concluded.
01:10President von der Leyen visited Australia to make the announcement with Prime Minister Albanese.
01:15The process now sees the agreement go through the ratification mechanisms. But this is a deal
01:24that's been negotiated for 10 years. Very careful, very sensitive, acknowledging concerns and interests
01:31on both sides. And I'm confident that we're seeing a balanced deal here, which is comprehensive,
01:38which is going to be of benefit to both sides. And it brings the two communities closer together.
01:43Australians trading into Europe, Europeans trading into Australia. Almost all barriers and tariffs
01:50removed. It's a good deal.
01:52It's a good deal. But will that help you wean off the dependencies on China?
01:55We have a constructive and a very significant trading relationship with China. And I think that
02:00that's going to continue. But we have a diverse trading relationship across the world. So Australia
02:06trades into North America, into the ASEAN nations, to South Asia, North Asia, into Europe.
02:14We're an island continent dependent on global trade, on the rules of trade. And free trade agreements
02:22matter because they enable the prosperity for all.
02:27And defence plays a big role as well in this trade deal. Tell us more. And do Australians support the
02:32fact that you're helping Ukraine?
02:33So in parallel to the announcement of the negotiations of a free trade agreement coming
02:38to conclusion, there was also the announcement of a security and defence partnership between Australia
02:43and the EU. And that's another step forward in building a relationship across the breadth of
02:50security and defence, often in areas of hybrid or advanced technology, or things that are
02:57geographically borderless.
02:59And are Australian taxpayers comfortable with this?
03:01And people are very supportive of the idea that we reach out and we build more connections
03:06with more friends on more issues, because by doing so, we are better prepared in a world that's
03:13perhaps less predictable and more complex.
03:16And with a very transactional president as well in the White House. One final question on the
03:19social media ban that the European Union wants to copy from Australia. Is it working though?
03:23How are you enforcing it?
03:24So the social media ban is about a relationship with the large social media companies, a bipartisan
03:31parliamentary concern for the wellbeing of our children, and indeed the increasing evidence
03:36scientifically of that concern. And a relationship with those social media companies to see their
03:43restraint on access until the age of 16 for young people in Australia. And we think it's the right way
03:52to move.
03:52And we note that many countries are now looking at similar models. And I think it's about the
03:58effort that you apply and the effort that collectively is applied to see a change in the normative behaviour of
04:06what we understand as social media and how it might affect our kids.
04:10Indeed, it's certainly been closely washed. Ambassador Campbell, thank you so much for coming
04:13into us here on Europe Today.
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