Page 5260 - Week 16 - Thursday, 28 November 1991
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The Indonesian invasion of East Timor could almost certainly have been prevented if Australia had acted firmly during the six months hiatus in the second half of 1975 when East Timor declared independence and was trying to sort itself out, and Indonesia loomed large and threatening on the border. We had the Whitlam Government then. We had a considerably stronger Defence Force then than we have now. We still had, I think, about nine infantry battalions; we had a fleet air arm and an aircraft carrier. We had the military capability to lift a battalion of troops into Dili. If we had done that, I do not think Indonesia would even have contemplated invading East Timor, and we could have sorted out with the East Timorese people their self-determination so that East Timor could have become a self-governing territory rather than a province, and a rather unruly province, of a larger occupying power, that being Indonesia.
So, the Whitlam Government certainly can share a hell of a lot of the blame in relation to what happened in East Timor, because it basically gave tacit support to the invasion of that unfortunate country. There is not a huge amount that Australia can do there now. Mr Collaery's motion is probably reasonably realistic in terms of what steps we can take to show our abhorrence of these particularly unpleasant events that have occurred in recent weeks and months around the world.
Mr Collaery is quite right to ask this Assembly to reject isolationism and appeasement and to offer support for the Canberra community. Unfortunately, Mr Collaery - along with, I believe, the majority of people in this Assembly - has rejected the Aidex exhibition, which is about Australian manufacturers showing their wares, including defence equipment, almost all of which is bought by the Australian Government. That exhibition will not be held again if the Labor Party is returned or, indeed, I suppose, if most non-Liberal members in this Assembly are returned.
I think that is a shame because, apart from the fact that it brings $10m into the Territory, a strong Australian Defence Force also sends a clear message to would-be aggressors. It sends the message that we are prepared, if need be, to defend ourselves, our freedom and our democracy. I admire the police restraint at Aidex immensely, but a hard core of about 300 professional protesters were there to intimidate the police and to engage in violent acts. One has only to read the front page of the Canberra Times to see what types of weapons have been used against the police - acid, rocks, metal knives. Metal knives were used at a peaceful demonstration! There were balloons filled with dye, avocados with nails embedded in them, barbed wire, and even forks. A police cameraman had his camera stolen; he was jabbed in the arm, which later swelled up. Fourteen police officers have had broken bones and there have been 27 police injuries in all.
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