Peter Lindsay (Herbert, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the Minister for Defence. Would the minister update the House on the progress of Australian Defence Force operations in East Timor?

Brendan Nelson (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Herbert—a very strong advocate for 3rd Brigade in Townsville—for his question. I join with the member for Herbert, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the parliament and the Australian people in congratulating its commanding officer, Brigadier Mick Slater, for the outstanding job that he and his men are doing in East Timor. It is extremely important that Brigadier Slater have full responsibility for making all of the decisions that need to be made in prioritising the activities and functions of our Defence Force in East Timor.

This morning Brigadier Slater said that Dili is a different place from what it was three days ago, that there is no gunfire in the city or in the foothills and that there are many people in Dili who are going about their business. That is not to say that Dili or East Timor are safe places, but they are safer. It is worth remembering that 2½ weeks ago the Australian government prepositioned the Defence Force in anticipation that a request may come from the East Timorese government to provide military assistance to bring peace and order to the country. That request arrived late last Wednesday and by Thursday afternoon the first element of Australian Defence Force troops arrived at Dili airport to secure it. All of the 1,300 Defence Force personnel were fully deployed yesterday in East Timor.

It is worth also remembering that the day that the request arrived there were raging gun battles in the streets of Dili with the heinous murder of innocent unarmed police officers. There were also armed civilians. From that period we have now gone to an environment where we still see relatively stable, if not declining, evidence of rogue criminal gang related activity in the streets of Dili. It remains a dangerous place, but it is safer than it was and it is safer because of the actions of the Australian Defence Force.

In the last two days 450 weapons have been removed from thugs and gangs on the streets of Dili. Those weapons include high-powered rifles, handguns, shotguns, grenades, machetes and a whole variety of implements that have been used by these gangs. In the last 24 hours, 160 East Timorese police have voluntarily returned to their headquarters and their academy and 260 weapons have been handed in by them. The East Timorese army has now gone back to its barracks quite cooperatively, and at the moment the detention arrangements have been settled for the Australian Defence Force. Those who are suspected of having committed a serious crime or who are detected in the process of committing it are being detained. A well-developed framework to monitor every stage of that process has been agreed. A detention management team, including military police and Australian Defence Force lawyers, has worked with the East Timorese authorities. Again, on behalf of the House and the Australian people, I thank and I congratulate the Australian Defence Force. The task ahead remains far from complete, but human life in East Timor is much safer today than it was a week ago.