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

I do thank the member for Sturt for confirming that the opposition are not interested in the full context of this complex issue. Clearly they are just interested in making cheap political points about it. To respond to the Leader of the Opposition’s question, which has now been placed in a context in which it should be understood by the member for Sturt, can I respond as follows. The Australian government on the weekend responded to reports of a vessel in distress off the coast of Sumatra in the Indonesian search and rescue area. The Indonesian search and rescue authority is the lead agency and is coordinating the response. The Australian government offered assistance to the government of Indonesia and this was accepted by the Indonesian search and rescue authority. As part of its efforts to assist in the search and rescue, HMAS Armidale made contact with the vessel and to ensure the safety of the passengers the people have been taken off the vessel and are on board the Oceanic Viking. Initial indications are that there are 78 passengers on board the vessel in distress, including five women and five young children. The passengers are safe and have no major medical problems. One passenger has a fever and her condition is being monitored.

As the vessel was in the Indonesian search and rescue region, Indonesia is the coordinating authority. We are consulting with the Indonesian search and rescue authority about options for bringing the rescued people to a safe place. In doing so we will follow the letter of the law in relation to this matter. International laws relating to safety of life at sea issues are in place to ensure the safety of everyone who finds themselves in distress at sea. They create a complex set of overlapping obligations that the government are currently assessing with the Indonesian government. At the conclusion of this assessment we will act in a way entirely consistent with our legal obligations. We will do so because laws associated with the safety of life at sea protect everyone who travels by sea. Those laws specifically protect Australian sailors and merchant mariners who may find themselves in distress on the high seas. Consequently we will be abiding by the letter of that international law, and we are doing so.

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