PM: I'm in Singapore for the annual APEC Leaders' Meeting. As you know, APEC was established 20 years ago, back in 1989, and Australia, under the Hawke government, was deeply instrumental in the establishment of this institution. And APEC has come a long way in the intervening 20 years. It's helped build a strong regional consensus for open markets and economic integration and also has helped to build economic resilience in the region, as well.
It also is globally economically significant, it brings together 21 economies, nine of these economies are G20 economies, and together represent 55 per cent of the global economy. Also when you talk about the sheer volume of trade itself, total trade among the APEC economies being worth something like 6.2 trillion dollars. And also what we have seen in the history and the evolution of APEC is the fact that average tariff rates across APEC have come down significantly in the period since its establishment.
This has represented a huge saving to business, but importantly, a huge support and direct encouragement of growth and therefore of jobs. One of the other areas in which APEC has been at work has of course been to reduce red tape around intra-regional trade and also through the harmonisation of regulatory requirements right across the region. APEC's first trade facilitation action plan delivered a five per cent reduction in trade transaction costs in APEC between 2002 and 2006 and recent economic modelling shows that APEC's second trade action plan is currently being implemented and will deliver a further five per cent reduction by 2010. This is important direct action concerning a large part of the global economy, a large part of global trade, bringing down protectionism among these dynamic economies, a lot of whom represent major trading partners for Australia.
Also over the next several days here in Singapore, there will be an opportunity for me to meet directly with a range of leaders, and I am looking forward to the opportunity to have discussions of course with our host, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore, also to catch up with President Obama of the United States, President Hu Jintao of China, President Lee of Korea, Prime Minister Hatoyama of Japan, as well as of course President Yudhoyono of Indonesia and other regional leaders.
Also, we'll have the opportunity at APEC to discuss climate change, and I look forward very much to the discussions with leaders on that important subject as the clock is ticking to Copenhagen.
This is an important, I won't say last, opportunity, to build further momentum in a direction of a strong outcome for Copenhagen, but when you have gathered in Singapore economies which represent a large part of any final negotiated outcome for Copenhagen, this is an opportunity which we cannot afford to miss.
JOURNALIST: 22 asylum seekers have come off the Oceanic Viking. When do you expect the other 58 to disembark? And how would they disembark?
PM: On the question of individual negotiations, with individuals still on the vessel, as I said before, we'll just work our way calmly and methodically through all of them. Each represents its own complexity, each vessel represents its own complexity, therefore we'll simply work our way through this calmly and methodically as we have done so far. Remember, these are always complex situations, they have been in the past, and they will be in the future.
On the second part of your question which goes to the method of disembarkation, I am simply unaware of how that is being organised. I simply leave the methods of those arrangements to those who are charged with this on the ground. Over to you.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, one of the headlines being discussed today at APEC are (inaudible)
PM: President Obama of course is coming- my understanding is from the United States today, we have the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. On the question of today's agenda, one of the matters upon which we'll be speaking today will be the future opportunities for open regionalism, here in APEC, and how we take the overall economic agenda further. A lot of people have their eyes glazed over when they look at the detail of what APEC does. Can I simply say the trade facilitation business, bringing down regulatory barriers for trade, is of actual vital economic significance because it simply opens up the arteries of the global economy.
It's painstaking work but it's real work. On the question of Doha, the opportunity again presents itself here with so many significant global leaders gathered provides us with a fresh opportunity to work towards a successful conclusion of the Doha round. if we do not, then frankly we're denying ourselves globally an additional trillion dollars in economic activity. Doha has a potential to unleash a further increment of global growth.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, in terms of the 22 asylum seekers, what has been promised in terms of resettlement and can you comment on the response from the Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman that it's, quote, up to Australia (inaudible)
PM: We have been quite clear about the fact that the resettlement responsibility for the individuals concerned, first of all, lies with the UNHCR in terms of processing, and secondly us working with the UNHCR and the other 15 or 16 resettlement countries in terms of where any bona fide refugees then go. That is what I have said consistently, that is what's applying on the ground. Furthermore, in terms of the arrangements for all of these individuals, they are consistent with what our spokesmen have said in Australia, consistent with the document which I believe was referred to in recent days in discussions with you here and therefore we'll work our way through each of those and apply those principles in partnership with UNHCR to each individual.
My understanding is there is no difference between those who are currently on the vessel and those who have disembarked the vessel. As I said before in response to an earlier question, we must calmly and methodically work our way through each one. Tim, and then Malcolm.
JOURNALIST: Would you be seeking to reconfirm with President Yudhoyono that boat people that are rescued or found in waters are the responsibility of Indonesia?
PM: What I have consistently said to our Indonesian friends is that when we have a search and rescue operation which occurs within Indonesia's search and rescue area and when such vessels having been interdicted by an Australian vessel that those vessels would normally proceed to an Indonesian port, as the nearest port.
