Julia Irwin (Fowler, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

In announcing Australia’s deployment of defence forces to East Timor on 25 May, the Prime Minister told the House:

This deployment also reflects what I have said on many occasions: that Australia—a large ... and prosperous country—has a special responsibility to act as a force for peace and order in our immediate region. I want to reaffirm in the strongest terms that this action is in our national interest, because the world we live in is one where the problems of weak and fragile states, especially ones on our doorstep, can very quickly become our problems.

The Prime Minister went on to say:

At the same time, I want to underscore the importance of states accepting their own responsibility for improving governance and reducing corruption, as the path to a better future.

Those remarks reflect this government’s approach to security in our region. It seems we will limit our role to that of the deputy sheriff in our region if and when we can spare the troops from deployments in other parts of the world.

The withdrawal of Australian forces as part of the UN peacekeeping mission since 2002 came in spite of repeated requests from the government of East Timor for a continued presence, but this government’s decision to cut and run from East Timor had more to do with providing troops for Iraq than a realistic assessment of the situation in East Timor. Having said that, I should add that, while the need for deploying Australian personnel in East Timor is vital at this stage, it should not be seen as a long-term solution to the instability in East Timor and a number of other small nations in our region.

I visited the Solomon Islands and spoke to RAMSI in 2005, and the recent recall of Australian forces to the Solomon Islands should remind us that stability does not come from our ability to quickly deploy troops to trouble spots. Our strategy must look toward longer term development if we are to build a secure and stable region. While security and good governance are important starting points, they do not ensure economic and social development and, if the experience of other developing nations is anything to go by, access to resources such as oil and gas is no assurance of stability and economic development.

Resource riches can be more of a curse than a blessing for the ordinary people of developing countries. When you look at countries like East Timor, the poorest nation in South-East Asia, it should be clear that assistance in economic development must be a key part of Australia’s role in the region. One form of assistance proposed for countries like East Timor is for Australia to allow young people from our region to work and train in Australia. The benefits of remittances to families at home and the increased skills gained by workers from these countries have the potential to improve the economic development of small nations in our region. While Australia does not have a history of employing guest workers, when you consider that we allow the employment of tens of thousands of backpackers, we could also see the potential in allowing the entry and employment of young people from our region in a similar way.

Last year, I attended the East Timor Independence Day celebrations hosted by the Chinese Timor association in Fairfield. The special guest at that celebration was the East Timor foreign minister, Jose Ramos Horta. Having visited the Solomon Islands shortly before the occasion where the idea was raised, I made mention in my speech of the guest worker idea. Speaking to an audience of East Timorese refugees who had made their home in Australia, the idea was warmly received. I stress that the aims of such a scheme would be to allow young Timorese to gain skills in areas such as horticulture and hospitality, as well as improved English language skills, which would equip them for employment in tourism industries and allow for future training.

In addition, money earned could be remitted to assist family members in East Timor or could be used as a foundation for establishing farms or small businesses. To my surprise, Jose Ramos Horta flatly rejected the idea, saying that East Timorese young people could look to Portugal and through there to the European Community for employment and training, and that they would prefer that the East Timorese develop their knowledge of the Portuguese language rather than English.

I can accept the desire of the East Timorese people to maintain the culture which they have fought so hard to preserve. I can appreciate the strong links between East Timor and Portugal, but my conversation with Jose Ramos Horta did lead me to consider the difficulty that Australia faces when dealing with the future deployment to East Timor. I should point out that in the present emergency, of the 3,500 personnel sent to East Timor, Portugal has provided only 127, while Australia has provided 2,800. I can imagine the difficulty faced in what is essentially a policing task for law enforcement operations where the court system is based on Portuguese law and where the official language is Portuguese

I mentioned earlier that I attended the East Timor independence celebrations last year. Western Sydney is home to a large number of refugees from East Timor. I should note in passing that only after considerable action on the part of religious and community groups was the plight of some 1,600 East Timorese refugees in Australia finally recognised by this government. I raised the case of Pedro Cham back in 2003, an East Timorese refugee who faced deportation after eight years in Australia. I can recall at that time claims by the government that East Timor was a safe and stable country. Well, we have seen just how fragile that environment was. I am grateful that the government finally saw sense and granted permanent residency to the Cham family and hundreds of other East Timor refugees.

That leads me to question the accuracy of our assessments of the stability of East Timor over the past three years. What warnings did the government have about the deteriorating situation on the ground in East Timor and why did the government continue to push for the ending of the United Nations presence, if it was aware of what was happening? The 2,800 Australian defence and police personnel have the full support of members on this side of the House. Their task, as I have already described, is a difficult one. Regardless of the failure of the government to recognise this deployment as warlike service, there is concern for the safety of all members of the deployment.

That raises my concern for the consequences in the event that Australian service personnel may be injured or tragically killed in the performance of their duties in East Timor. The prospect of less compensation and fewer entitlements for their families in such an event is totally unacceptable, and I urge the government to address this situation urgently. We see in all too many cases where service personnel have to fight governments at home to get just compensation for injuries suffered in overseas operations. Having seen the effect of those conflicts many years later, I would hope that we could avoid such battles for recognition of the type of service undertaken. Defence families—and I have met a number in my electorate—need to be reassured that in the event of injury or death a grateful nation will neither ignore the plight of those who have served their country in times of conflict nor ignore their dependants.

I come back to a point raised earlier in this speech, and that is the long-term future of our relationship with East Timor. The stated terms of Australia’s mission relate to the stabilisation and creation of a secure environment for the conduct of dialogue to secure a settlement to the current political crisis. In recent statements, the Minister for Foreign Affairs has referred to a role for Australia within an ongoing United Nations presence in East Timor.

While it may be too soon to consider our role in the longer term, what is clear is that Australia will need to go beyond police and security assistance if East Timor is to develop into a strong and independent country. Our role will be enhanced by strengthening the people-to-people links that come from closer contact between our two countries. The idea of allowing young Timorese to enter Australia to work and gain skills is one way that both countries can benefit from closer ties. Recognising our role as a cooperative partner in regional development rather than a deputy sheriff or economic and cultural colonist will provide the basis for our long-term relations with East Timor. As I stated earlier in my speech, the 2,800 Australian defence and police personnel have the full support of members on my side of the House. They are definitely in our thoughts and we wish them a safe return to Australia.

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