Martin Ferguson (Batman, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Transport, Roads and Tourism) Share this | Hansard source

I welcome the opportunity to make a few remarks concerning what I think is a very important bill. Like the member for Lingiari, I acknowledge that the point at which we are currently arriving with the Offshore Petroleum Amendment (Greater Sunrise) Bill 2007 has been a long time coming. I think this piece of legislation is exceptionally important not only to the future of East Timor but potentially to the stability in the region in which we operate—our backyard. I say that because the Offshore Petroleum Amendment (Greater Sunrise) Bill 2007 and the associated Customs Tariff Amendment (Greater Sunrise) Bill 2007 are a welcome further step towards establishing the necessary framework for the future development of petroleum resources in the Timor Sea.

Those who follow this industry appreciate that you are not going to get investment in economic development unless there is some certainty about the investment framework that surrounds such an investment. Today’s bill is about creating an investment regime that can lead to investment of long-term benefit, to economic development in East Timor, to economic prosperity in Australia and perhaps, more importantly, to political stability in the region in which we operate. We also appreciate that the path towards development has been a long one. The interests of both Australia and East Timor will be best served by the Greater Sunrise petroleum resources being developed as soon as possible.

On the basis of this investment framework, I hope we now get some concrete decisions on potential development in this region. In particular, I note that the development of these resources will generate for East Timor revenue that is desperately needed to rebuild an independent and sustainable future. That is not only important to East Timor; it is important to the whole region in which we operate. If we get it right, we can create an economic platform for development in East Timor which enables that fledgling economy to invest in improved health services and education, and in opportunities for training, infrastructure development and job creation. That in turn is central to overcoming some of the domestic problems which confront the fledging government of East Timor.

East Timor is a fledgling nation in the international community. We all understand, because we are all friends of East Timor, that East Timor has faced more than its fair share of trials and tribulations in recent times. Since the Prime Minister proposed to Indonesia in late 1998 that it was time for a long-term process of autonomy for East Timor, the path to independence proceeded rapidly, with the East Timor elections held in 2001. As many warned at the time, East Timor, by going down that path so rapidly, faced a difficult road ahead to achieve security and safety for its people, the establishment of robust government processes and economic security. Those fears have proven to be true. For that reason we on this side believe Australia has an obligation to continue to help East Timor to achieve security for its people. Federal Labor fully supported the deployment of troops to restore law and order in East Timor last year.

Hopefully, the investment regime that we are creating under this bill will remove the need in future years for Australia to get involved in the policing of East Timor. If East Timor has people who are idle, who are without proper health and education services and employment opportunities, then it is going to get criminality and instability in its streets. In that context, I believe that we must work with East Timor to improve governance, reduce corruption and build an economically viable and self-sustaining nation. We as a nation can no longer afford failed states on our doorstep. We have enough problems in the Pacific with nations such as Papua New Guinea, Fiji and the Solomon Islands. The last thing we need is to have East Timor end up in the same basket—with instability and no possibility of economic development and sustainability in the years to come.

East Timor’s status as an independent nation amongst all others, we believe as a party, is a tribute to the resolve of its people. They have come through a lot over a very short period. This legislation is about offering a helping hand, about trying to create an environment that will lead to economic development through investment by the private sector and that will guarantee the future of East Timor economically and also politically. But the resolve of the people is not enough for a country such as East Timor to take its place amongst the prosperous nations of the planet. East Timor continues to face significant economic and social challenges in its desire to front up to nation building, including re-establishing essential social services, revitalising the economy, generating employment and achieving food self-sufficiency. The development of East Timor’s petroleum resources and the funding that will flow from it is vital to the country’s economic and social development. Without it, we condemn East Timor to no future at all. That is why this legislation is so important.

The passage of the bill is a small step for Australia to take in enabling this development to occur. I also want to acknowledge that the commercial development of these fields is still likely to be some time off in the future and will be the subject of appropriate negotiations between the developers of the fields, the East Timorese government, the Australian government and the buyers of LNG. All we are doing today is creating a platform for those negotiations to move forward, to realise real investment which opens up those fields to the economic benefit of Australia and East Timor. We are a long way from that point at this time.

For that reason, in the meantime we as a nation have to be concerned today about poor government standards, including corruption, money laundering, organised crime and human rights abuses. We have a special responsibility to assist the government of East Timor in resolving those issues because, if we do not, they themselves will be a barrier to economic development. Companies will be hesitant about investing in East Timor because of the potential instability of government and a fear that their own workforce will have their lives endangered if they invest in East Timor.

