Speech
Sydney Opera House
Sydney, 7 March 2002
Assisting Australians Overseas
Introduction
[Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.]
I am delighted to be with you. I have been looking forward to the
opportunity to speak to representatives of the Australian travel industry
and media, relevant government agencies and the New South Wales consular
corps about a key Government priority - assisting Australians overseas.
Today is also an opportunity to introduce to you – or at least to
those of you who don’t already know her – the new Parliamentary Secretary
for Foreign Affairs, Chris Gallus. Chris has recently assumed oversight
of the department’s consular operation. Her appointment reflects
the emphasis we attach to this important work.
You will all be familiar with high-profile cases involving Australians
in difficulty overseas. These are often very intense and highly charged. But the bulk of our consular work is rarely acknowledged publicly. And few people understand how broad and complex it is.
This morning I want to outline to you the consular services provided
by the Government to Australians overseas – what we do, and how we
do it.
More importantly, I want to send a particular message about the need
for Australians to be better prepared for travel overseas.
And finally, I want to outline what we all – governments and industry
– might better work toward in trying to ensure that every trip by
an Australian overseas is as safe, and enjoyable, as possible.
As part of that effort, I am pleased today to launch a new publication
- Assisting Australians Overseas – which highlights and promotes
the services available from my department, and which delivers a number
of important messages to the public.
Reforming Australia’s consular service …
Australia is a nation of travellers. 3.5 million Australians – almost
20 per cent of the population – travel overseas each year. The vast
majority of these never have reason to go to an Australian embassy
or consulate for help.
But, of course, there will always be Australians in difficulty overseas,
no matter how well prepared they might be.
Since my appointment as Minister for Foreign Affairs in 1996, I have
made the welfare of Australians overseas a top priority for my department.
I strongly believe that the Australian government has a responsibility
to assist – to the extent we can – Australians in trouble overseas. And the small percentage of travelling Australians who do find themselves
in difficulty constitutes a considerable challenge.
Indeed, the volume of my Department’s consular work is quite remarkable. Consular staff at our overseas posts help more than 20,000 Australians
in serious difficulty, and their families, every year. In the last
six months of 2001, the department assisted more than 12,000 Australians,
including 319 who had been arrested and 377 who, for one reason or
another, had ended up in hospital. 311 Australians died overseas
during this six month period.
With these kinds of pressures in mind, the Government has built a
responsive, modern consular service. An independent study has shown
that our consular services compare very favourably - in terms of both
quality and cost to the taxpayer - with the services provided by the
United Kingdom, United States, Canada and New Zealand. Needless to
say, the study is also backed up by the many letters and phone calls
of thanks the department receives from the Australians it has assisted.
Probably the most significant of our reforms is the 24-hour Consular
Operations Centre in Canberra. In many countries around the world,
Australians who are in trouble can call the Centre in Canberra – either
by free call or reverse charge – to explain their problem. We have
found that centre staff have been able to resolve the caller’s problem
in more than ninety per cent of cases.
In other cases the matter is referred to the relevant Australian
embassy or consulate. This leaves the consular resources we have
on the ground in other countries more free to handle more complex
cases – such as when Australians have been arrested, or are in hospital.
A second significant reform has been in integrating consular services
into the department’s role in managing crises. This is a vital responsibility. When Australian citizens are involved in, or affected by, a crisis
overseas, nothing less than a rapid, coordinated response is required.
The most recent example was our response to the events of September
11 last year. Within minutes of the attacks the Consular Operations
Centre had been strengthened. By six o’clock in the morning, as Australians
began to wake to the terrible news, my department had activated a
Crisis Centre, had a full complement of staff on hand to take telephone
inquiries, and had established a devoted 24-hour hotline.
Over the following days, we received 35 000 calls from anxious families
and friends, and made 8 000 follow-up calls. Departmental staff received
very positive feedback for their professional and compassionate approach.
Registering Australians …
Today I am pleased to announce a further reform designed to help
ensure that the department responds quickly and efficiently in the
event that Australians require urgent consular assistance. With effect
from today, Australians can register their details with the department,
at one central website, when they travel overseas.
This information can be used by the department to locate Australians
abroad in the case of natural disaster, medical emergency, civil disruption
or personal tragedy.
While all Australians are welcome to register, this service is primarily
for Australians planning to reside overseas for a substantial period
of time, or Australians who have particular concerns about security
risks based on our travel advice. The registration service can be
accessed through the department’s website: www.dfat.gov.au.
As with all information gained in the course of consular work, this
personal information will be strictly protected. The principle of
the individual’s right to privacy is a fundamental aspect of any consular
assistance. As such, all information will be treated as confidential
until the traveller gives consent for anyone apart from consular officials
to be notified of his or her situation.
Preparing for travel
Our reforms, and the structure of our consular network, have meant
that Australians in difficulty overseas have received better, and
faster service. But our effort is devoted at more than just helping
Australians in trouble. It must also be aimed at helping Australians
to avoid getting into trouble in the first place.
