TRANSCRIPT OF THE ADDRESS PRIME MINISTER
THE HON JOHN HOWARD MP
SHOULD HAVE GIVEN TO THE NATION
9 JANUARY 2005
Good evening.
Tonight I want to report to you about Australia's response to the Asian tsunami disaster which has decimated the lives of so many people across the nations of our region compared with our response to our recent assistance in the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq.
More than 150,000 people have been killed, while millions more are injured or homeless as a result of this natural, unpreventable disaster. Whole communities have been washed away by the unstoppable sea, while in Iraq much the same has occurred as a result of carefully planned and calculated acts of barbarity. While dedicated men and women are in a race against time to prevent further deaths from water-borne diseases such as cholera in the Indian Ocean region, dedicated men and women in Iraq are planning the largest privatisations in the history of human kind.
The tsunami has been one of the greatest natural disasters in modern history. In comparison the 12 years of sanctions on Iraq and the subsequent invasion and killing of innocent civilians there has been one of the greatest human made disasters in the last fifty years.
At this stage the final number of Australians who, tragically, have been killed or injured by the tsunami remains unclear. A similar situation has occurred in Mesopotamia where Iraqi civilians have been killed by the coalition troops. In the Indian Ocean nations we are working as fast as possible with the identification of victims and to ascertain the whereabouts of those Australians originally reported as missing. As to the Iraqi civilians who have been blown to atoms, neither we or our allies have no similar plan, nor would we report it if we did.
I know that the thoughts and prayers of you all are with those who have lost loved ones or endure the terrible agony of waiting for further news. I can only hope that at the same time your thoughts and hearts can turn to those innocents killed by wars, largely funded, armed and supplied by the same countries, like ours, that are supporting brutalities, in our name.
The response of the world community - and not least Australia - to this heartbreaking tragedy has been swift and generous unlike the great forgetting that we have begun on our latest Middle Eastern imperialist quest. For that we should be ashamed.
Along with other governments, international agencies and non-government bodies, Australians are now playing a leading role in one of the biggest humanitarian aid operations since World War II. Our military was well prepared to support the ongoing murderous intent of their military cousins fighting civilians in Aceh.
I express the thanks of the nation to the many Australians working night and day to provide relief to victims. I would also like to remind you that we have not seen fit support those who have tried to escape the murderous regimes in Afghanistan and elsewhere. My Minister for Immigration has seen to that. I especially thank the men and women of the Australian Defence Force, officers of the Australian Federal Police and their State colleagues, medical workers, staff from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and many other Australian Government departments and agencies who have come together in a great national effort. Like their support for our input into the war on Iraq many of them have remained quiescent and unmoved by the tragedy their employer has inflicted on the independence movements in Aceh, West Papua and, now, Iraq.
This crisis has seen the Australian Public Service working at its dedicated and professional best. Our best spin-doctors continue to feed a compliant and easily assuaged media a steady diet of misinformation and 'broadcast ready' material. Media staff who comply with our demand will be assisted, those who seek to unearth the deeper truths will find the government withdrawing its support for their visas.
Thanks also are due to the large number of Australians working for non-government relief organisations, often as volunteers. We would like to be able to support those who would like to visit the refugee camps around the cities of Mosal and Fallujah, however to do so would be to expose the brutality of the US campaigns in those regions and the destruction of these once fine cities.
The Government's initial response was to provide emergency aid of $60 million and to send medical relief teams and defence personnel into badly affected areas, particularly Indonesia but also the Maldives and Sri Lanka. I am also pleased to report that due to our ongoing efforts as a member of the 'coalition of the willing' our military expenditure, to fight the war on terrorism, is creating new entrepreneurial opportunities overseas and at home.
Tragedies of this magnitude, however, require a long-term commitment of resources if shattered communities are to be rebuilt and survivors provided with some hope for the future.
The loss of life and destruction in Indonesia, our nearest neighbour, like that half a world away in Afghanistan and Iraq, has been truly staggering. At least 110,000 people have lost their lives in Aceh alone. Add to this the 200,000 we allowed to die by ignoring East Timor for 25 years and the estimated ½ million children who died as a direct result of our support of sanctions against Iraq and you can see the recovery challenge facing these nations is immense.
