Official News - July 2007

► Fiji faces an economic crisis

The adverse economic effects of the coup -worsened by continuing poor management by the military regime - are hitting ordinary families in Fiji very hard.

The outlook for the Fiji economy is bleak. Employment, construction activity and tourism are trending downwards, and foreign currency reserves are at a record low. According to the Reserve Bank of Fiji, Fiji’s economy could contract by more than 2.5 per cent in 2007, in part as a result of reduced tourism arrivals. The Fiji Islands Visitors Bureau expects a 5.7 per cent decline in visitor arrivals for the whole of 2007, but senior tourism industry figures believe the decline could be worse - as much as 15 per cent for 2007.

In March, Standard and Poors’ downgraded Fiji’s credit rating from B+ to B, because of Fiji’s large current account deficit and uncertainty among investors. A further reduction is possible.

Until the military regime moves to restore democracy and the rule of law, aid from some key international partners will be on hold. The European Union has suspended about A$256 million in aid for economic restructuring, and will not release it until Fiji takes credible steps towards holding an early election. The Asian Development Bank has put A$158 million in funds for urgently-needed capital projects in Fiji on hold because of the coup.

The interim government has indicated agreement, in principle, that a parliamentary election in Fiji could be held in the first quarter of 2009. Now it needs to put that commitment into practice. Australia is ready to assist Fiji with technical and financial support for an election. But we need a demonstrated commitment by the Fiji regime in the form of concrete steps towards an election.

The interim regime must take immediate steps to avert the economic crisis Fiji faces by moving to restore democracy and confidence in the rule of law as soon as possible. If the regime fails to do this, Fiji’s economic prospects will be increasingly bleak and the ordinary people of Fiji will continue to suffer.

Australia furthers its close relations with Tonga and Nauru during a recent visit by Mr Downer.

The visit by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Alexander Downer, to Nauru and Tonga from 15 to 17 July advanced Australia’s close relationship with these Pacific neighbours.

Mr Downer expressed Australia’s appreciation to both countries for their ongoing contribution to the regional consensus on Fiji and to the important work of the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands.
In Nauru, Mr Downer signed the fifth Memorandum of Understanding between Australia and Nauru. The MOU provides a framework for continued cooperation on combating people smuggling and for Australian development cooperation in support of Nauru’s reform priorities.

In Tonga, Mr Downer welcomed the formation of a tripartite committee to progress dialogue on political reform.

He also surveyed the damage caused by the riots of November 2006 and discussed progress on reconstruction and prospects for Tonga’s economy.

Australia will provide an additional $5 million assistance to support business recovery in the capital following the riots. This new commitment will take Australia’s total contribution to Tongan businesses affected by the riots to $6.5million.

► Australia provides more assistance to Darfur

Australia continues to support international efforts to address the humanitarian situation in Darfur.

Australia will provide $20 million in immediate humanitarian assistance to the crisis-ridden Darfur region of Sudan, bringing our total aid contribution to Sudan and neighbouring countries to more than $82 million since May 2004.

The package will consist of $16 million towards food aid and air transport to distribute urgently needed humanitarian assistance, $2 million for on-the-ground logistics support and $2 million for health projects. Food aid will be sourced and distributed by the World Food Programme, while the Australian Registered Engineers for Disaster Relief (Red-R) will source logistics, communications and operations staff to be placed in existing United Nations programs. The Australian Red Cross will place Australian health professionals into existing programs in the region.

Australia’s package of humanitarian assistance to Darfur is in response to the continuing crisis in the region, where four million people are dependent on the international community for their survival.

► Australia has strong concerns about swearing in of Julian Moti as Solomon Islands Attorney-General

Australia has strong concerns about the swearing in of Mr Julian Moti, an Australian citizen facing serious child-sex charges, as Solomon Islands Attorney-General.

Although the appointment of the Attorney-General in Solomon Islands is a matter for the Solomon Islands Government, Mr Moti is an Australian citizen facing serious charges in Australia related to child-sex offences allegedly committed in Vanuatu and New Caledonia.

Mr Moti’s appointment as Attorney-General flies in the face of strong opposition from legal figures and the wider community in Solomon Islands. The Australian Government understands there are serious doubts about the legitimacy of the swearing in of Mr Moti, given that his appointment as Attorney-General was suspended by the Solomon Islands Public Service Commission. The Chair of the Public Service Commission has stated that he will challenge Mr Moti’s “accession” to Attorney-General in court.

The decision to swear in Mr Moti as Attorney-General is a large backwards step for governance in Solomon Islands and does not reflect well on the Solomon Islands Government, in the region or internationally. There has been a clear pattern of intimidation and removal of key constitutional office holders in Solomon Islands – the former Attorney-General, the Solicitor-General, the Police Commissioner. The Australian Government would expect the Solomon Islands Government to ensure the integrity of other key appointments is maintained.