So the legislation creates a platform but, to build on that platform, we have to overcome these problems so that East Timor becomes an attractive place for investment, just as Australia is an attractive place for investment, not only because we have an educated workforce which has the skills to carry out the necessary investment but also because we are politically stable and therefore investment by business is secure. There are issues of poor government standards, corruption, money laundering, organised crime and human rights abuses. Those challenges are just as important as the legislation before the parliament this morning.

We also have to be vitally concerned about poverty, illiteracy, low skills, unemployment, poor health, lack of clean water and energy supplies, and natural resources management. You are not going to get investment from the private sector unless workers are educated and skilled enough to do the work on the ground. So hand in glove with legislation such as this is the responsibility of the Australian government, with the international community and NGOs, to do something practical on the ground to overcome the huge social challenges that confront East Timor at this time.

The unsustainable management of natural resources will also potentially have negative economic, environmental and social consequences in the long term for East Timor. I believe we have seen many Pacific countries suffer from the resources curse. Abundant natural resources become a source of corruption and ultimately conflict. You just have to look at places such as the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea to see evidence of that. The Panguna mine led to civil war in Bougainville, Fiji’s mahogany plantations were behind the 2000 coup and unsustainable logging contributed to conflict in the Solomons—and it still contributes to conflict in the Solomons. That is one of the problems that also confronts Australia in terms of the forest industry. Illegal logging undermines not only our own industry but also our desire to front up to our environmental obligations as an international community.

I simply say in speaking to this bill today that it is our responsibility to not only negotiate hard with East Timor to achieve a fair outcome in these developments but also work hand in glove with East Timor to ensure that they do not succumb to this fate. We must have a healthy East Timor with a robust civil community and a thriving economy. That is not just good for East Timor; it is also good for Australia in terms of our own political stability in the international community. For that reason, while the development of petroleum resources offers a source of hope—and that is all it is at the moment: it is not set in concrete; it is a source of hope to build on in the future and greater opportunity for the future—the truth is that we are a long way from reaping those benefits, either for Australia as a nation or perhaps, more importantly, East Timor as a fledgling nation at this time.

I remind the government today that it is its responsibility to work with East Timor on behalf of the people of Australia to find other economic, employment and training opportunities and to develop that country in the meantime. We cannot work on the basis that their future is all dependent upon the potential development of these fields. It is also up to the people of East Timor to avoid the trap of putting all their eggs in one basket—just as, for example, we have gone out of our way to diversify the economies of our smaller states such as Tasmania and South Australia. In South Australia, which has been heavily reliant on the automobile industry for so long, the future expansion of Olympic Dam is an absolute must. Major expansion of the uranium industry is about diversifying the South Australian economy and securing the economic future of South Australia. Similarly, in Tasmania, people want to close down the forestry industry and say that the future of Tasmania is all dependent upon tourism. What a bleak future for Tasmania if all our eggs are put in one basket. Not only is tourism important; so is a sustainable timber industry. It is about time Senator Bob Brown, who was born not in Tasmania but in Western Sydney, understood the importance of the forestry industry to Tasmania. I raise these issues, Mr Deputy Speaker Adams, which I know are dear to your own heart as a Tasmanian who is proud to stand up for the economic interests and job prospects of Tasmanians.

I throw up these few examples to remind Australia of its responsibilities to ensure that East Timor has diverse economic opportunities and avoids the trap of putting all its eggs in one basket. I simply believe that economic empowerment for education and training, jobs and sustainable resource industries is the true path to a stable and prosperous East Timor. I also say in conclusion that, unlike the minister, I do not think nuclear power is vitally important to the future of East Timor. He also has to assist in broadening East Timor’s horizons as to what is possible in the future. In that context, it is gas in association with a variety of other industries. This, more seriously, is the hope that we should hold out for all our neighbours.

Today’s bill has been a long time coming. It has not been easy for Australia or East Timor, but it is good that these negotiations have been completed. It is good to see the leadership of the President of East Timor and to see the parliament actually nailing down this legislation in recent times because we now have a platform which creates certainty for investment. Let us hope that East Timor will grasp the opportunity and go ahead, with a helping hand from Australia. I commend the bills to the House.

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