David Fawcett (Wakefield, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. Would the minister update the House on the political situation in East Timor and Australia’s ongoing consular and humanitarian response?

Alexander Downer (Mayo, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for Wakefield for his question and for his interest. As the House knows, Australian troops are re-establishing security and the rule of law in East Timor. As law and order returns, it is going to be vital for the East Timorese political leaders to establish a dialogue with each other to address the deep-seated problems that the country is facing and for that dialogue to occur within the constitution of East Timor. I understand that there are two key constitutional councils which are chaired by President Xanana Gusmao which are meeting today. I hope that those councils prove to be successful in at least beginning the process of addressing differences that exist. Quite clearly, the armed forces and the police must cease conflict between the two and within the two. There are signs that that has happened. Once calm is restored, fundamental issues relating to the broader question of governance will need to be addressed—including, very importantly, the rebuilding of East Timor’s police force, which has been reduced to being completely ineffective.

The United Nations is going to have to play an important part in the way forward for East Timor, just as it has done in the past since 1998 or early 1999. The Secretary General is due to report to the United Nations Security Council on 6 June, giving advice to the Security Council on the way forward for the United Nations in East Timor. That is going to be an important report, because the Security Council has to make a decision by 20 June on whether to renew the mandate for the current United Nations mission and if the mandate is to be renewed—and I think that is probably pretty much a given now—then the nature of that new mandate; what role the United Nations will play. The Australian government is giving a lot of thought to that at the moment. We will have discussions before too long with the East Timorese government about it and obviously, importantly, with the permanent members of the Security Council, other countries on the Security Council and the United Nations Secretariat. I think it is important that we do form a specific view on how the United Nations should go forward in East Timor, and we will be doing that.

With regard to the second part of the honourable member’s question, let me say that the government has responded quickly to the humanitarian dimension of the crisis. We initially pledged $1 million in immediate assistance to Australian non-government organisations in East Timor. We are now going to provide an additional $2 million, $1 million of which will be for urgently needed food, water, shelter and medical supplies from Australia to East Timor. We have also sent some medical supplies to East Timor over the weekend. We will also be making a further $1 million available to UNICEF and other international agencies to assist in efforts to provide for the thousands of displaced people in East Timor.

We have medically evacuated two seriously ill East Timorese police officers and they are now in a stable condition in the Royal Darwin Hospital. We have medivaced a further seven injured patients. As of this morning, 422 people have been evacuated from East Timor on military flights, including 157 Australians. Citizens from over 30 other countries have also been evacuated. Of course, the government’s first priority is the safety of Australians. That there are Australians who have wanted to leave explains why we have given priority to evacuating those 157 Australians who wanted to leave. We will do what we can to help the people of East Timor achieve stability but also provide now the humanitarian assistance that is necessary.