Philip Ruddock (Berowra, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

(11: I move the motion relating to East Timorese support of Australian troops:

That this House:

(1) notes that in East Timor between December 1941 and January 1943, 700 Australian troops engaged

some 20,000 Japanese troops through guerrilla warfare, and:

(a) this severely hampered the Japanese war effort by preventing its troops from being deployed

elsewhere; and

(b) in this endeavour, Australian troops were assisted by the East Timorese people;

(2) recognises that while Australian troops were in East Timor between December 1941 and

January 1943, and after they had left, some 40,000 East Timorese are estimated to have died as a

result of protecting Australian soldiers; and

(3) commends and thanks the people of Timor-Leste for the sacrifices they made in supporting Australia in World War II.

I simply say in relation to this resolution, that its terms are self-explanatory. They note that in East Timor between December 1941 and January 1943, 700 Australian troops engaged some 20,000 Japanese troops through guerilla warfare and that this really hampered the Japanese war effort by preventing its troops from being deployed elsewhere. In this endeavour Australian troops were assisted by the East Timorese people and it recognises that Australian troops were in East Timor between December 1941 and January 1943 and that after they left some 40,000 East Timorese were estimated to have died as a result of protecting Australian soldiers, and it commends and thanks the people of East Timor, or Timor-Leste, for the sacrifices they made in supporting Australians during World War II. I move this motion so that we do properly recognise those efforts by these Timorese people.

From late 1941 as the War in the Pacific began until 1942, Australian independent companies, the 2/2nd, the 2/40th, and Z commando units were sent to East Timor, then a neutral Portuguese colony. In the months following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, most of the geostrategically critical regions of the Pacific and a number of states fell to the Japanese. Amongst them were Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, the Dutch East Indies and Burma. As the Japanese forces moved towards Dili, Australian troops found themselves in extraordinarily difficult territory surrounded by an enemy.

The 700 men who formed the Australian force withdrew into East Timorese mountainside forests joined by local men and boys who offered very considerable assistance to them. During the following months these young people, known as the Credos, and other local people guided the Australian forces through the hills, passed on information about Japanese movements, and helped carry their gear. The assistance and bravery of them, and the Timorese people generally, ensured the survival of our troops.

From July 1942 Japanese forces implemented a series of campaigns designed to break the bond between the East Timorese and the Australian contingents. Unfortunately, as Japanese commanders recognised the vital role of local assistance in the continued resilience of the Australians, the Japanese strategy necessarily—from their point of view—targeted the East Timorese.

Community emissaries were brought in from Dutch West Timor to encourage dissent amongst local people. They advocated the abandonment of support for the Australians and the Portuguese colonial administration, which had nominally continued albeit reduced and circumscribed in form. To the extent that this was successful, and by late 1942, the Portuguese administration had evaporated yet, critically, the support for the Australians had not. With the benefit of this assistance the Australian forces were able to engage the Japanese in intensive guerilla warfare, using critical intelligence and information provided by the East Timorese. Their efforts significantly hindered the advance of some 20,000 Japanese troops through the area, absorbing critical resources and manpower and thereby preventing the troops from being deployed elsewhere in the Pacific, including the developing theatre in Papua New Guinea.

Several extremely brave East Timorese people also gathered and related critical intelligence back to Australia at considerable risk to themselves—their lives and those of their families. Patricio De Luz, a local morse code operator took charge of the Dili wireless station, passing highly sensitive Japanese strategic plans to Australian aerial intelligence services operating under the guise of Qantas civilian operations. Some of the information gathered and passed back to Australian operations was of vital importance and Da Luz conveyed information intended for senior Japanese commanders. This included intelligence that the Japanese aerial forces were moving towards Darwin in 1942. It is very important that we recognise in this place and as a broader Australian community the enormous impact of the East Timorese sacrifice because it was surely that.

It is very important that we recognise in this place, and as a broader Australian community, the enormous impact of the East Timorese sacrifice, because it was surely that. Few of the criados survived the period following their connection with the Australian forces. One described to ABC's Compass program in 2010 the day the Australian troops farewelled their East Timorese comrades on a beach and the swift descent of Japanese forces. He recalled:

From the beach I set off towards the mountains. From there I heard the gunshots. The criados, they were all shot. They were all killed.

