PRIME MINISTER:
Good morning ladies and gentlemen. I speak for every Australian in expressing a sense of horror and outrage at the latest and clearly a terrorist attack in Bali. Thus far one Australian is confirmed dead and very grave fears are held for the safety and lives of two others. 17 Australians have been injured. The death toll is in the order of some 25 to 30. The number of injured at this stage up to some 80. These are preliminary figures and as has tragically been the case on earlier occasions, they could change as time goes by.
This absolutely horrific attack has all the hallmarks of terrorism. There were four bombs. There is some possibility that suicide bombers were involved. It is too early to confirm that. We have no evidence as to the organisation that carried it out, although suspicions will naturally fall on Jemaah Islamiah or some of it's outrider organisations. This is an attack on democratic Indonesia. It is clear also of course that terrorists target Westerners including Australians. But we should not diminish the significance of democratic Indonesia, moderate, Islamic Indonesia as a target.
The bombs went off in places frequented by large numbers of people on a busy Saturday evening in restaurants, in a food hall in a hotel with no regard at all for the horrific injuries and deaths being inflicted on all manner of people. Indonesians comprised the greatest number of those killed. The foreigners at this stage are believed to include, as well as Australians, people from Korea, from Japan and possibly also from Germany. Once again, these are preliminary assessments and they may change as time goes by and more information is gathered.
The inter-departmental committee charged by the Government to respond to these situations met through the night and as a result we are already underway with the assistance that is being provided. I can inform you that victim identification teams already in the region are on their way to Bali, that we have offered full medical evacuation of people deemed to need it, irrespective of their nationality and that offer has been conveyed to the Indonesian Government. We have arranged the medical evacuation, or are arranging the medical evacuation of three Australians. Two are going to Singapore and another is going to either Perth or to Darwin. And we have the capacity and the assets to ensure that any other evacuations of Australians or others indeed will be available. There has already been a request from the Indonesian Police for assistance from the AFP of a limited kind and that is being provided because we have AFP Officers in Indonesia and on top of that of course the AFP stands ready to more generally assist the Indonesia Police in conducting the investigation that will follow this dreadful attack. The level of cooperation between Indonesian and Australian Police is of a very high order and as a result I'm sure if that offer is needed it will be taken up very speedily.
I intend to speak to President Yudhoyono later today to not only convey my sadness and my sympathy at the loss of Indonesian lives and that his country should again be subjected to this terrible attack, but also to reaffirm the offers of assistance and cooperation that I've outlined. This is but the latest in a series of cowardly, wanton, indiscriminant, horrific attacks. There's evidence that the bombs contained nails and glass. The dispersal of that kind of material and shrapnel generally shows the blind hatred and indifference that these people entertain towards their victims. It's a reminder that the fight against terrorism will be a long one. I've said before that there is no early end to it. And this reaffirms that grim reality. But it's a fight that must be maintained and we must work as closely as possible with our friends in Indonesia. We must grieve with them. We have both lost and we should understand that just as Australians, as Westerners are targets of terrorism, so is moderate, stable, democratic Indonesia led by a moderate, outward looking Islamic leader who's trying very hard to bring progress and security to his country. There is nothing the terrorists want more than to destabilise Indonesia, because Indonesia represents, as a moderate Islamic country, a bulwark against the perverted, obscene version of Islam which is represented by these terrorist attacks.
Can I very importantly and finally express my sorrow at the loss of Australian lives. At this stage it appears at least certainly one Australian young man has died and grave fears as I said earlier, are held for at least two others. To the families involved, to those who are awaiting further news, we can have them very much in our thoughts and understand and try and share their sense of anxiety and anguish as they await further news. Do you have any questions?
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister is your understanding that Indonesia or Australia (inaudible) any warnings (inaudible)?
PRIME MINISTER:
Could you repeat that question I couldn't hear you?
JOURNALIST:
Sorry, is it your understanding that Indonesia or Australia received any form of warning of these attacks?
PRIME MINISTER:
Did we receive warnings of this attack? No we did not. We have for some time had in our travel warnings a general piece of advice that bombings were possible. We advised people not to travel to Indonesia for non-essential purposes and that was the advice that was constantly given and that remained the substance of the latest advice provided by DFAT. But I have been told that there was absolutely no specific warning of this particular attack. However, we have been saying, the Indonesians have been saying, the Americans have been saying, everybody's been saying that it remains a very dangerous place and have been counselling people not to go there.
