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STEPHEN SMITH: I’d like to talk about two matters and the conclusion of my remarks, you will see they’re now linked.

Firstly, the terrible tragedy in Haiti and secondly, the proposed visit to Australia by Secretary of State, Clinton, and Secretary of Defense, Gates, and the proposed AUSMIN talks scheduled for next week. Can I firstly deal with Haiti. On behalf of the Australian Government and the Australian people, can I extend our condolences to the Government and the people of Haiti for the terrible disaster which has struck Haiti, as a result of the earthquake yesterday. Haiti is a country which has regrettably seen terrible natural disasters occur over the recent period, including hurricanes and typhoons a couple of years ago. So our hearts go out to that country for the terrible tragedy which has beset it.

Haiti, of course, has had its difficulties and a consequence we’ve seen over the last few years, a United Nations peace keeping presence. Included in the terrible damage that has been done to Haiti has been terrible damage to the UN headquarters and the Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon has already confirmed at least 16 UN officers dead. Any time there is damage done to the United Nations or the death of the United Nations officials it is a matter of great remorse so far as international community is concerned. So we send our condolences to the United Nations for the loss of its officers.

Can I also deal with the presence of Australians in Haiti, because of course, we are concerned to ensure the safety and welfare of Australians present. At the time of the earthquake we, through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, had one Australian registered as resident in Haiti and that Australian has been safely accounted for.

Of course there are always more Australians present in a country than are formerly registered, so let me deal with that. We can confirm that 19 Australians who were in Haiti at the time of the earthquake have been confirmed as safe, that includes the registered Australian. But there are, we fear, more Australians present than those 19.

Of the 19 that we have accounted for, the 19 include six Australians who are working with and for the United Nations. The advice we have from the United Nations is that at least one other Australian working for the UN is in Haiti. Neither Australian officials nor the UN have been able to account for the safety and welfare of that Australian.

So given the terrible damage which has been done to the United Nations Building, given the fact that the Secretary-General has confirmed 16 United Nations officers dead, given the fact that Ban Ki-Moon has indicated that his head of mission and his deputy head of mission are unaccounted for, we are of course concerned for the safety and welfare of one Australian employed by the UN in Haiti on our advice at the time of the earthquake. We are of course doing everything we can together with the United Nations to track that officer down.

Can I make this general point in that context that in addition to the tragedy, communications are of course very, very difficult. We can’t confirm the number of dead and I don’t think anyone can at this stage. But estimates will be in the tens of thousands, if not in the hundred thousands.

So, at this stage, we can confirm 19 Australians accounted for, but we have one Australian on our advice employed with the United Nations in Haiti who we can’t account for.

There are a small number of other Australians who we believe may be in Haiti and we are doing everything we can to track them down in the very difficult circumstances that we face.

Having said that, can I make this point. At this stage, we have no evidence that any Australian in Haiti has been either seriously injured or fatally injured as a consequence of the earthquake. We have no evidence to that effect, but we do have we believe, a small number of Australians who may have been in Haiti currently unaccounted for. Obviously we’ll be working very hard, not just with the United Nations, but also with the United States and Canada which whom we have a general consular agreement to track down Australians who may be in Haiti.

Can I now deal with Australia’s response to assistance for Haiti. I announce today that Australia will provide initially, $10 million worth of assistance to Haiti.

Five million dollars of that will be allocated immediately for emergency humanitarian assistance. That emergency humanitarian assistance will be provided through the Red Cross, through United Nations agencies, including the World Food Programme, through the Caribbean Emergency Disaster Management Authority and also through international and Australian NGO’s who have a presence on the ground in Haiti. And that initial emergency disaster relief will of course be used for all of the things which are required in the face of such a human tragedy: food, medical assistance, blankets, provision of emergency housing, water, medicines and the like.

In the first instance of course there is a search and rescue operation in effect. It is not proposed that Australia contribute to that search and rescue effect given our distance from the Caribbean. That search and rescue effect is being organised and coordinated through Haiti’s regional neighbours including and in particular the United States.

