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

I thank the honourable member for Solomon for asking that question. This Sunday, Australians and Indonesians will participate in a commemorative service to mark the first anniversary of the tragic accident that took the lives of nine Australian service personnel on 2 April last year on the island of Nias. Those young Australians were helping Indonesians in Indonesia’s time of very great need following the earthquake that struck Nias, which came soon after the devastating Boxing Day tsunami.

Eight families from Australia—or 28 people in all—will travel to Indonesia over the next few days to participate in the ceremony. The government will be represented by the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs and the Minister Assisting the Minister for Defence and also by the Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, Bill Farmer. The Australian Defence Force will be represented by the Chief of Navy, Admiral Shalders, the Chief of Air Force, Air Marshal Shepherd, and the Maritime Commander, Rear Admiral Thomas.

When people lose their lives in such circumstances we are reminded only too sharply of the dangers that people in the field responding to tragedy and to emergencies are exposed to every day. Yet, without their contributions, the lives of so many others would be lost or would be compromised.

Like all neighbours, Australia and Indonesia deal with many challenging issues together. They are not always easy, but we are committed to working together on many fronts: confronting the threat of international terrorism and religious extremism, combating transnational crime, stopping illegal fishing and so on. But this commemoration on Nias on Sunday is a reminder of the importance of our bilateral relationship. It also reminds us that there are some issues in life which are beyond politics.

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