A fundamental message of the Assisting Australians Overseas booklet
is that good preparation is vital for an enjoyable and trouble-free
trip. Assisting Australians Overseas also emphasises that
there are limits to any government’s capacity to assist Australians
beyond our national borders, and in other legal jurisdictions.
That said, the number of Australians encountering problems overseas
each year could be reduced if some travellers were better prepared. The Government and the travel industry could be working together more,
to help ensure that Australians are well prepared.
Since September 11, Australians have naturally been more concerned
to learn about possible risks before they travel. There are many
sources of good information and advice available, including a wide
range of excellent commercially available travel guides and publications. For its part, the Government provides a travel advisory service focusing
on places where there is an identified risk. This advice is on the
department’s website, or can be provided over the phone, by mail or
by fax.
The Government’s advice is based on information available to our
diplomatic network. We assess risks in particular locations, and
we try to avoid generalising about an entire country. We have chosen
not to issue blanket advice against travel to some countries
over the last several months, preferring instead to advise against
visiting specific areas. Such an approach is generally more helpful
to the traveller. Of course the guiding principle is, and must remain,
the safety of Australians overseas.
Before September 11 we were recording 30,000 hits a week on the travel
pages of the department’s website. By mid-October Australians were
accessing the website more than 300,000 times a week. The rate has
dropped away since but, at 50,000 hits a week, remains substantially
higher than before last September. These figures highlight that it
is not only Australians in difficulty who benefit from the department’s
services.
In the aftermath of September 11 many Australians simply deferred
travel in the face of the heightened international uncertainty and
tension which followed the attacks.
This shows up in the number of passports we have issued since September
– a decrease of around 14 percent, or 13,000 fewer passports issued
every month – than the corresponding period a year earlier.
But while September 11 may have dampened temporarily the enthusiasm
of Australians for overseas travel, there are some signs of recovery. The number of passports issued last month was only 10 percent below
the number for February last year.
All of us should welcome greater numbers of Australians researching
possible risks before travelling. Indeed, government and industry
should work together more to encourage this trend, because it is in
both our interests to ensure that overseas travel by Australians is
safe and enjoyable. Change in the international environment cannot
be denied, but the risks associated with travel can always be reduced
by the traveller being more mindful of those risks.
A second aspect of risk management is not just knowledge and forewarning:
it is about insuring for that risk. Too many Australians fail to
take out adequate travel insurance. Many simply don’t insure themselves
at all. We see far too many cases of Australian families mortgaging
their homes to cover the costs of hospital care or medical evacuation,
when this could easily have been avoided through insurance.
Our challenge is to ensure that Australians heading overseas are
as well-informed and well-prepared as possible. One good travel experience
is likely to lead to others, with consequent gains for those who are
in the travel business. I also know that most of business is keen
to show customers that it is committed to providing independent travel
advice and information, and that client care extends beyond the purchase
of a ticket.
Of course, none of what I have said is to suggest that we don’t already
cooperate. Officials of my department work closely, every day, with
insurance companies, travel associations, airlines, travel agents,
and many others. I am sure that most of you here today have had some
kind of link with the consular service.
Further cooperation
As I said at the outset, I want to send a clear message today that
the Government is keen to cooperate further with the travel industry. I would like to see us working together more closely to ensure at
least three basic objectives.
The first objective – as I have already outlined – should be for
Australians to be better prepared for travel. That they are informed
of the risks and how to avoid them while travelling. We don’t have
a monopoly on travel advice, but we greatly appreciate those businesses
who encourage their customers to consult our advice, and that of others,
before travelling.
The second objective - again - is fundamental. Australians should
insure themselves for travel. I can’t emphasise this too strongly. Sometimes we feel like spokespeople for the insurance industry – our
motto is “If you can’t afford insurance, you can’t afford to travel”. We can’t legislate to force individuals to insure themselves, but
government – and industry, which after all, stands to benefit – must
work together to encourage more Australians to take cover.
Our third objective should be to ensure that Australians, particularly
young Australians, understand how important it is to stay in touch
with family and friends while they are travelling. My department
receives about two thousand inquiries each year from anxious Australian
families who have lost touch with someone overseas. The rate of inquiry
has been considerably higher since September last year.
I have asked Chris Gallus and departmental officials to explore with
industry representatives practical ways of advancing these objectives
together. There may be other objectives you would like to pursue,
and we would be happy to hear about them.
Conclusion
I believe that our reforms and the publication of the Assisting
Australians Overseas booklet are clear signs that the Government
is committed not only to helping Australians, but also to ensuring
that they help themselves in ensuring safe, enjoyable travel.
Safe, enjoyable travel for Australians overseas is in both the Government’s
and the industry’s interest. It reduces the demand on our consular
service. More importantly, it promotes confidence and the desire
to travel again. That is surely in your interests.
But most of all, it means that Australians can continue to discover
and learn about our world and make a positive contribution to it through
their travels
This page last modified:
Friday, 19-Jul-2002 15:57:43 EST
Local Date:
Monday, 06-Oct-2008 22:52:35 EST