As part of the initial allocation I also announce of $5 million for longer term reconstruction and rehabilitation in Haiti. We expect that that will be required and utilised for assistance to repair public buildings but that will be subject to the usual disaster assessments and long-term reconstruction assessments which would be done in the first instance through United Nations agencies.

And having indicated that initial assistance of $10 million of course make the point that we will consider as appropriate in the future whether further assistance from Australia is required.

We make this contribution for two reasons. Australia is and wants to be a good international citizen. When Australia sees such terrible tragedies, the people of Australia and the Government of Australia and the Australian nation want to respond in a civilised and decent manner. Already we see through the Australian and international NGOs dealing in these areas calls for public appeals and I expect that the Australian public will respond in their usual generous way.

The second reason of course is that in recent times Australia has considerably enhanced its engagement with the countries of the Caribbean. The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting was held in the Port of Spain in Trinidad and Tobago in November last year, and in the margins of that meeting Australian and CARICOM, the Caribbean community which includes Haiti, the 15 countries of CARICOM, the Caribbean community signed a memorandum of understanding to enhance and strengthen our engagement.

Part of that memorandum of understanding includes Australian development assistance and Australian assistance to the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency and one of the areas of the memorandum of understanding that we’ve agreed to pursue with the Caribbean is disaster management and disaster relief.

So we make our contribution for humanitarian reasons but also to reflect our engagement with the countries of the Caribbean and CARICOM, the relevant regional organisation.

Can I now move to and deal with Secretary of State Clinton’s visit to Australia and the proposed AUSMIN talks scheduled for Canberra next week.

Next week we were due to mark the 25th anniversary of the Australia US ministerial talks, the so called AUSMIN talks, and we were looking forward to that very much.

I can advise that very early this morning Perth time, Secretary of State Clinton rang me, we spoke by telephone, we spoke about the Haiti disaster. Secretary Clinton advised me that as a consequence she was returning to Washington and cutting short her Asia Pacific tour. She would return to Washington to help coordinate the United States efforts so far as civilian and military disaster management relief was concerned.

I indicated to her that I understood entirely that necessary priority and also indicated to her that today I would be announcing an Australian contribution to assistance to Haiti which she welcomed very much. As a consequence of her return from Hawaii to the United State her scheduled visit to Australia is of course postponed as will the AUSMIN talks scheduled for Monday in Canberra. We agreed that we would reconvene and reschedule the AUSMIN talks at the earliest convenient opportunity to Australia and the United States in the course of this year.

Secretary Gates, Secretary of Defence Gates of course also takes part in the AUSMIN talks as does my colleague Senator Faulkner, all four of us have agreed that it is appropriate to postpone the AUSMIN talks in Secretary Clinton’s absence and Secretary Gates is currently giving consideration as to whether he will continue to visit or travel to Australia to conduct talks with Senator Faulkner and other members of the Australian defence establishment.

We would of course entirely understand if Secretary Gates determined not to continue his travel to Australia given the circumstances and given the need for military coordination of the military disaster relief management effort from the United States.

So I regret to advise in the circumstances, which we perfectly understand, that Secretary of State Clinton will not travel to Australia and as a consequence the scheduled AUSMIN talks will be postponed and reconvened later in the year.

I’m very happy to respond to questions on those two matters and any other matters of interest but obviously my focus today from early this morning has been on those two matters.

QUESTION: You said there was a small amount of Australians that still could be in trouble, have you got a rough idea of...?

STEPHEN SMITH: I'm not proposing to put a figure on that. What we've found in the past is that whilst the initial evidence or suggestion is for a particular number of Australians, Australians move around and, from time to time don't tell the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade where they are.

So I'm not proposing to put a precise number on it. It's a small number. But we're doing our best to track them down.

As I said earlier, we have one registered Australian, he's been accounted for. We've confirmed the safety and welfare of 19 Australians in Haiti, which includes six Australians who are working with and for the United Nations. Obviously, most of our concern, at this stage, is for the one Australian whom we are advised is employed by the United Nations, whom neither Australia nor the United Nations can account for. And, obviously, that's our focus.