Remember, those are the circumstances that which underpin this individual vessel, secondly when it goes to any other vessels can I say each of those vessels in terms of where it's interdicted, how it's dealt with, depends on the circumstances of the vessel. You cannot simply make a blanket projection into the future about where a vessel is interdicted, the circumstances under which it's interdicted, and therefore how it will be handled. Each of these is different, remember that as we speak there are interruptions to people smuggling to Australia.
That is occurring all the time. 86 interruptions have occurred in the last year. Tim.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, is it true that (inaudible)
PM: The underpinning assumption of the question is that there is a special arrangement here, my advice is that there is not, this applies to the general processing of cases as they would present themselves through the UNHCR and we have applied those processes in this case as well. In terms of time for each individual case, it will vary, but our assumption is, that given that where these cases earlier have gone with earlier UNHCR processing, that in some cases it might be easier to process rapidly. But I go back to the underlying point- where do individual cases who are successfully processed end up, that is entirely a matter for a broader discussion for resettlement countries, and as I said anyone who is not established as a bona fide refugee, that person is not resettled. They have a different set of circumstance to contend with. I have said consistently that if you are not a bona fide refugee, and this applies to any one who is currently on Christmas Island or considering coming to Australia or any other country, you will not be entertained in Australia, you will not be entertained in terms of any other resettlement process. You will be sent back home. That is the bottom line.
If you are bona a fide refugee, the processing times will be tailored to each individual circumstance. On average some work has been done with some of these cases before as we were advised by the UNHCR. They may be quicker. That's entirely consistent with work which has been done on shore, before these individuals took to the boat. Therefore, those are the processes which will apply in these cases. Phil.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)
PM: On the details of the SBY meeting I do not know whether it is today or tomorrow. In terms of meeting all these leaders, you are probably familiar with these processes. It often occurs when you are having a plenary meeting that you disappear to the side, have a discussion, that is how I have done it for many leaders in the past.
Can I say with the President of the United States, with President Hu Jintao of China- the way in which these things work, you will have a series of formal, semi-formal, informal, bilateral, that is how it has worked in the past, that is how it will work in this conference as well. With 21 economies around the place it is often fairly fluid.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)
PM: Well let's step back one point. The Indonesian Government has worked very closely with us for the past two years in successful interruptions of a large number of people smuggling ventures. Let's be very clear about that. The 86 that I refer to includes the countries, but a lot of those are in Indonesia, that's the first point that everyone needs to understand. This is an ongoing operation in Indonesia and with our friends elsewhere, with our friends and partners in the region.
Secondly, as I indicated in earlier statements in Jakarta, what we are working through with the Indonesians, is a long term framework for how we better handle people smuggling within the region. As we are doing currently with Malaysia, as we are currently doing with Sri Lanka. This is normal that is what we are working through.
Thirdly, and I go back to Malcolm's question about the circumstances concerning this individual vessel. They have arisen in part, in large part because there was a vessel in distress in the Indonesian search and rescue area, no Indonesian vessel available to undertake the rescue. The Australian vessel therefore being asked by the Indonesians to intervene, the Australian vessel being authorised by the Indonesians to dock that vessel in an Indonesian port, and the associated arrangements which we are currently discussing about how those individuals come off. These sorts of circumstances have arisen because of the particularity of this vessel, the search and rescue operation that occurred and who did it.
JOURNALIST: The Indonesians say that the asylum seekers who have left the boat have been guaranteed that they would end up in Australia. Can you confirm that?
PM: That is not correct. The undertaking that Australia has provided the UNHCR is that we will assist UNHCR in their proper processing. As I said anyone subsequently determined to have refugee status would see them be subject to resettlement across the range of resettlement countries, of which Australia is one.
JOURNALIST: (Inaudible)
PM: As for the status of each individual, in terms of those currently on the vessel and those not on the vessel, it has yet to be finally determined. You asked me specifically about the status of the various individuals, my advice is that their status in terms of their UNHCR status has yet to be resolved in all cases. I am not going to go into a detailed analysis of each of the individual's 78 cases.
They are at various stages of development. As I said before in response to an earlier question, on the processing time, in part there is a variation in the processing time, because in some cases there has been earlier stages of processing which has occurred within Indonesia by the UNHCR. But I cannot give you a comprehensive breakdown on each of the individual cases, and say where does each stand in their UNHCR processing status right now.
