Bob Baldwin (Paterson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister Assisting the Shadow Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

The opposition strongly welcomes the federal government’s continuing commitment to restoring security and stability to East Timor. Both sides of politics believe that Australia has a strategic and humanitarian interest in assisting this young six-year-old nation-state develop and prosper as a stable democracy.

Since the independence of East Timor in 1999, the Australian Defence Force has maintained a constant commitment to the East Timorese government and people. Through the leadership of the International Stabilisation Force and by providing support to the ongoing United Nations’ mission, Australia remains committed to the stability and prosperity of East Timor. In the long term, this stability can only be guaranteed by East Timorese security forces and it is the aim of the Australian authorities that these forces be adequately trained, equipped and prepared for this task.

There are, as the Minister for Defence points out, 18 Australian Defence military and civilian advisers in East Timor. We support the government’s decision to deploy an additional 14 advisers to further build the capacity of the East Timorese defence force. But a stronger East Timorese military is one thing; East Timor also needs a large, well-trained police force able to ensure domestic security. Despite the large UN police presence in East Timor, more attention needs to be paid to training the police. Security is essential if refugees are to be returned home and for the creation of the conditions that encourage investment and economic growth.

In this light, it is encouraging to hear last week’s news that East Timor’s leaders met to discuss the strengthening of the agreement between the government of East Timor and the UN Integrated Mission in East Timor to reform the security sector. Of course, we share the federal government’s concern that, as the Minister for Defence puts it:

... any future drawdown of the UN Police mission in East Timor needs to be based on the achievement of performance benchmarks by the East Timorese Police.

He continued:

When these benchmarks are met any drawdown would be managed modestly, cautiously and in consultation with Australia.

The assassination attempts against East Timor President, Jose Ramos Horta, and Prime Minister, Xanana Gusmao, in February of this year provided a stark reminder of just how volatile the security situation in East Timor remains. These two men are the best qualified candidates to bridge East Timor’s fractured political landscape. Since those assassination attempts, the army, police and civil authorities have helped prevent violence in the volatile camps, suburbs and towns and so avoided further bloodshed which would have only prolonged East Timor’s agony.

Today it is also worth mentioning the previous government’s noble role in securing East Timor’s independence in 1999. At the time, the decision on whether to intervene in the former Portuguese colony seemed like a no-win situation for Australia. On the one hand, relations with Jakarta hung in the balance, and, on the other hand, the normally pacifist Left—especially including several members opposite such as the then Labor foreign affairs spokesman, Laurie Brereton—were baying for blood with our closest neighbour.

But let history record that the then Prime Minister, John Howard, the then Minister for Defence, John Moore, and the then Minister for Foreign Affairs, now the member for Mayo, defused the crisis with a prudent use of force, resulting in remarkably few casualties, minimal damage to relations with Indonesia and giving East Timor the best chance of stability and development. Critics—such as the current Prime Minister’s close friend and special envoy Richard Woolcott—condemned the Howard government for encouraging Jakarta to host a ballot for East Timorese independence.

That ballot on 30 August 1999 was carried by a 78.5 per cent majority of Indonesians. Former diplomat Tony Kevin, again another close friend and former adviser of our now Prime Minister, even called on John Howard and the current member for Mayo to ‘apologise’ to Jakarta for Australia’s ‘provocative’ behaviour in leading other Asian democracies to protect the helpless people from brutal attack by the Indonesian military.

We can never forget the Dili massacre on 12 November 1991, resulting in over 250 young Timorese being killed. We can never forget the then Labor government’s refusal to acknowledge the severity of the situation, when the then Minister for Foreign Affairs, Gareth Evans, played down the killings, describing them as ‘an aberration, not an act of state policy.’

But by not shying away from the moral issues, Australia, under Prime Minister John Howard, showed true leadership in the Asia-Pacific region for the first time and proved itself a strong and supportive neighbour. Since East Timor’s independence in 1999, Australia, with the support of both sides of politics, has continued to make a significant contribution to nation building in the former Portuguese colony. Our military and police personnel have made successive UN missions. We have invested more than $641 million in development assistance. We have played a major role in managing public finance and revenue collection systems, supporting rural development and the delivery of water sanitation and environmental health services. We have also invested $26 million over five years to help establish an East Timor defence force.

In May 2006, in response to rising unrest in East Timor, Australia committed a company of 130 soldiers to Dili. Within a fortnight, approximately 2,000 ADF personnel had been deployed to East Timor including a 1,300 strong battalion group, 23 armoured personnel carriers, 10 helicopters and five Navy ships. By the end of May, the ADF had secured key infrastructure, successfully repatriated hundreds of Australians, facilitated the return to barracks of the East Timorese defence and police forces, confiscated hundreds of weapons and assisted in the provision of humanitarian aid.

The East Timorese operation has been widely regarded by the international community as a success. But the events of earlier this year highlight that there are still many challenges to overcome and Australia must stand side by side with East Timor in addressing such challenges. The federal opposition supports the federal government’s moves to provide extra assistance to East Timor at this time in addition to maintaining the levels of Australian Defence Force and Federal Police numbers in the country. The stability and safety of East Timor and its residents is of major importance to the federal opposition and we will consider all requests for further assistance in a positive manner. And we stand with our East Timorese friends to assist them in any way and we will react sympathetically to their requests for further assistance.

Finally, the opposition would also like to echo the Minister for Defence’s tribute to the three men who have led the efforts in East Timor and other theatres. Vice Admiral Russ Shalders, Lieutenant General Peter Leahy and Air Marshal Geoff Shepherd are retiring next week as Chiefs of the Navy, Army and Air Force. All are fine men who have upheld the best traditions of our military. I would also like to take this opportunity to extend all good wishes to their successors and in particular to Brigadier James Baker, who takes over from Brigadier John Hutcheson as commander of the Australian led International Stabilisation Force in East Timor.

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