We believe there are a small number of other Australians who may have been present in Haiti, and we're doing our best to track them down.

Any Australians who believe family members may have been in Haiti should, of course, immediately make contact with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on the usual consular numbers.

QUESTION: [Indistinct]

STEPHEN SMITH: No, it's not appropriate, at this stage, for...

QUESTION: Can you describe, at all, anything about them, their age, their...?

STEPHEN SMITH: No, it's not appropriate to go into that...

QUESTION: [Indistinct]

STEPHEN SMITH: ...into that detail, it's not appropriate to go into that detail for all of the obvious family and privacy reasons.

QUESTION: Has the family been notified?

STEPHEN SMITH: I'm not proposing to go into a conversation about that.

QUESTION: Is there a timeframe that you think we might be able to know...?

STEPHEN SMITH: I'm not putting a timetable on it. One of the very grave difficulties that we have is communications are difficult, the advice we have from the United Nations, also from United States and Canadian officials, is that communications are very difficult, So making assessments, making judgements, dealing with people and tracking people down, is very, very difficult, as communications are effectively down.

In the meantime, of course, thousands of people throughout the world are trying to make contact with friends and family in Haiti, so communications is a particularly difficult problem.

I'm not proposing to either go into that detail or to put timelines or timetables on it, other than to make the remarks I have.

QUESTION: A pretty simple question [indistinct] has this person's family been notified?

STEPHEN SMITH: I'm not proposing, for all of the obvious family and privacy reasons, to go into any details about an Australian who is currently not accounted for in Haiti.

QUESTION: [Indistinct]

STEPHEN SMITH: No, we have, in the Caribbean our High Commission in the Port of Spain. Our High Commissioner to Trinidad and Tobago is credentialed as our non-resident Ambassador to Haiti. We have a general consular agreement with Canada, where, in the absence of each others’ missions on the ground, we do our best to look after Australian and Canadian citizens, as the case may be.

Canada, just like the United States, is under very significant pressure as a result of a number of Canadians and United States officials there. But we are working very closely, both with Canada and United States, and in particular the United Nations, to track down any Australians who may be in Haiti.

QUESTION: [Indistinct]

STEPHEN SMITH: It is certainly substantially larger than previous amounts we have given, on a humanitarian basis, to either Haiti or the Caribbean. That reflects, as I said earlier, two things. Firstly, it reflects the enormity of the human tragedy. And it's been described by United States officials as of unfathomable extent, or of biblical proportions. So it is a very significant human tragedy.

That, plus our enhanced engagement with the countries of the Caribbean, and the fact that the Memorandum of Understanding that we signed with CARICOM, the Caribbean countries' representative organisation, does include enhanced engagement on development assistance, and enhanced engagement on disaster relief and disaster relief management makes it appropriate for a substantial Australian contribution which is higher than contributions we've made in the past. But in the circumstances the Australian Government believes that it is very appropriate to make that contribution.

QUESTION: [Indistinct]

STEPHEN SMITH: Yes, as I said earlier, this is regarded very much as an initial contribution and, obviously, I've reserved the right to make a judgement in the future as to whether it's appropriate to apply more.

QUESTION: Did you liaise with them during the process of deciding what exactly would be best to give them, in terms of aid?

STEPHEN SMITH: Liaise with? No, it's a judgement that we've made on our own accord, obviously through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and through AusAID, the Australian development assistance agency. We have advice as to what initial contributions have been made by other countries, what the appropriate and best contributions are at this stage.

So AusAID and DFAT have been in consultation with other officials of other countries. As you would expect, the international contributions are, effectively pouring in, and we regard Australia's contribution as being appropriate in the circumstances. QUESTION: [Indistinct]

STEPHEN SMITH: Well, I was just devastated by that. They are terrible pictures, and I'm sure that they've been widely broadcast and all Australians will be terribly adversely affected by them and their hearts will go out to the people of Haiti and the people of the Caribbean.

