Scott Ryan (Victoria, Liberal Party, Assistant Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Hansard source

The Australian government unreservedly recognises Indonesia's sovereignty over the Papua provinces as underlined by the 2006 Lombok treaty between Australia and Indonesia. This is a bipartisan position in Australia. Indonesian sovereignty over the Papua provinces is also widely recognised by the international community. The Australian government's assessment is that the human rights situation in the Papua provinces has improved in recent years. However, we recognise there are still challenges to be addressed. We condemn all violence in the Papua provinces affecting civilians and security personnel alike. Our consistent position has been that the rights of all citizens in Indonesia, including those in the Papua provinces, should be upheld and that credible allegations of human rights abuses should be investigated. The Australian government welcomes President Widodo's decision o9 May this year to grant clemency and release five Papuan prisoners and the release of Mr Filep Karma on 19 November this year.