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Judith Collins: Defence Minister on sending defence force plane to the Middle East · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

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  Speaker 1: Miko Rubio in the last couple of hours has talked about, well,
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  Speaker 1: we had JD. Vance come out and say no, we
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: didn't want regime change in Iran. We just wanted to
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: hit the nuclear facilities, which is exactly what they did.
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: But look out, regime change could be coming if you
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  Speaker 1: continue trying to get your hands on a nuclear weapon.
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  Speaker 1: If Iran is committed to becoming a nuclear weapons power,
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  Speaker 1: I do think it puts the regime at risk. I
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  Speaker 1: really do.
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  Speaker 2: I think it would be the end of the regime
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  Speaker 2: of their tribe to do that.
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  Speaker 1: Now, our Defense Force is sending AC one thirty j
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  Speaker 1: Hercules to the Middle East to assist any key we
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  Speaker 1: stranded in Iran or Israel. Winston Peters at this point
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  Speaker 1: not saying whether we supported America's strikes or not. Judith Collins,
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  Speaker 1: the Minister of Defense, is with me life this morning. Minister,
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  Speaker 1: Good morning, Oh, good morning, Ryan. Do you have any
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  Speaker 1: update on those numbers. Apparently there were lots coming out
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  Speaker 1: of the woodwork yesterday you were saying any more overnight,
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  Speaker 1: not that.
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  Speaker 2: I'm aware of yet. But as we've said many times now,
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  Speaker 2: people should not be in there as you can possibly
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  Speaker 2: get out to get yourself out there by any sayfish
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  Speaker 2: way possible.
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  Speaker 1: Is it frustrating that people haven't been signing up from
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  Speaker 1: day one and doing what you said?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I guess that people work on the pray and
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  Speaker 2: hope strategy often, which is like, I know, we've heard
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  Speaker 2: this all before, nothing's going to happen. In those people
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  Speaker 2: who have been in the region for a while, they
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  Speaker 2: often think like that. But it's a natural human condition
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  Speaker 2: to hope for the best, and I think it's very
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  Speaker 2: important everyone takes the opportunity while they can to get
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  Speaker 2: themselves out to the borders. As I said, those airspace
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  Speaker 2: have not opened up their clothes, so we can't just
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  Speaker 2: fly in. We've got to have people to come out to.
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  Speaker 1: The borders at mom Yeah, and I mean there are
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  Speaker 1: land borders open from Israel in a Jordan and Egypt
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  Speaker 1: or open, so you could cross land and then potentially
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  Speaker 1: get a commercial flight anyway.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, that's right, But we've also one of the reasons
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  Speaker 2: for having the Hercules there with our people is that
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  Speaker 2: should those should their airspace open up at all, then
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  Speaker 2: we can possibly go into some areas. But the point is,
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  Speaker 2: I really get yourself to a land order if possible.
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  Speaker 1: Yesterday I was watching you and Minister Peters that Finolapie
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  Speaker 1: said that, you know, we're waiting on more information to
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  Speaker 1: determine if the strike was justified or not from the
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  Speaker 1: United States. Do we have any more information? Do you
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  Speaker 1: have a view yet?
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  Speaker 2: Well, I don't not overnight, and that would normally be
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  Speaker 2: the Foreign Affairs or to deal with that. But no,
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  Speaker 2: I don't have any more information.
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  Speaker 1: Do you know whether it was legal or illegal?
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  Speaker 2: No, I'm not trying to give you a legal advice
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  Speaker 2: on something I don't have full information on.
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  Speaker 1: Writ we still have We still have personnel Minister in
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  Speaker 1: Jordan Air for Operation Gallant Phoenix, because I know you
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  Speaker 1: did an update on that a couple of weeks back.
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  Speaker 1: This is under US Special Operations Command. Are they at
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  Speaker 1: any risk of a retaliatory strike by Iran?
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  Speaker 2: I would not have thought so, and the Defense Force
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  Speaker 2: has made their assessment on risk. We do have, as
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  Speaker 2: you write, you say, quite a few people in the
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  Speaker 2: Middle East, and our people in the Middle East. You know,
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  Speaker 2: obviously for most in our minds, my view is don't
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  Speaker 2: take unnecessary risk, particularly a small nation like ours. We
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  Speaker 2: have to be very careful about what we do but
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  Speaker 2: I don't believe our people are under any particular threats
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  Speaker 2: according to.
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  Speaker 1: Defense, so none of them are being moved.
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  Speaker 2: Well, I can't say exactly where everybody is, but I
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  Speaker 2: can tell you that we still are continuing with some
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  Speaker 2: of our operations in the Middle East, but there are
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  Speaker 2: some people have already been moved out. Sorry to be vague,
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  Speaker 2: but we have to be bad.
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  Speaker 1: It's okay when you say people were moved out, you
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  Speaker 1: mean in the last week as.
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  Speaker 2: A result of this, in the last week or go.
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  Speaker 1: And any change to the war games that are going
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  Speaker 1: to be happening. I think it's July nine due to
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  Speaker 1: start a Talisman Saber in off the Queensland coast. We've got,
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  Speaker 1: you know, people being sent there. Any change to that
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  Speaker 1: at all.
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  Speaker 2: Not that I'm aware of. I wouldn't have thought not.
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  Speaker 2: It just depends what happens. I mean, I think everyone's
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  Speaker 2: very aware in the sense that anything can happen at
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  Speaker 2: any stage, so they've just got to be prepared. But
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  Speaker 2: at this stage there's no change, okay.
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  Speaker 1: And new funding for Ukraine, I see it announced overnight
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  Speaker 1: by Prime Minister Luxe and we had actually the ambassador
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  Speaker 1: on our Herald show a week or so ago and
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  Speaker 1: he was talking about maybe we could pick up some
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  Speaker 1: of their drones. Are we looking at that at all?
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  Speaker 2: Yes, we have actually quite a few drones ourselves in
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  Speaker 2: terms of the manufacturing of New Zealand, but it would
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  Speaker 2: be it's a very nice offer that Ukraine has learned
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  Speaker 2: an awful lot about warfare using drones, and they're also
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  Speaker 2: they've made let's say that have learnt a lot more
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  Speaker 2: than many other people have. So there's nothing wrong with
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  Speaker 2: us actually talking to Ukraine about what those lessons are.
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  Speaker 2: Impossibly some of those drugs, but I think right at
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  Speaker 2: the moment they're drones net the theory in crime.
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  Speaker 1: Appreciate your time this morning, minister. That's Judith Colin, c
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  Speaker 1: Defense Minister. For more from earlier edition with Ryan Bridge.
• 5:20
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