Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to make a positive contribution about the commitment of Australian troops to East Timor. I want to take issue with a couple of points that the member for Barton raised. I am the first to acknowledge that he is a member of the opposition team who is very highly respected on all sides of the House. The main problem with his contribution is that it is made with the wisdom of hindsight. I think that nitpicking about what the Australian government has done is a mistake because it takes the focus of the blame away from where it lies at the moment.

We need to be realistic when we assess the current situation. When we are, we can see that the vast majority of the blame for the situation in East Timor must lie with the East Timorese administration. It is a mistake for us to go back and nitpick about what Australia has done. Australia’s contribution to that fledgling nation has been tremendous. We need to focus on where administrative errors have been made, and I do not believe that they were made by the Australian government.

Secondly, on the issue of warlike service, I know that it would be almost impossible for an opposition not to take that cheap shot. But as we all know the reality is that the ADF are making an assessment of the degree of risk that Australian service personnel will face. Objectively and realistically, no-one would say that the troops serving in East Timor face the same degree of risk as our troops who are currently serving in Iraq or Afghanistan. The government must act on advice that it receives from the ADF, and I think it has acted appropriately in this instance. The opposition in its quieter moments will probably acknowledge that.

I, like many Australians, welcomed the rebirth of the independent nation of East Timor. The brutality of Indonesian rule there—particularly under the dictatorship and not so much since Indonesia became a working democracy—was obvious to anyone who took an interest in the situation. I was in the United Kingdom when the Australian troops led the United Nations force into East Timor and as an Australian I was extraordinarily proud of what they did. It was an extraordinary commitment from the Australian government and the Australian people to help this new nation find its feet within the international community. I am therefore particularly disappointed that a situation has come to pass such that Australian troops, along with other international troops from Malaysia, New Zealand and Portugal, need to go back into that country to restore order.

As I said, I am extraordinarily proud of the role that our armed forces have played there. Once again, Australians are putting themselves on the line to protect the freedom of others. The ADF are a magnificent body of men and women and they have had an enviable record since Federation of serving the Australian people and protecting not just our freedom but the freedom of many others around the world. That is not always the case for armed forces. The armed forces of some countries are used as tools of repression—but never the Australian armed forces, who are always on the side of freedom and on the side of protecting the weak against the strong.

It is a solemn responsibility when the Australian government commits those troops to an international conflict where there is inevitably danger, but it would have been inconceivable for Australia to walk away from our responsibilities to the people of East Timor in this circumstance. Thus, on 24 May, once the government had received a formal request from the government of East Timor for military assistance, our troops were dispatched to restore security, confidence and peace. That request was very importantly signed by the President, the Prime Minister and the Speaker of the House, which showed that all areas of the East Timorese government welcomed the Australian intervention. We responded by sending a battalion group of approximately 1,300 personnel.

It is worth noting that Australia was in a position to respond so quickly because the government had taken a decision earlier on in May to pre-deploy our forces into a state of readiness where they could respond to any request from the East Timorese. Given that the situation deteriorated so quickly, it was extraordinarily important that Australia was in the position to respond in the way that it did. The fact that the government took that decision in conjunction with the ADF was largely responsible for us being in that position.

Our actions responded to what was a marked deterioration in the security situation in East Timor, particularly in and around the capital, Dili. There was some initial rioting at the end of May, and then there was an outbreak of sustained fighting between elements of the East Timorese military and a breakaway rebel group. Anyone who was watching the situation saw how the violence escalated markedly. The most shocking violence was the massacre of the East Timorese policemen after they had surrendered and were being granted safe passage under the auspices of the United Nations force there.

One of the ADF’s first tasks when it arrived in Dili was to secure the airport and to quickly restore order in the capital. Initially, a force of 150 commandos, supported by Black Hawk helicopters, was dispatched. The second objective was to provide the safe withdrawal of Australian civilians in and around Dili. As of 24 May, over 650 Australian civilians were registered with our mission in East Timor, but it is estimated that there were approximately 800 Australians living there. Other objectives of the ADF included facilitating the evacuation of other foreign nationals as was appropriate and necessary, stabilising the situation and facilitating the concentration of various conflicting groups into safe and secure locations, auditing and accounting for the location of weapons that belonged to each group and creating a secure environment for the conduct of a successful dialogue to resolve the current crisis. The duration of the support that has been offered by the ADF is going to be the subject of further consultation and negotiation and will depend on the events as they take place on the ground.

The Australian government has a firm view that respect for democracy and the rule of law is crucial to any sustainable resolution of the current situation. We must always remember—and I think this has been forgotten by some people participating in the debate—that ultimately everything that happens in Timor is the responsibility of the East Timorese government. We must never forget that when there are calls for Australia to do more or to act in a certain way we can only do so at the request of the East Timorese government.

Our military involvement in East Timor reflects the belief that Australia, as a very large, peaceful and prosperous country, has a special responsibility to ensure order and peace throughout the region. In that way, these actions are very much in our own interests because we also do not want to live in a region of failed states. That would, of course, create substantial problems for our national interests and, if left unchecked, could be a great danger to Australia. Whether it be East Timor, Papua New Guinea or the Solomon Islands, it is vitally important that all our neighbours accept responsibility for restoring peace and improving governance within their own countries. Reducing corruption and securing a better future for their people will ultimately come not from Australia but from the governance of those autonomous states. We are in East Timor not to fight the government’s battles but to help the government of East Timor to restore its authority. Our troops are under pressure to combine firmness with diplomacy while observing the constraints and sensitivities of national sovereignty. They are succeeding in this and they have the overwhelming support of the local population.

Restoring security, separating the combatants and confiscating their weapons is ultimately not going to resolve all of the problems. Urgent negotiations within the country’s divided political elite as well as the effective maintenance of law and order by East Timor’s own military and police forces will be needed before East Timor is stabilised in any long-term way. I have nothing but admiration for the forces of the ADF who have undertaken this dangerous mission. It is another fine chapter in the history of the Australian military. I know that I speak on behalf of all members of the House when I let them know they have all our hopes for a safe return.

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