Bruce Baird (Cook, 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 security situation and other developments in East Timor following his meetings in Dili yesterday?

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

I thank the honourable member for Cook for his question and his interest. As I think some members of the House would know and the honourable member knows, I was in Dili, in East Timor, yesterday and I had the opportunity of meeting with President Gusmao, Prime Minister Jose Ramos Horta and foreign affairs minister Guterres, as well as Brigadier Slater, the commander of the international forces there, and the commander of the Australian Federal Police, Mr Lancaster. I also participated in a trilateral meeting with the Indonesian foreign affairs minister, Hassan Wirajuda.

I spent time with Brigadier Slater and Mr Lancaster discussing in particular the level of violence in and around Dili. The advice that I received was that, in an overall sense, the level of violence had reduced in recent times. It was now mainly gang related rather than politically driven violence. Having said that, I must say personally—and I think they would agree with me—that we are very concerned about the significant number of weapons which are at large and about the volatile political environment that still exists in East Timor. The break-out of 57 criminals from jail last Thursday was a matter of particular concern, not only because Major Reinado is amongst them but the other 56 are hardened criminals, and many of them are murderers.

I made the point to the East Timorese that, for all the international community can do to help East Timor and for all that this country in particular has done to help East Timor since 1999, the East Timorese—and that is all of them—must understand that they are responsible for their own country. There is a real issue here of the East Timorese assuming that others will always sort out their problems for them. They need to understand that, first and foremost, they must sort out their own problems and that the rest of the international community, particularly Australia, can come and help from time to time. It is important to understand that, as a matter of policy, we constantly emphasise this point.

With that in mind, we have welcomed Security Council resolution 1704, which we assisted in assembling. Assistance with elections, justice reform and reconciliation as well as a very substantial United Nations policing presence will, I think, be effective and will assist East Timor very substantially. I have made the point that the proposal for a blue-helmeted military component is inadequate and ill considered and that it needs to be thought through again. The Security Council obviously shares that view. The matter is now being reconsidered and will be before the Security Council again next month.

It remains our view that it is best to have an Australian led green-helmeted military component there. After all, the force that we offer will for the foreseeable future be substantially larger than the force proposed by the United Nations, which is only 350. There is also the issue of tasking. The proposal put forward by the United Nations was that the blue-helmeted military component would only protect, in particular, the United Nations police and that it would not deal with broader breakdowns in law and order that could not be handled by the police. Those problems would need to be dealt with over and above providing protection for the United Nations.

Let me say on these matters that we listen very much to the advice of the military, and of Brigadier Slater in particular. I want to take this opportunity—and I know that the Minister for Defence will appreciate this—to pay tribute to Brigadier Slater. I think he has done an exceptional job in very trying and difficult circumstances, and he deserves the support of the parliament and the Australian people for the simply outstanding job he has done.

I can pass on to the House that President Xanana Gusmao and Prime Minister Horta expressed their deepest appreciation to me for Australia’s assistance in East Timor. They know that, at the end of the day, the responsibility rests with them and their people to sort out their own problems and not just to look to the international community to solve all of their woes.

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and International Security) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and relates to the answer he just gave on the current security situation in East Timor. Does the minister recall stating only six weeks ago:

[East Timor] is going to stabilise very substantially now. I think it will quieten down ... we can start thinking about ... downsizing our presence ... I think they have really worked through the political difficulties ...

And does he recall stating two days later, on 12 July:

... I think things are looking much better in East Timor now.

Will the minister now concede that the government has once again mismanaged Australia’s national security interests and misjudged the situation on the ground in East Timor, all to justify a premature withdrawal of Australian forces, repeating the mistake the government made only last year, just before the total collapse of security in Dili?

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

First, I appreciate the honourable member’s question and warmly thank him for the opportunity to deal with an issue that I notice he has raised in what I would have thought—if I may put forward the judgement—was an excessively partisan manner over recent times. If I may say so, it misjudges the Australian public. That is the mistake he makes: he misjudges the Australian public. I do stand by those statements that I made. We have of course reduced the number of military we have on the ground in East Timor quite substantially since that time. I think it would have been—

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and International Security) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Rudd interjecting

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Griffith has asked his question.

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

certainly the advice we had from Brigadier Slater, who—if I may be so bold as to suggest—I think is an even better adviser than the member for Griffith on these matters. Perhaps that is excessively bold, but that is my view. We have substantially reduced the numbers, and we will continue to take the advice of Brigadier Slater and others.

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and International Security) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Rudd interjecting

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Griffith!

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

I think the Australian people and the people of East Timor believe that this government has done an extraordinarily good job in assisting that country. As for the rhetorical and partisan flourish—

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and International Security) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Rudd interjecting

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Griffith is warned!

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

at the end of the honourable member’s question, I do not think almost anybody outside of the hard core of the ALP would remotely believe it.