Both during the period when Australian forces operated in East Timor and after the troops were withdrawn in early 1943, the East Timorese people were subject to severe retribution by the Japanese forces. Between 1941 and 1943, 40,000 East Timorese are believed to have died as a result of their efforts in protecting our Australian troops. We cannot adequately quantify this loyalty, nor forget the debt Australia owes to the Timorese people.

Political events in 1999 reinvigorated the close connections between Australia and the East Timorese people, but we need to remember how far and deep these ties bind us. Although the relationships forged between the local guides in Papua New Guinea, affectionately known as the fuzzy wuzzy angels, and Australian troops form part of our collective memory of the war in the Pacific, very few are aware of the equal heroism and loyalty shown by the East Timorese to Australian troops. That is the reason I propose this resolution and hope that it will receive the support of this chamber: still fewer people in the broader Australian community understand the significance of these friendships and assistance within the wider Pacific theatre.

As we approach the centenary of the Anzac landings, I hope that our appreciation of the nature of sacrifices made during times of conflict will be understood not only in relation to the Anzac landings but, more broadly, to the way in which Australians have served and the way in which they have been supported. As a nation we must collectively reflect not only upon the sacrifices made by Australians but those made by others, often non-combatants, who have given much in order to protect and assist Australians. So, in this place today, I move that we recognise the sacrifices and loyalty of the East Timorese people and give thanks for the friendship extended to Australian troops stationed in East Timor during the Second World War.

May I thank particularly the group of Australians who have adopted East Timor and who support them through these efforts. They came before the former foreign affairs, defence and trade committee to brief us on the efforts of Australians in East Timor at that time and that briefing had a significant impact on me. I had only recently been in East Timor; I had seen something of the countryside and gained a broader appreciation of the circumstances in which the East Timorese live. It made me very much more appreciative of their efforts, which these Australians wanted to bring before the foreign affairs, defence and trade committee. It was in that context that I drafted and proposed this resolution, and promised that one day this chamber would be able to acknowledge that effort. It is a great privilege to be able to propose the motion and to bring it back here in the first private member's debate we have had in the new parliament. I am sure these Australians who are very supportive of the East Timorese will be pleased that the parliament has had this opportunity not only to debate it but also, hopefully, when the resolution is passed, to recognise it.

Bruce Scott (Maranoa, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Michael Danby (Melbourne Ports, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and commend the member for Berowra for bringing this to the attention of the House. Like the member for Berowra, I have visited Timor-Leste on two occasions since that new nation achieved independence from Indonesia in 2002. On both occasions I have been struck by the deep bonds of friendship between our countries—bonds of friendship that endure despite a diplomatic relationship that is largely a story of sacrifice by the Timorese and, to some extent, exploitation by Australia. The motion before the House today is a telling example of what I am talking about.

In the lead-up to World War II the Japanese were in search of oil to fuel their army and power their navy. When they turned southward the Japanese were obviously after the rich oilfields of the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia. Allied forces were aware of this Japanese plan to turn the Pacific into a 'Japanese lake' but were taken by surprise when Japan bombed the US naval headquarters at Pearl Harbour on 7 December 1941. The Japanese attacked the Philippines and extended their attack further southward. Just over a week later, in an attempt to curtail the Japanese invasion, Dutch, Australian and British troops occupied neutral Portuguese Timor, adjacent to Dutch Timor.

It is often overlooked that Portugal had remained neutral in the war raging in Europe. For the average Timorese, the horror of Pearl Harbour, even the Japanese attack southward, let the alone the horrors of the battles in Europe, would probably have barely registered. Yet the landing of the Allied forces in neutral Portuguese Timor brought the war directly into the lives of the Timorese, with devastating consequences.

Just two months later on 19 February 1942, at about 10 am, Japanese aircraft attacked Darwin, killing 243 people. That same day, just before midnight, 1,500 Japanese troops landed in Portuguese Timor. An Australian force, together with a few Dutch servicemen and even fewer Portuguese servicemen, was present. The Dutch and the Australians were known as Sparrow Force. They inflicted some damage on the Japanese invaders before withdrawing to the mountains where they were later joined by Portuguese and Timorese partisans. For the next year, the 700 or so commando soldiers who had escaped to the rugged hills waged a guerilla war against the Japanese imperial army. While they were small in number, they succeeded in tying up the resources of the tens of thousands of Japanese troops who would otherwise, as the member for Berowra said, have been deployed against Australians fighting in Papua New Guinea.

