Transcript E&OE
10 June 2009
Interview with Joe O'Brien : ABC2 News Breakfast
Subjects: Indian student attacks, Peshawar bombing, Australia-PNG Ministerial forum
JOE O'BRIEN: Now as we've been reporting this morning, Indian students have written directly to the Prime Minister back in New Delhi to ask him to intervene to help protect them from attacks in Australia. The Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith is in Brisbane today to chair the Australia-PNG Ministerial Forum. Stephen Smith, good morning. We'll turn to the Indian issue first. Has your office received any official expressions of concern from India about the attacks on students in Australia?
STEPHEN SMITH: Well last week, late last week I spoke to my counterpart, External Affairs Minister Krishna, and relayed to him the things that the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister and I have been saying, both in the Parliament and publicly.
But of course we're concerned. We're working very closely with our State counterparts, particularly Victoria and New South Wales, to make sure that firstly people who have committed these terrible crimes are brought to justice, but also to restore confidence and trust, so far as the Indian student community is concerned.
Overnight, we have of course seen the Indian Prime Minister himself, Prime Minister Singh, make a statement to the Indian Parliament where he has underlined all of those things. He's made the point that Prime Minister Rudd and he have spoken.
So we're doing everything we can with the Indian authorities, both in India and also in Australia through their High Commission. An also working very closely with the relevant state authorities here, and of course we've established a high level taskforce chaired by our National Security Adviser.
It may well take some time to bring these matters entirely under control, but we're working very assiduously and closely with the Indian Government on it.
JOE O'BRIEN: You say you are doing everything you possibly can at the moment, but as you point out, the situation does seem to be getting worse, night by night, at the moment.
STEPHEN SMITH: I notice that overnight, my counterpart, External Affairs Minister Krishna, has effectively called for calm and restraint so far as Indian students in Australia is concerned. We've seen the points that Indian students have made, through generally peaceful protest, both in New South Wales and in Victoria.
But I simply echo the comments of my Indian counterpart. The time has now come for restraint. The time has come for calm. People should simply let the police authorities get on with their jobs. We know that both in Victoria, and New South Wales, those relevant authorities are working very hard on this.
Those sentiments were indeed echoed by the Indian Prime Minister in the Indian Parliament last night.
I think the time has now come for everyone to let the authorities get on with the job and to bring people who've committed contemptible acts to be brought to justice, but also to allow the educational authorities, including our own universities, who are working very hard both in Australia, and in India, to make sure that all of the relevant information about personal security and safety is brought to the attention of Indian students here, or people who are intending to come here.
JOE O'BRIEN: So you'd like to see these protests stop now.
STEPHEN SMITH: I think the time has come for people to simply let the authorities get on with the job. People have made their point. Now let us see the authorities take the steps that they need to take.
In that respect, I simply echo the sentiments of the Indian Prime Minister overnight in the Indian Parliament, and the call overnight by my Indian counterpart, External Affairs Minister Krishna.
JOE O'BRIEN: Now we've just had news through this morning about this bombing overnight in Pakistan of a luxury hotel. Eleven people killed, including foreigners.
Have you received any word on where those foreigners are from?
STEPHEN SMITH: The first thing I can say is of course, at the moment, we have nothing to indicate that Australians are involved. But we are, through our High Commission, checking that very assiduously. Whilst I can't rule out the possibility, it is unlikely that Australians are involved on the base of information we have. But it's a terrible attack.
We obviously condemn it. We express our sympathies to the families concerned, and we very strongly support the Pakistan Government in its efforts to stare down terrorism and extremism. I was in Peshawar myself earlier this year, so I know the general whereabouts and location that we are talking about.
We strongly support the Pakistan Government's efforts to stare down terrorism, and we stand shoulder to shoulder with them in that respect.
JOE O'BRIEN: Now you're co-chairing the Australia-PNG Ministerial Forum in Brisbane today. There have always been concerns about lawlessness and the stability of Papua New Guinea. Do you believe the Government up there is now finally firmly in control?
STEPHEN SMITH: Firstly, the forum that we have today, the Australia-Papua New Guinea Forum, is the 19th Ministerial Forum that we have had. It's in fact the largest Ministerial Forum that we've seen between Australia and Papua New Guinea. Who is a very important neighbour and partner for us, over six million people, and we work very closely with them.
We have seen through the Government of Prime Minister Somare a period of political stability. The Papua New Guinea Government of course knows that it faces its own law and order and security challenges. And we certainly render assistance there in terms of assistance that we give to training and assistance for their police force, and also defence cooperation. But they understand the problems that they have, and they work very hard to address them.
JOE O'BRIEN: Australia is giving hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to PNG every year. There've been calls for that to be better targeted to overcome poverty. What guarantees are you getting from PNG in relation to just exactly where that money's going?
STEPHEN SMITH: Well because Papua New Guinea's a country of over 6 million people, there are plenty of trade, business and investment opportunities. And that's one of the areas we'll be discussing today. But of course, it's also our largest development assistance partner in the Pacific, the point that you quite rightly make. And our development assistant program will be one of the key areas that we discuss today.
We've struck up with Papua New Guinea a Pacific Partnership for Development, looking at what more we can do in the capacity building areas - in their state institutions, in their public institutions. Also in education, both higher education, where we're looking at a review of their universities, but also primary school education.
Where we are looking at increasing the number of kids who go to primary school. And also a very extensive program in health, particularly HIV AIDS. So an ongoing examination and review of the program we do in Papua New Guinea is something we have in hand with the Papua New Guinea Government.
The Papua New Guinea Government itself wants to see at some stage in the future a point where they won't be dependent upon Australian development assistance or Australian aid. So we're looking at building their capacity to enable, in the end, Papua New Guinea to stand on their own two feet rather than having to rely upon development assistance from Australia or other donor countries like the European Union.
JOE O'BRIEN: And finally and briefly Minister, the Kokoda Track is also on the agenda at this meeting. There've been problems with access to the track recently, with some villages putting barricades up. What guarantees are you seeking in terms of access to the Kokoda Track?
STEPHEN SMITH: Yes, the Kokoda Track will be an issue up for discussion today. We've been very pleased with the cooperation that we have with the Papua New Guinea Government. At the equivalent Forum last year, my colleague Peter Garrett and his counterpart signed up effectively a Memorandum of Understanding over the use of the track.
We've been very pleased with the way in which the Papua New Guinea Government has resolved very many issues with the local landowners. But we'll be doing more in our relationship with the Papua New Guinea Government over the Kokoda Track. Of course, it's symbolic for Australia. Symbolic as part of our relationship just as the Fuzzy Wuzzy angels are also a matter of great symbolic value to Australia and Papua New Guinea.
So doing more work on the Kokoda Track will be one of the items up for discussion today, but we're very pleased with the progress we've made on that front.
We've seen recently a couple of terrible deaths, and we're also looking at a code of conduct for the tour operators who take people up and down the track to make sure that we do better so far as the safety and security of tourists on the track itself is concerned.
JOE O'BRIEN: Okay, Stephen Smith in Brisbane, thanks very much for talking to us this morning.
STEPHEN SMITH: Thanks Joe.
END
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