QUESTION: You said there was 19 Australians that have been accounted for, and - were they injured at all, or were they [indistinct]?

STEPHEN SMITH: I've got no advice as to any Australians having been injured as a result of the earthquake, so far as the 19 whom we have accounted for are concerned.

QUESTION: [Indistinct]

STEPHEN SMITH: Well, our current travel advice for Australians thinking of travelling to Haiti is to reconsider the need to travel. That obviously applies particularly given the circumstances of the last 24 hours.

The travel advisory was updated yesterday to reflect the fact of the earthquake. I'm advised that the airport remains open. Whether Australians who are currently there leave Haiti is a matter for the exercise of their own judgement.

But certainly, anyone thinking, any Australian thinking of travelling to Haiti should very carefully examine the travel advice and very carefully contemplate the circumstances of the earthquake.

Those Australians who are, or who remain in Haiti, should, of course, follow the advice and the instructions of local officials.

QUESTION: [Indistinct] pledge to stop the Australian cricketers playing [indistinct]?

STEPHEN SMITH: Let me make some general remarks about the safety of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen overseas, and I'll deal particularly with India, given a number of important sporting events occurring in India in the course of this year.

I'm not proposing to be drawn on the comments made overnight by that particular regional political party. They are known to make colourful remarks, and they have engaged in conduct which both India and Australia have been disapproving of in the past, so far as disrupting cricket games are concerned. But we take any threat to Australian sportsmen and sportswomen travelling overseas, or playing sport overseas, very seriously.

Can I deal firstly with cricket? For the last couple of years, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Cricket Australia, have developed a very close working relationship dealing with these security matters. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade regularly makes available to Cricket Australia, our most recent travel and security advice, so far as travel overseas is concerned. It is in the end a matter for Cricket Australia, and for Australian cricketers, to determine whether they travel and play overseas. But we ensure that they are the recipients of our up-to- date travel and security advice. And that has been the case so far as Australian cricketers playing in India have been concerned for the last couple of years.

That has also applied to those Australian cricketers who take part as individuals in some of the Indian Twenty20 competitions. One of the changes that we effected between the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Cricket Australia, in the most recent period, was to ensure that those individual Australian cricketers travelling to India for those purposes, were advised in the same terms as Cricket Australia, and Australian touring teams. So we take that very seriously.

Of course in India, in the course of this year, we see the Commonwealth Games, and we also see the Hockey World Cup, in February and March. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is in contact both with Hockey Australia, and the Commonwealth Games Association, in respect of security arrangements for both those events.

I was in India last year, where I inspected the Hockey World Cup proposed stadium, and I inspected the swimming facilities for the Commonwealth Games, and spoke to the Indian Minister for Home Affairs, on these security matters. We are very satisfied that India is taking these matters most seriously. We're very satisfied with the coordination that is occurring, particularly so far as the Commonwealth Games and Commonwealth countries are concerned. Obviously our officials continue to be in very close contact with Indian officials, so far as the Commonwealth Games and the Hockey World Cup is concerned.

And we will continue to be in very close consultation with Cricket Australia, so far as cricket in India is concerned. As a result of these most recent allegations, Cricket Australia, and officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, will be in conversation today to consider and discuss these matters.

QUESTION: Is India safe [indistinct].

STEPHEN SMITH: Well, Australians, whether they're Australian cricketers or Australians generally, should carefully read our travel advice, so far as travel to India and other countries is concerned. In the end it's a matter for Australians to make that judgement, it's a matter for Cricket Australia, and Australian cricketers to make that judgement.

What we do is to ensure that they are in receipt of the most recent travel and security advice that we have available. Given the number of important sporting events occurring in India this year, which I've referred to, in particular the Commonwealth Games, we are in very close contact with Indian officials about these matters.

QUESTION: Do you have concerns about the Commonwealth Games athletes?

STEPHEN SMITH: I have concerns for Australians travelling overseas, which is why I constantly urge them to read the travel advisories before they make judgements about travel. QUESTION: Do you think there's lots of threats that could impact, or stop Australians going?