In Paul Cleary's detailed account The men who came out of the ground the preface about the Australian commando's taking part in the Australian equivalent of Winston Churchill's SOE says they required:

… ingenuity, imagination and mateship on a mammoth scale. Ingenuity, like rebuilding a radio from spare parts so that the force could contact Australia and tell the army chiefs they were indeed still fighting. Imagination, like mobilizing hundreds of local villagers to move supplies out of the enemy's reach without having the means to communicate with or compensate the willing East Timorese workers. It demanded mateship not just among the Australians, but with the local people.

It was in these guerilla battles that the Australian troops formed a close and respectful relationship with the locals who undertook crucial assistance roles, including vital intelligence. Cleary said the Timorese volunteers:

… became the eyes and ears of the soldiers, and by hauling supplies and equipment as well they made the 2/2 Company a vastly mobile and effective guerilla force … Timorese villagers gave the Australians food and shelter and whatever else they needed, and they refused to inform on them.

If you have visited East Timor, as I am sure you have, Mr Deputy Speaker, you would know that it is not the most abundant of countries, so for the villagers to share with Australian servicemen was indeed a sacrifice. Without the aid of the Timorese the commando force would have been quickly overrun. Despite their skills they relied on the local knowledge and incredible bravery of their Timorese helpers.

What is most critical in guerilla warfare is the provision of local intelligence, but it is also the most dangerous activity in support of a commando force. The Japanese army made the Timorese pay an immense price. As punishment for their assistance, the Japanese brutalized the locals and executed those found to have assisted the Australians. I wish to recognise that between 40,000 and 60,000 Timorese died at the hands of the Japanese because of their loyalty to the Australian commandos and because of the general brutality of the Japanese army at the time.

In his address at the opening of the Dare Memorial Museum and Fatunaba Memorial Primary School, Prime Minister His Excellency Mr Xanana Gusmao spoke of the bonds forged between East Timor and Australia. As we all know, it was the support of the Timorese people to the Australian soldiers that allowed them to survive during the war. Many Timorese volunteered to help the soldiers and, at great risk, they carried packs and ammunition, cooked for the troops and fought alongside them. It was this great display of solidarity and humanity that represents the strong foundation for the shared history between our two countries. President Gusmao stated:

It has resulted in bonds of friendship and honour that have left an enduring legacy.

The Australian soldiers that fought in Timor during the War have continued to return to our homeland to maintain the friendship with our people, and to support our communities.

…   …   …

This connection, forged in war, has also helped the cause of Timor-Leste.

The former soldiers have worked to remind Australians of the support they received from the Timorese in the War, and in doing so have fostered goodwill between us that will last for generations to come.

I do not think it is unfair to say that perhaps the most effective advocates of Australian intervention in Timor when it was under Indonesian control were these Australian ex-servicemen.

Eventually, as I said previously, the commandos there during the Second World War from 1942 were withdrawn but their Timorese helpers were left behind to face the Japanese alone. Many of the departing Australians described it as like leaving their families, with many Australians, as the President noted, returned to see their Timorese brothers in arms after the end of the war.

I want to conclude with some remarks about the third point of this motion, which states that this House:

commends and thanks the people of Timor-Leste for the sacrifices they made in supporting Australia during World War II.

It is one thing to thank the Timorese in a motion in this House—parliamentary motions are cheap—but Australia needs to keep paying its debt to the Timorese in actions and deeds. I am afraid to say that sometimes our actions have not matched our rhetoric. We turned a blind eye to the invasion of East Timor. With the then opposition foreign spokesman, Mr Laurie Brereton, I was very pleased to be involved in some change in Australian policy on Timor. I think that change was correct. Australia under Major General Cosgrove performed a very honourable role in Timor when we did seek to intervene. We redeemed ourselves to some extent when we championed the case at the UN to do something to about the violence that erupted in Dili and the districts following the historic vote for independence in August 1999.

