E&OE
29 April 2009
Interview, ABC 2
Subjects: Australian troops to Afghanistan, Government aid being offered to Sri Lanka; the precautions taken against swine flu in Australia.
JOE O'BRIEN: Australia is committing $4.5 million to help civilians caught in the conflict in Sri Lanka. To discuss the humanitarian aid and other issues, Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith joins us now from Canberra.
Minister, good morning.
STEPHEN SMITH: Good morning, Joe.
JOE O'BRIEN: Now, first of all, can you confirm the decision has been made to send an extra 200 troops to Afghanistan?
STEPHEN SMITH: Well, I'm not confirming that, Joe. A couple of weeks ago I said I thought the Government would be in a position to make a decision and an announcement about these matters in a couple of weeks. I think a decision from the Government can be announced in the very near future.
And we continue, as I've said in the past, to look at what we can do in terms of a potential additional contribution to Afghanistan. Not just in terms of any additional military contribution, but what we can do in terms of training, particularly for the Afghan National Army and police, what we can do in terms of civilian capacity building, building the state institutions and what we can do to add to the international effort so far as staring down international terrorism in Afghanistan is concerned.
JOE O'BRIEN: Has the US requested those troops?
STEPHEN SMITH: We've been in discussion obviously with the United States. My colleague, the Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon and I were in Washington just before Easter for the annual so-called AUSMIN talks, the Australia-US Ministerial talks, and as we made clear at the time we had a general discussion about what additional contribution, if any, Australia could make.
And as I said then, I expected we'd be able to make a decision and an announcement in a matter of weeks. And I think an announcement from the Government can be expected in the very near future.
JOE O'BRIEN: Maybe even today.
We'll turn to swine flu now, and I understand you've had a government briefing on the situation. What's the latest developments? Are there any positive cases in Australia?
STEPHEN SMITH: I'm not aware yet of any positive cases. My colleague, the Health Minister Nicola Roxon has been making the point that we've got about 80 Australians who have been travelling in the vicinity of where the swine flu has been detected and they are being subject to the range of tests.
We've also got some Australians who we know were travelling with the party of 22 New Zealanders, some of whom have been confirmed of suffering with swine flu and they're being effectively tracked down and proposed to be tested as well. But my most recent advice is no confirmed cases.
But we are taking all of the necessary precautions, consistent with the advice of the Chief Medical Officer and also consistent with the advice of the World Health Organization.
JOE O'BRIEN: The screening process yesterday seemed quite haphazard; how is that being improved?
STEPHEN SMITH: Well we think we've been taking, as I say on the advice of the World Health Organization and the Chief Medical Officer, all of the necessary precautions. We've seen, for example, fatalities coming out of Mexico but in other areas the adverse consequences seem to have been much milder than that. And that of course is one of the reasons why we've increased our travel advisory to Mexico, to reconsider your need to travel to Mexico.
And overnight we've made it clear that so far as our officials in Mexico are concerned, we won't be dealing with over-the-counter applications for visas, and that's consistent with the sort of sensible precautions that we've been taking.
So, we're confident that to date, on the advice of our medical professionals, we've been taking all of the necessary precautions, and we continue to monitor the situation.
As the Health Minister has made clear, if we believe that additional measures are required they'll be taken. We are monitoring this very, very carefully, to take, as I say, all of the necessary and appropriate precautions.
JOE O'BRIEN: And so you're optimistic that this won't be devastating globally, because the mortality rate outside Mexico is virtually non-existent, or is non-existent?
STEPHEN SMITH: Well, I think it's early days. I think we still need to get the scientific analysis as to what has been the cause of the deaths in Mexico.
But we have seen that confirmed cases in other countries, United States, Canada, New Zealand, the adverse consequences have obviously been much less than the terrible consequences we've seen in Mexico. We haven't yet seen the scientific analysis or reasons as to that.
But, because there's been such a terrible situation in Mexico, obviously Australia and other countries are taking all of the necessary precautions. And, countries in our own region, in the Asia Pacific, who were on the receiving end of the SARS epidemic some time ago, they've now got good procedures in place, enlivened by that experience.
So, we're confident that we're certainly taking all the necessary precautions. We've seen other countries do likewise.
This is a situation where we want to err on the side of caution; we want to be safe rather than sorry. But to date, the only terrible consequences we've seen have been in Mexico, and we certainly hope that we don't see any further fatalities.
JOE O'BRIEN: And you do have the powers now to quarantine people if cases do arise in Australia?
STEPHEN SMITH: Well, as the Chief Medical Officer and the Health mMnister have made clear, those powers are there. We currently don't see the need to utilise them. And the Minister for Health has made the point that those powers won't be required on the basis of ongoing cooperation from all concerned, and to date we've certainly received that.
So, those powers are there to be used sensibly and appropriately if required. To date they haven't been required. And again, we certainly hope that continues to be the case.
JOE O'BRIEN: We'll turn to the situation in Sri Lanka now; and you're announcing this financial humanitarian assistance. Which body is that money going to?
STEPHEN SMITH: We're announcing a further $4.5 million worth of financial assistance. The bulk of it is going to organisations associated with assisting displaced persons. So, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Organisation for Migration, they get the bulk of it: $3 million; a million and a half each.
The Red Cross gets $1 million. And another NGO, Australian-based NGO, gets a half a million dollars.
It's all aimed at trying to relieve the terrible humanitarian situation we find in Sri Lanka. We've seen, in recent days and weeks, a very large number of displaced people. And this is aimed at trying to alleviate their burden.
More generally, we continue to urge the Sri Lanka Government and the Tamil Tigers to cease hostilities. And we continue to urge the Sri Lankan Government to try and effect a political solution.
This is not a problem which can be dealt with only by military means.
JOE O'BRIEN: Is it a problem that can only be solved by the establishment of an independent Tamil state?
STEPHEN SMITH: Well, that's not the Australian Government's position and it's not the view of the international community.
Today for example, we'll see French Foreign Minister Kouchner and British Foreign Secretary Miliband arrive in Colombo and they'll be making all of the points that the international community has been making about this very difficult situation.
I spoke at length to David Miliband over the Anzac Day weekend and he'll be making the points which the international community have been making, which is: we need to see a cessation of hostilities; we want to see the Tamil Tigers lay down their arms; we want to make sure that civilians are provided for on a humanitarian basis; and we need to see international monitors in the displaced people's camps to make sure that humanitarian standards are abided by.
But we also need to see the Sri Lankan Government sit down and craft out a political program, a political dialogue, political reforms, required to bring a long-term enduring solution to this very difficult and longstanding problem.
JOE O'BRIEN: So just very briefly, the Tigers have offered a ceasefire. The Sri Lankan Government has rejected that. Should the Sri Lankan Government accept that cease fire?
STEPHEN SMITH: We want both the Sri Lankan Government and the Tamil Tigers to cease hostilities, and particularly to allow civilians who are still caught up in hostile areas to remove themselves from those areas.
We've been calling on the Tamil Tigers for some time to lay down their arms. It's been quite clear, for a matter of weeks, if not months, that the Sri Lankan Government is winning the military battle; is winning the war. But, it needs more than a military solution to give the Sri Lankan people the chance of a long-term enduring peace.
JOE O'BRIEN: Stephen Smith in Canberra, thanks very much for talking to us this morning.
STEPHEN SMITH: Thanks, Joe.
[Ends]
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