Jane Prentice (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Earlier this year I travelled to Bougainville with the Deputy Leader of the Opposition and shadow foreign affairs minister, Julie Bishop. During that visit we had the opportunity to meet with Bougainville President John Momis and members of his government, and to build an understanding of how Bougainville is faring as it emerges from the years of civil war that wrought such destruction in what otherwise can only be described as a paradise. Bougainville has come a long way from those difficult times and gradually things are improving. It is telling that elections in Bougainville at national and regional level are largely conducted in a safe and peaceful manner and the results are accepted as representing the will of the people.

There remains, sadly, a significant issue with weapons that remain in the Bougainville community. The source of those weapons varies, with some brought into Bougainville for the purposes of the conflict, others obtained from the PNG Defence Force and others being refurbished weapons already on Bougainville having been abandoned after the Second World War. It is about that last group of weapons that I would like to address my remarks.

The Bougainville campaign during World War Two involved some 125,000 Australian and American troops and up to 65,000 Japanese troops. The Japanese forces occupied Bougainville as part of their expansion into the Pacific and subsequently, after success in Guadalcanal American and Australian forces landed and established a beachhead at Torokina, on the west coast of Bougainville, which over time became a major base including airfields and tens of thousands of troops.

Along with the troops came those other essentials of war—weapons, ammunition, both for light arms and for artillery, and bombs. Those munitions have been a steady contributor to the death and destruction in Bougainville during the recent conflict and their influence still creates a notable challenge for the Autonomous Bougainville Government. An informal survey in 2008 disclosed an enormous number of unexploded bombs, artillery shells and mortars, largely remaining from when the Allies left. There were literally hundreds of mortar bombs lying in the very racks where they were placed in the 1940s—large bombs embedded in the ground where local villagers would step over them on their daily business.

The ABG and the PNG Government sought US assistance and, as a result, in 2009 the US provided a specialist group to assist with this problem. As Safe Passage, a newsletter for the humanitarian mine action and conventional weapons destruction communities, reports:

… after three months of work over three tons of ordnance that had been scattered throughout the area was destroyed including several large aerial bombs that were destroyed where they were found.

As valuable as that work was, there is an important aspect that remains untouched and which poses a serious threat to peace in Bougainville—the weapons that remain at Torokina and elsewhere in Bougainville. As good as the work of the US quick reaction force destruction team was, it was restricted to bombs. I am advised that there was no significant destruction of the many weapons that remain.

During the Bougainville conflict, these weapons were utilised. They were retrieved from their World War II resting places and restored to working use. There is an ongoing trade in weapons in Bougainville, albeit now reduced by local pressure. But it remains an issue. The Bougainville peace process has come a long way since the Bougainville Peace Agreement was signed in 2001, but there remain issues outstanding, with groups remaining outside the peace process. These groups remain armed and, while they do so, remain a threat to peace. It is in that context that these leftover weapons assume an importance we cannot ignore.

Australia still has a role to play in supporting the peace process in Bougainville. As Bougainvilleans will tell you readily, peace does not come through a peace agreement alone. It is a long process over many years. It remains fragile—and a significant contributor to that fragility is the ready access to these weapons. So how can Australia help? Initially, the best contribution would be to undertake a proper assessment of the numbers and location of these World War II weapons and to provide advice as to how they may best be collected and destroyed and then to provide the support and expertise to ensure that that advice is implemented. Australia has been a major contributor to the Bougainville peace process. We have worked closely with the PNG and Bougainville governments to help bring peace to Bougainville. Removing weapons from the community is an essential component of ongoing peace.

Madam Speaker, I add my congratulations on your election.

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