JOURNALIST: 30 are refugees according to-
PM: Well as I said, my final point- my point is the final status of those who are on the vessel, those who have disembarked is still to be determined and therefore that is the first step, that is the logical first step, the second is that once you have got to a point of determining the status through UNHCR then that is when resettlement to resettlement countries occurs. Those arrangements have not been in any way concluded.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible) this morning on the ABC, the former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser has suggested that you know too much detail, too far into detail particularly, on the asylum seeker question and that you need to leave this to your Minister (inaudible)
PM: If I was to respond to that particular observation, assuming it has been accurately reflected, then I'd be responding to none of the questions which any of you have legitimately posed to me this morning. Quite rightly, as members of the media asking of the detail of the processing of these cases, and I have answered to the best ability of my knowledge given that the processing arrangements are fluid. Let me step back one step further, I think the Australian people legitimately expect of their Australian Prime Minister to be across on going operations. Obviously the execution of individual operations lies with the range of Ministers and official back in Australia and some in Indonesia, but I think you here would also expect me to be briefed on what is happening on the individual circumstances concerning this vessel, hence why I have been able to answer some of the questions this morning. Someone here.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)
PM: On the question of Temporary Protection Visas, let me make it very, very plain about why they didn't work in terms of what John Howard had in place. One is, the Liberals have often claimed that this represented the singular or one of the substantial deterrents against boat people coming to Australia. That is absolutely false. The figures demonstrate that it is false. When Temporary Protection Visas were introduced to Australia in 1999 what followed then was nearly 100 vessels containing something close to 10,000 people, let's be very plain about that.
Let's be very plain about a second point of all those individuals that were issued temporary protection visas nearly more than 90% were then resettled in Australia as P\permanent residents. Third point, only three percent of those ever issued with temporary protection visas will return back home.
Let's us anchor this discussion in some facts. Your point about the reintroduction of Howard Government temporary protection visas, we have made our position absolutely clear on that, our border protection policy is the one we took to the last election. It included the elimination of Howard Government Temporary Protection Visas, that is the policy we are implementing.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)
PM: What the Foreign Minister, Stephen Smith has already indicated is that we will use APEC as an opportunity to review progress- I think Stephen said this some weeks ago, maybe he even said it in the Parliament- but this is a much longer term negotiation of a new framework for enhancing our cooperation on transnational crime and people smuggling. I'll reiterate what I said before, it is parallel to the arrangements we have in place with other countries like Malaysia and Sri Lanka and how do we enhance our current frameworks for cooperation on people smuggling with them.
I simply emphasise what I have said before, it is legitimate for you to focus on this individual vessel but with all these other countries we are actively engaged in large scale operations on a continuing basis to disturb people smuggling ventures, 86 of which have occurred in the last 12 months- this I would ask you to bear in mind against also the 44 vessels which in the last two years have so far arrived in Australian waters.
JOURNALIST: (Inaudible)
PM: Well let me go to the provisions of the Lombok Treaty. The provisions of the Lombok Treaty in between Indonesia and Australia go to our broad cooperation on counter terrorism, on security, on transnational crime, including people smuggling. Secondly, what I have said in Jakarta is that we will work towards a framework which enhances our cooperation under the terms of the Lombok treaty in the security area, one for which, is a new framework to handle the challenge which we all face on people smuggling, that is what is underway.
It is complex work. It involves a range of agencies both here and in Indonesia and will take some time. But I can say again, the current cooperation between Australia and Indonesia on the disruption of people smuggling ventures- this is very, very good as it is with Malaysia, as it is with Sri Lanka, as it is with a range of countries.
JOURNALIST: (Inaudible)
PM: I've got to speak to a business breakfast.
JOURNALIST: This is an APEC question. It is coming to 20 years old. Do you think APEC is coming to its use-by date as a summit, as a forum?
PM: For 20 years, it's important to reflect on how far APEC's come. When APEC was created, people engaged in a collective regional yawn about what it was going to achieve. That was Prime Minister Hawke's initiative, to get this whole thing going. The reduction of trade protectionism that I was referred to moments before, involving, which has an impact on now 6.3 trillion dollars of trade in the region, is significant.
It is very significant and measureable. It is practical work, detailed work, not often headline-grabbing. The second thing is, when Prime Minister Keating succeeded, among others, in elevating APEC to a Summit level meeting, what it provided is an opportunity for a whole range of other discussions to occur at Head of Government level, across the range of relationships. And we've been speaking about one of those this morning.
That's frankly, been one of the huge advantages of this level of summitry. Let me give you an example of how it's worked in the past. In 1999, when we were in the midst of the huge challenges concerning East Timor, a lot of the effective, shall I say, inter-governmental negotatiations on what was a very difficult situation involving Australia and Indonesia and others at that time occurred at the APEC meeting at summit level in New Zealand.
Going to the future, I believe APEC has a strong continuing role. I believe the East Asian Summit has a strong, continuing role. As you know, I have consistently argued for more than a year now, that we need also to debate the future possibility, in the Asia Pacific region, of an institution which covers political cooperation, security cooperation, and economic cooperation that is where our argument for an Asia Pacific community comes in. And it is encouraging today, that again as Leaders we'll have an opportunity to discuss, the adequacy of our existing regional institutions, where we wish to take them in the future, but we should not diminish the scorecard of APEC so far.
It has been real and tangible in most areas I've referred to, and I am supposed to be in the middle of a PowerPoint presentation with a bunch of business leaders and those of you who have not seen this PowerPoint presentation before are welcome to come in and critique it against others, and sadly, you may be otherwise detained.