Transcript of interview with Bruce Hill, Radio Australia

Subjects: Indonesia visa requirements; Australia-Indonesia bilateral relations; Burma sanctions

Transcript, E&OE, proof only

10 January 2012

Mr Rudd: We get good cooperation from Indonesia.

Indonesian politicians have recently passed their legislation which make the act of people smuggling itself criminal for the first time.

And two criminal prosecutions have just been concluded and two people smugglers are now behind bars.

This is a first in Indonesian history. But there's still more to be done and part of my visit to Jakarta was to discuss those next steps.

Journalist: It was announced recently that Indonesia's going to make it easier for people from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to get visas to enter Indonesia. These are significant countries of origin for asylum seekers. So is this announcement of concern to Australia?

Mr Rudd: In Jakarta, the Indonesian Foreign Minister has confirmed that there will be no, repeat, no visa-free entry into Indonesia from either Bangladesh or from Sri Lanka.

Secondly, we've also agreed between Australia and Indonesia that the two of us will now embark on joint project around document fraud and document integrity.

Basically how you deal with the challenge of the production of false passports and false visas around the wider region. This will be important in a range of countries and will help reinforce Indonesia's own passports and visa system as well as being a direct assistance to the Australian system as well.

And thirdly the Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa confirmed that their arrangements with Bangladesh and with Sri Lanka will be the subject to regular review.

So based on that we will work with our Indonesian friends, together with other challenges including the new case load coming from Iran.

Journalist: So how would you characterise the relationship between Australia and Indonesia over this whole asylum seeker issue?

Mr Rudd: Well this is a very strong solid bilateral relationship with lots of ballast in it.

It's a very strong economic relationship which has been growing year after year. The bilateral trade figures went up 14 per cent last year; the investment flows are increasing; the number of students in Australia is significant, it'd be 20,000 private students and we now run up to about 500 individual Australian Government scholarships for Indonesian students each year as well.

The military is cooperating, in fact last year we had a record number of training exercises between TNI the Indonesian Armed Forces and Australia, and our police collaboration is first class as well.

So within that strong relationship when challenges arise, and people smuggling is one of them and there will always be challenges in a relationship with countries so close as Australia and Indonesia, then we simply deal with them and we take the appropriate measures and we continue to deal with them and we've had such a protracted challenge from unlawful people movements now over the last decade plus.

Journalist: If we could turn to Burma now, you've announced that former Ministers and tourism officials from Burma will no longer be subject to travel and financial sanctions because Burma's taking steps to a more open democracy.

But some Burmese activists in Australia say this is putting Australia out of step with the US and Europe which have made very strict demands before they'll consider easing sanctions. Do you think the changes to the sanction will be encouraging real change inside Burma?

Mr Rudd: Well a number of individuals criticise my initial visit to Burma in June last year. In June last year when I went to Burma and saw both Aung San Suu Kyi and President Thein Sen in the Burmese capital Naypyidaw, people believed that that may have been too premature.

In fact what's unfolded is that since then and partly, partly, through discussions which we had with both the regime and Aung San Suu Kyi and the involvement of other countries, we've seen a range of steps by the regime to liberalise the political system as well as to release a significant number of political prisoners.

Now that work is still ongoing but my attitude and that of the Australian Government is that step by step we need to provide encouragement to the regime in Burma, that as they continue to liberalise so will we in the international community continue to respond.

And of course if the regime does not continue to liberalise in the future and does not continue to release all remaining political prisoners then it doesn't mean that the steps taken by Australia cannot be reversed.

We believe however it's important to encourage these changes and if you look at the spectacular level of re-engagement with Burma over the last six months remember that Australia was at the forefront of that in our visit in June last year.

Ends

Media enquiries