On 15 December 2006, Australia lodged a full formal extradition request with the SI Government, seeking the return of Moti to Australia. The Australian Government expects the Solomon Islands Government to process the extradition request in accordance with Solomon Islands extradition law and will continue to seek Moti’s extradition vigorously.

Australia remains strongly committed to Solomon Islands and to RAMSI, which retains overwhelming popular support in Solomon Islands.

Australia will be watching very carefully any actions taken by Mr Moti as Attorney-General, including actions which could affect the ability of RAMSI to undertake its work effectively and independently for the benefit of the people of Solomon Islands.

► Australia supports Palestinian emergency government

Australia has affirmed its support for President Abbas’s decision to form an emergency government led by PM Fayyad.  During Mr Downer’s recent visit to the Middle East he met Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in Ramallah and affirmed Australia’s support for President Abbas’s decision to form an emergency government led by PM Fayyad.

Australia will provide $4 million to support the emergency Palestinian Government and a further $3 million in humanitarian funding for refugees in Gaza and Lebanon. These new commitments will take Australia’s total contribution to Palestinians affected by the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the West Bank, and in neighbouring countries, to $23.2 million since July 2006.

Mr Downer welcomed the opportunity presented by the formation of the emergency government to revive the peace process with Israel. Australia will continue to engage with the emergency Palestinian Government to promote the cause of peace, and is strongly supportive of international efforts, including by the Quartet (US, EU, Russia and the UN) and the Arab League, to take the peace process forward.

► Australia encourages all parties to accept the results of East Timor’s peaceful, democratic election

Australia welcomes the peaceful and democratic elections in East Timor and encourages all parties to accept the outcome.
East Timor held parliamentary elections on June 30, with voter turn-out of approximately 81%. Negotiations are now underway to form a coalition government.

According to final results announced on 11 July, Fretilin has obtained 21 seats, followed by former president Xanana Gusmao’s National Congress for the Reconstruction of Timor (CNRT) with 18 seats. Five smaller parties also received seats in the 65-seat parliament.

The Australian Government congratulates East Timor on the peaceful conduct of the elections and encourages all parties to continue to act with restraint and accept the outcome in this critical final phase of the electoral process.

A delegation of Australian officials from DFAT, AusAID and the Australian Electoral Commission observed the poll and counting of ballots, part of a large international presence of around 500 observers from 15 countries and international organisations.

The Australian-led International Security Force (ISF) provided security and logistical assistance, including the delivery and collection of ballot papers at 28 remote locations. Australia currently deploys over 1,000 troops to the ISF, which is in East Timor at the invitation of the East Timor Government.

As no party has the majority required to form government, negotiations are underway to form a coalition, there is a debate over whether the Constitution requires the President to give the first opportunity to form government to the party with the most votes or the coalition of parties which can demonstrate it commands a parliamentary majority.

► APEC Ministers committed to a successful conclusion of Doha Round

APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT) call for an ambitious and balanced outcome to the Doha Round of world trade negotiations.

Ministers from 21 APEC economies, accounting for almost half of world trade, issued a strong statement at their meeting in Cairns, 5-6 July, calling for an ambitious and balanced outcome to the Doha Round of world trade negotiations.

The Ministers said that there had never been a more urgent need to make progress in the Round and undertook to contribute by showing the necessary political will and flexibility.

They called on the Chairs of the negotiating groups, currently drafting the final texts for an agreement, to set a high standard for ambition, in order to set a solid foundation for the final phase of negotiations that can lead to a successful Doha outcome.

The MRT also provided guidance on a report that is being prepared for Leaders on ways to further advance regional economic integration in the Asia-Pacific region, including the possibility of a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific as a long-term prospect.

We were also pleased that Ministers endorsed the second Trade Facilitation Action Plan (TFAP II) which provides APEC with a solid medium-term agenda to reduce real costs to business.

A study commissioned by APEC and conducted by the World Bank on “Transparency and Trade Facilitation in the Asia-Pacific: Estimating the gains from reform”, estimated that the collective trade performance of APEC economies would be boosted by US$148 billion from greater trade predictability and simplification.



► Sydney Opera House Joins UNESCO’s World Heritage List

Australia welcomes the Sydney Opera House’s inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The Sydney Opera House has been inscribed on the World Heritage List as a great architectural work of the 20th century.

In listing the building, UNESCO recognized the Opera House as “a great artistic monument accessible to society at large” which has had an enduring influence on architecture.

Designed by Danish architect JØrn Utzon, the Opera House is one of the busiest performing arts centres in the world, each year staging up to 2500 performance and events, drawing around 1.5 million patrons and attracting an estimated four million visitors.