The Government has therefore decided to commit $1 billion over five years in both grants and highly-concessional loans to assist the Government and people of Indonesia in the mammoth task of recovery and rebuilding. We are expecting that this will buy us some influence and hopefully, continued access to the gas and oil reserves of northern Sumatra. We take this course of action as we are concerned that the overtures Indonesia has been making to China may well see them find more affinity to their north than with us here in the south.
This will be the largest individual aid package in Australia's history. It will, no doubt, be used to buy corrupt bureaucrats' largess and ensure that the policies begun under Suharto remain firmly in place.
Under a plan to be called the Australia-Indonesia Partnership for Reconstruction and Development, this $1 billion amount will go directly to areas of need through programs that must be approved by the Australian Government, in conjunction with the Government of Indonesia. By maintaining this bilateral agreement we will ensure that the right palms are crossed and pockets lined.
This process will ensure that resources go where they are most needed. Together we must ensure the stability of the region and to that end I wish my Indonesian colleagues well in their quest to subdue 'rebel' causes and encourage them to purchase Australian military consumables thereby returning to us the same 'aid' we supply to them. Their ongoing support of our uniform manufacturers is a case in point.
As well as being the right response to an immediate humanitarian crisis, this Partnership is an historic step in Australian-Indonesian relations and I hope will ensure that our great and prosperous industry leaders continue to profit from the cheap labour they can exploit there.
Australians were the first foreigners on the ground in Indonesia after the disaster - a fact gratefully acknowledged by President Yudhoyono during our recent meeting in Jakarta. Similarly it was our SAS who first infiltrated Iraq and, as has been acknowledged, played a crucial role in the invasion of that nation by US led troops. Like our support of the US in Iraq, we will remain as long as we are needed in both nations.
Our nation will continue to help other affected countries. For example, Australian police officers are playing a leading role in identifying victims in Thailand and arrangements are in hand to send school teachers to the Maldives and scientific experts to help in repairing the damage to that country's coral reef system. Due to the demand on our resources at this time it is unlikely that we will be able to supply similar aid or relief to those affect by the occupation in Iraq.
The spontaneous outpouring of generosity from individual Australians in the last two weeks should be a source of pride to us all just like our willingness to tacitly support the blood sport in Iraq. To not respond in these ways would have been unAustralian.
Well in excess of $100 million has been pledged to assist the recovery from the natural disaster to our north. This has been a great expression of the decency and good heart of the people of our nation unlike that shown to those who opposed the war on Iraq. For those who opposed that 'just war', I apologise on behalf of my government and offer my condolences to the people of Iraq for the suffering they have endured as a result of this mistaken and misguided intrusion.
The events of last Boxing Day and their aftermath have brought tragic loss and grief to many Australians. Unlike the coverage of the war on Iraq we were shown huge numbers of mangled bodies, decaying corpses and the utter grief of the survivors.
We have all been touched in different ways. Those in Iraq who were touched by depleted uranium will, I'm sure not forget our presence there. Next Sunday, the 16th of January, will be a national day of mourning and reflection for the victims of the tsunami. I ask all Australians to mark this occasion in the way they think fit and at the same time to reflect on the tragedy our media has under reported that continues to plague the people of Afghanistan and Iraq.
These twin catastrophes have the potential to bring the world closer together in a spirit of common humanity as we all recoil at the horror of man made war and the power of nature. The tsunami has been a reminder of the force of nature and our agreement with the brutal killing in the middle east should remind us that we can, with decency, prevent war but in humility accept that nature rules over us all. These events also remind us of the inspiring capacity of mankind to ease the suffering of others in their hour of need. The unsung heroes of East Timor for the 25 years we abandoned them serve as reminder to each of us of the greatest that should inspire us to do more to prevent war and unnecessary death.
Australia, in its distinctive practical way, will remain in the forefront of helping those who have lost and suffered so much. It is to my shame that I, as your leader, did not offer these same thoughts and words prior to the invasion of Iraq. For that I beg your forgiveness and that of the Iraqi people.
Good night.
The actual speech can be found at http://www.pm.gov.au/news/speeches/speech1202.html