STEPHEN SMITH: It's a matter for Australians to make judgements about whether they travel, and they should when making those judgements, carefully assess the travel advice which is there for them to see.

QUESTION: [Indistinct].

STEPHEN SMITH: No, I spoke to SM Krishna when I returned from leave on Monday, and that was about Indian students in Australia, and some recent terrible events, so far as Indian students are concerned.

When I was in India last year, I had a detailed conversation with their Minister for Home Affairs, but also a general conversation with SM Krishna, but this is not a matter that I would expect to have a conversation with my counterpart about. But certainly these are generally matters where Australian officials are in regular contact with Indian officials, as are officials from other Commonwealth countries, so far as the Commonwealth Games are concerned.

QUESTION: Do you think travelling to India is a matter for India, whether they're an athlete or not, how do feel if a large proportion of our Commonwealth Games contingent drops out?

STEPHEN SMITH: Well, whether Australian sporting men and women travel to India as part of the Australian Commonwealth Games team will in the event be a matter for them, and a matter for the Australian Commonwealth Games Association.

QUESTION: Would you ask them to drop out?

STEPHEN SMITH: It is a matter for Australian sportsmen and sportswomen, and for the Australian Commonwealth Games Association, as to whether Australian sportsmen and sportswomen travel to India. Currently, it is proposed that the largest overseas Australian sporting contingent travel to India for the Commonwealth Games.

QUESTION: On another issue, Minister, according to reports today, the Indonesian Army has begun forcibly removing a group of Tamils from [indistinct], what's your reaction to that, and are you confident they'll be dealt with appropriately?

STEPHEN SMITH: Well, to this point in time, my counterpart, the Indonesian Foreign Minister, has made it clear that he wants to see the people on the boat in Merak, disembark the boat of their own volition, peacefully, and civilly. He's made that point clear on a number of occasions, just as he made that point clear so far as Sri Lankans on the Oceanic Viking were concerned, that Indonesia wanted to see people disembark the vessels, in a peaceful, orderly and voluntary manner.

It is of course, given the boat is in an Indonesian port, and obviously in Indonesia, a matter for the Indonesian authorities, as to how they deal with these matters, so I'm not proposing to be drawn on that speculation, which I regard as speculation. I simply underline the point that my counterpart has made it clear that he would like to see those people voluntarily disembark the boat, as would I. QUESTION: [Indistinct]

STEPHEN SMITH: No, the travel advice is regularly updated, and that's there for all to see. If I can just make a general point about the Commonwealth Games. We expect that the Commonwealth Games in India, in the course of this year, will be a tremendous success for India, and for the Commonwealth, just as the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, most recently, and Perth in the '60s, were a tremendous success for Australia and for the Commonwealth. So we are confident that the Commonwealth Games will be very successful for India.

It's a great thing for India, it's a great thing for the Commonwealth, and we are very confident that the Indian authorities are taking every possible step, to ensure the safety and security of sportsmen and women who take part in those games.

But in the event, in the end, it is a matter for the judgement and decision of the Australian Commonwealth Games Association, and individual Australian sportsmen and sportswomen, as to whether they attend or not.

QUESTION: [Indistinct]

STEPHEN SMITH: As I said, I'm not proposing to be drawn on that particular threat, just as I am not drawn on any threats that are made, other than to say we take every threat seriously when it concerns the welfare of Australian men and women travelling overseas.

QUESTION: [Indistinct]

STEPHEN SMITH: In the past there was somewhat of a view that because of cricket's popularity in Australia, and in South Asia, that somehow cricket would be immune from these matters. I think that the attack upon the Sri Lankan team, which included two Australians as part of its coaching staff, and a couple of Australians involved as umpires, I would have thought the attack upon the Sri Lankan team last year, would have put paid to the belief that somehow cricket is immune. That is why Cricket Australia takes these matters very seriously, that is why, in addition to having conversations with Cricket Australia, I've also had conversations with the International Cricket Council, the ICC, about these matters, cricket takes them very seriously, as does Australia, as does India.

Thanks very much, thank you.

ENDS

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