Daryl Melham (Banks, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. Will the minister advise the House of the importance to Australia of the Australia-Indonesia education partnership and of any risks to this partnership?

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

I thank the honourable member for his question. Fighting terrorism has long been a bipartisan position in this parliament. Since the Bali bombings of 2002 that bipartisan commitment has had a particular application to Indonesia, given our concerns about the risk of militant Islamism in Indonesia, particularly the ability of militant Islamism to penetrate the Indonesian education system. That is why, in 2005, with complete bipartisan support from the then opposition, then Prime Minister Mr Howard announced a program, the Australia Indonesia Basic Education Program, in order to deal with this challenge. We supported it. It provided some $387 million for a range of measures, including 330,000 new places for junior secondary school kids in Indonesia—a good measure. On top of that there was the construction and extension of more than 2,000 new junior secondary schools in Indonesia. That is a good measure. Also, that program extended to more than 500 Islamic schools in Indonesia—a further good measure.

On the question of the efficiency and effectiveness of this program—and the Leader of the Opposition might listen to this—it was reviewed not just once but on two occasions, most recently in May 2010. The review report completed at the end of the program said that it was an efficient and effective program against the targets set for it. It further made 14 recommendations, of which the government has embraced 13, and partially the 14th.

Based on this report the Prime Minister announced recently in Indonesia that we would extend this program into the future to cover the 2010-15 program. This would involve a further 2,000 junior secondary school places—again, a good measure. It also involved an additional investment to support something like 293,000 school principals and other officials—every school principal in Indonesia—being trained in school management programs, thereby affecting some 50 million kids in the education system.

This is a good program as well, building on the good program which preceded it. In fact we supported Mr Howard’s decision to do this. Alexander Downer, with whom I have often had a unity ticket on these questions in the past, said that it is an:

,,, incredibly important way we contribute to the counterterrorism effort.

I note for the record that his replacement in the seat of Mayo also said this morning that the program should be retained for the reason that it contributed directly to Australia’s domestic security.

I am asked about risk to the program. The risk to the program lies in the rash policy judgment of the Leader of the Opposition. He said yesterday that this program had not been reviewed. Wrong. It has been reviewed on two occasions, the most recent of which he would have seen, if he had done any policy homework, is up on the departmental website. He said yesterday that this program in the past was designed exclusively for Aceh. Wrong again. It applied to the entire Indonesian archipelago.

There would perhaps be one person in the word who would be happy with the new policy adopted by the Leader of the Opposition, and that is Abu Bakar Bashir, because he supports militant Islamism continuing in the Indonesian education system. The Leader of the Opposition has put partisan politics ahead of the national interest. Our foreign aid policy is based on prosecuting Australia’s national interest, our national security interest, our economic interests and our international humanitarian interests. (Time expired)

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.