I take this opportunity to honour the outstanding contribution of Major General Peter Cosgrove, who led the International Force for East Timor in 1999. Through the international force's efforts against pro-Indonesian militias, peace and order were restored and thousands of lives were saved. Major General Cosgrove described to me many times when young Australian servicemen were faced with aggressive and antagonistic opponents who were aligned to Indonesia. One click of their automatic weapons could have resulted in a major confrontation between Australia and Indonesia, but the good sense of the average Australian soldier at the grassroots prevented that.

I hope that Australia's ongoing relationship with Timor-Leste will be marked by a series of actions and deeds that are serious about repaying this World War II debt to the people of Timor. I conclude by highlighting the words of Prime Minister Gusmao and honour 'our deep and indelible bonds that were forged between Australians and the Timorese during World War II. Let us continue to honour their bravery and their sacrifice, through building on our shared values and our collective history.' I commend this motion. I hope that Ambassador Guterres from Timor-Leste will convey it to the Timorese parliament as a further example of Australia's close relationship with his country.

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

This motion is built upon the harsh reality of war and on the extraordinary courage and sacrifice of the people of Timor-Leste who provided remarkable support to Australian troops during World War II. Three months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese occupation of South-East Asia reached its southern limit with the invasion of Timor on 20 February 1942. As early as February 1941 Australia had agreed with Dutch and British officials that Allied troops, under Australia's command, would reinforce Timor should Japan enter the war.

In December 1941 Australian and Dutch troops under the name Sparrow Force landed in Koepang, in Dutch-controlled West Timor, while another 400 Australian commandos occupied Dili, in neutral Portuguese-controlled East Timor, to secure the Allied flank against the likely Japanese advance through South-East Asia. Those troops included a remarkable Australian John Carrick—later Sir John Carrick and a senator for New South Wales—who was captured and became a prisoner of war in Changi. He was a great mentor and boss; a good friend to the member for Berowra and to me, and to many others in this parliament.

The Allied troops did not expect the massive Japanese onslaught that followed. Koepang, the centre of Dutch rule, was the focus of the Japanese attack. Surrounded and short of ammunition, Australian troops held out for four days but were forced to surrender on 23 February. A Japanese force had also been sent against Dili, where it faced only limited resistance, but, importantly, forestalled the planned arrival of Portuguese troops. A further 250 Australian servicemen had been sent to the Portuguese part of the island before the Japanese attack. They did not directly oppose the invasion but acted as a guerilla force. Timor's rugged terrain offered ideal conditions for guerilla warfare, but the early success of these operations was made possible by the support of the Timorese people.

The East Timorese were very supportive of the commandos and were of great assistance to the Australian forces, but at a great cost to themselves. The Creados, as they were known, carried the Australians' equipment and provided much needed food and shelter; they alerted the Australians to the presence of enemy troops; they helped them to gather supplies dropped by the Australian Air Force, the US Air Force and the Royal Australian Navy; and in some cases they assisted in the fighting. By coming to the aid of the Australian troops, the East Timorese Creados exposed themselves and their villages to the daily risk of retaliation from the Japanese. In the face of torture, death and the destruction of their way of life, you could have forgiven the East Timorese for choosing to stand by and leave the Australians to look after themselves, but thankfully they did not.

When the Australians were evacuated in 1943, some estimate that between 40,000 and 50,000 Timorese were killed by the Japanese military in reprisal for their support of the Australians. In addition, a further 30,000 died because they were caught between combatants or had their villages bombed or attacked. The loss of about 70,000 people out of a population of 500,000 was a terribly high sacrifice to make by the East Timorese. So just as Australians hold dear the 'fuzzy wuzzy angels' for their support of Australian soldiers in Papua New Guinea, it is fitting and proper that we in this place formally acknowledge the people of Timor-Leste for their support and sacrifice. I join the member for Berowra in thanking the people of Timor-Leste for the sacrifices they made in supporting Australia during World War II. I also thank Canberra Friends of Dili, who brought this issue to the attention of our parliamentary committee.