► Australia’s culturally diverse population reaches 21 million

Australia’s population has reached an estimated 21 million, according to calculations based on the 2006 Census.

The population is aging, with the median age of Australians 37 years in 2006, compared with 34 years in 1996. The proportion of the population aged 65 and over has increased from around 12 per cent to 13 per cent.

Australians reported more than 250 different ancestries and almost 400 different spoken languages. The proportion of Australians born overseas has remained unchanged since 1996 at 22 per cent.

The most common ancestry claimed was Australian. The most widespread non-Australian ancestries were English, Irish and Scottish. Italian, German and Chinese were the next most common ancestries. According to the 2006 Census over 40% of Australians had either been born overseas or had at least one parent born overseas. Just over 2% of the population identified themselves as being of Indigenous origin in the 2006 Census. As in 1996, the three most common languages other than English in 2006 were Italian, Greek and Cantonese (all around 1-2 per cent of the population). Mandarin and Hindi have experienced the fastest proportional growth of Australia’s main non-English languages—both more than doubling in speakers since 1996. Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin combined) is the most widely spoken language after English. Australia now has at least 243,000 Arabic speakers. Of people born overseas, the most common countries of birth were England, New Zealand, China, Italy, and Vietnam.

The most common religious affiliations reported in the 2006 Census continued to be Catholic (26%) and Anglican (19%). Christians comprised 64 per cent of the population, down from 71 per cent in 1996. The proportion of the population that stated they had no religion increased to 19 per cent, from 17 per cent in 1996. Other main religious groups are Buddhism, Islam and Hinduism. Australia now has at least 340,000 Muslims.

The median household income range in 2006 was $1000–$1199 per week, up from $778-$906 per week in 1996, after adjusting for inflation.

According to the Census, 58 per cent of households were connected to the Internet. Broadband was the most common connection.



► Australia releases its 2007 Defence Update

The Defence Update 2007 concludes that Australia’s strategic environment is increasingly complex, but fundamental Defence policy settings remain unchanged. The Government will continue to strengthen international cooperation and invest in a versatile and modern defence force.

The Government launched publicly on 5 July ‘Australia’s National Security: A Defence Update 2007’. This is the third Defence Update since the publication of the Defence White Paper in 2000.

The Defence Update 2007 outlines Australia’s strategic environment and the need for continued recalibration of some Defence activities and capabilities, but it makes no change to fundamental defence policy settings.

Australia faces no direct conventional threat to its territory, but our strategic environment remains changeable and increasingly complex.

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) will increasingly be called upon to respond to non-traditional security challenges, particularly those posed by terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Australia will continue to assist fragile states, particularly in our region. As one part of a broader Government effort, the ADF will likely continue to be called upon to perform stabilisation operations and humanitarian and disaster relief operations.

Australia’s Alliance with the United States remains our most important strategic relationship. In Asia, Japan is our closest strategic partner and will become even more so as it continues to take on a greater security and defence role within the region and globally.

Australia remains committed to strengthening key security relationships with regional friends and neighbours (e.g. New Zealand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, India and others).

Australia will continue to invest in a modern and versatile ADF that can exercise security responsibilities independently in the immediate region and in coalitions further afield.



► Australia reinforces its commitment to staying the course in Afghanistan

Australia remains committed over the long term to help stabilise and rebuild Afghanistan.

Mr Downer reinforced Australia’s long-term commitment to the stabilisation and reconstruction of Afghanistan during a visit on 29-30 June.

In Kabul he met President Hamid Karzai who expressed appreciation for Australia’s strong and effective contribution to security and reconstruction. President Karzai and Mr Downer discussed the important progress that is being made against insurgents in Afghanistan.

Australia is concerned about the number of civilian casualties in Afghanistan. Consistent with the principles of international humanitarian law, Australian rules of engagement ensure that great care is taken to prevent civilian casualties. Any civilian casualties caused by ISAF forces have been unintended and accidental, in some cases as a result of deliberate Taleban tactics. There is no moral equivalency between the Taleban, which is deliberately killing civilians, and tragic but inadvertent deaths of civilians in combat undertaken by ISAF.

Mr Downer met Australian troops and had the opportunity to see the important work our Reconstruction Task Force (RTF) is doing with local communities in Oruzgan Province, including trade training courses, and reconstruction of schools, hospitals and mosques.

As part of the visit Mr Downer announced an additional $7 million in aid to support peace-building and democratisation in Afghanistan, as well as 20 new scholarships per year for Afghan students to travel to Australia. This announcement builds on Australia’s current aid commitment to Afghanistan, announced at the London Conference in January 2006, of $150 million over five years.