Recently I was honoured to represent the Australian government, along with Senator Claire Moore and Janelle Saffin, as official observers of the presidential election and the then general election process in East Timor. At that time the Australian ambassador in East Timor, Miles Armitage, kindly shared his Sunday and took us to the memorial for Sparrow Force in the hills above Dili—a truly moving experience. And the member for Bass recently recounted to me that the headquarters for the Defence Cooperation Program in Dili is named 'Sparrow Force House' in recognition of what went before.

Today we honour those in Timor-Leste who went before: a brave people who stood by Australian troops when their help was sorely needed. To those brave men and women, I salute you. To the developing nation of Timor-Leste, I thank you for your friendship. Forged in the heat of battle and the tyranny of war, our bonds are those of nations whose people have fought and died together as one. I commend the motion to the House.

Laurie Ferguson (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I do have pleasure in joining with previous speakers in respect of this matter, and I particularly support the initiative of the member for Berowra, with whom I have travelled to Timor on a delegation visit. At the outset, I mention that the member for Perth, who unfortunately has not made her first speech in this House, would have liked to have spoken on this resolution because of a deep connection with the 2/2nd Commando Squadron in Perth, which essentially was a major ingredient of that force.

I think the debt Australia owes Timor and its people is perhaps even greater than we think. Rodney Lewis, a person known to both myself and the member for Berowra, has put forward the proposition that perhaps—I am not necessarily agreeing with this totally—the Japanese might not have intervened in Timor but for Australia's earlier movement in December 1941. He put forward this argument: if we look at the experience of Macau in the Second World War, as Portugal was neutral there was no move by the Japanese to seize Macau because of that neutrality. If you go back to the actual invasion by the Japanese and when the Australians intervened earlier, Portuguese dictator Salazar described the Australian action as an 'invasion'. The attitude of Portuguese authorities was quite complex. The governor originally cooperated with the Japanese and regarded himself, in the earlier period, as a prisoner of the Australians. It was only later that Australia handed arms to the Portuguese residents of Timor and that, in a later stage, they were interned by the Japanese. So if we look at the contribution of the Timorese people, and Australia's debt, it is perhaps even more enormous than earlier speakers may have suggested.

It might be very clear cut to us in Australia, but in much of Asia the issue of Japanese imperialism was more complex. In some countries the Japanese were able to personify themselves as anti-colonialist—that is, a force that would get rid of the British, Dutch, Portuguese et cetera colonialists. As well as that, obviously a racist element comes into this—that is, they were an Asian nation. So it is all the more incredible that the Timorese people did cooperate with Australian forces.

I have heard estimates that there were 40, 50 or 60 casualties a day. There are also estimates that the total number of Timorese who lost their lives might have actually gone up to 70,000. They provided very important information as well as food, accommodation and transport, with ponies et cetera. All of this was decisive. It is interesting to note that, while Australia stood on the sidelines and condoned—to put it mildly—the Indonesian occupation of the country for decades, the estimate is that one-third of the Timorese lost their lives during the Indonesian occupation, whether by deprivation and starvation or by direct murder. So that debt is indeed extreme.

It is noted that members of the Australian forces suffered from malaria, and some of those who were captured died in prisons. Reference was made to former Senator Carrick, but I remind this House that a former minister, Tom Uren, was also captured there and spent the same rather unattractive period in Changi. In the history of resistance to the Australian policy over the occupation of Timor, many, many former Australian servicemen played a crucial role in changing Australian public opinion around these matters because of the debt that they felt. These people had very different views of Australian politics. I recall one of them who was very active in the Democratic Labour Party, Mr Kenneally, who was remorseless in driving home this particular issue. We are talking about a situation where significant numbers of Japanese forces were tied down. Estimates are of four to five battalions and that they lost at least 2,000 soldiers in Timor. This was of such importance to Australia that Damien Parer was transported to Timor to make the film Men of Timor.

Today, as I say, I very much associate myself with the motion of the member for Berowra. When the member for Melbourne Ports commented about the situation in Timor, I thought it was a bit of an understatement when he said that it is not the most abundant of countries. I was shocked by the level of malnutrition and the condition of people I saw in Timor. We went to one project there where Japanese, Spanish and Australians were producing a very inhospitable gruel which only just keeps people alive in Timor. Australia has got a massive debt there. It should be respected. Something should be done in a very concrete way to make sure this is remembered.

Debate adjourned.