JOURNALIST:
Are you surprised that so many Australians are continuing to travel there?
PRIME MINISTER:
Not entirely. You have to make your own judgments and its human nature after a passage of almost three years, the proximity of Bali, the attractiveness of the place, its understandable people will go there. Our responsibility is to inform people of the facts known to us and then invite them to make their own decisions. Its not for us to stop people going to a place. Its our responsibility to provide relevant information. Bali is a lovely spot and its so sad that the economy of Bali is going to be ruined again. And that is what the terrorists want. They want to weaken the will of the Indonesian people, they want to weaken the Balinese people and this is the way of doing it.
JOURNALIST:
In Indonesia JI are not yet a banned organisation (inaudible) calls from terrorism experts to put pressure on the Indonesia to outlaw JI . Would you back those calls?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well we have been arguing for that constantly, but as the Foreign Minister said this morning, the mere banning of the organisation would not necessarily have had any impact on its terrorist capability. But we continue to hold the view that it should be, but that is a matter that in the end is decided by the Indonesian Government. We don't control Indonesian sovereignty. We can but put a point of view. But it would be wrong to conclude that the making of an organisation illegal of itself, particularly in circumstances in which JI and many of its outrider operations operate, it would be wrong to assume that that would alter its conduct.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister you said that it maybe the work of a suicide bomber (inaudible) specific advice you've been given or just a general assessment?
PRIME MINISTER:
Some preliminary information which is yet to be further confirmed.
JOURNALIST:
From....?
PRIME MINISTER:
From sources that would know what they're talking about. I can't be certain about that. It may not be the case, but there is a possibility of it. Whether it's a suicide bombing or not, it seems very clear on the external circumstances known to everybody that it was a terrorist attack. It seems highly improbable that you would have four bombs going off currently in rapid succession roughly in the same area if it were not the work of terrorists.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister how would you describe the situation (inaudible) let bombs off in restaurants where families are having dinner as cowardly perhaps?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I call it wicked, I call it cowardly, I call it evil. But I call it conduct that we must see as being carried out by people who have no scruples, who have no decent or proper understanding of moral or religious beliefs. I mean the greatest obscenity of all of this is that its carried out in the name of a great religion and it's very important again to make the point that this is not the face of mainstream Islam. This is not what good God fearing Muslims do, they don't. And I want to take the opportunity of saying that lest anybody make the mistake of typecasting and scapegoating Muslim people generally. Its probable that a significant proportion, perhaps a majority of the people who died could be Muslims themselves. And its probably the case that since the attack on the twin towers in September 2001, that the majority of people who've died in terrorist attacks since then around the world have been Muslims which rather underlines my point.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister there again seems to be comparative chaos in Bali following the blast. The situation in Bali - are the authorities there ready deal with another explosion like this? How are they prepared?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well can I put it to you that no matter where an attack of this nature occurs there will be a certain level of chaos. I think the authorities cope as best they can. I can't give you a report on exactly how they've coped. The incident's only just happened. It's a relatively poor country, it's a country whose infrastructure is strained. I'm glad that the thing that we did in the wake, the most important gesture that Australia made in the wake of the attack in 2002 was to upgrade the facilities at the hospital. That was our practical gesture and those facilities, those upgraded facilities have been put, sadly to very good use overnight and continue to be. And I'm also very pleased that the cooperation in relation to disaster relief between Australia and Indonesia is so close and so intimate. Sadly again, its been practiced quite a bit, both in relation to terrorist attacks and also in the wake of the tsunami. I think we have to understand that when a terrorist attack occurs it strikes fear and terror and disorder in any community and that's exactly what the terrorists want.
JOURNALIST:
Has any consideration been given up upgrading Australia's security levels?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well that would be a matter that the authorities charged with giving advice would give advice on. As I speak, we've not received any advice to upgrade the domestic threat. If we do, well we'll do it. But it doesn't automatically follow that because this has happened in Indonesia that there is a greater threat in Australia. That does not automatically follow. Because Indonesia is a different country, it's a different society. The terrorist threat in Indonesia is much greater than it is in Australia. I'm not saying it doesn't exist in Australia, it does. But it is much greater in Indonesia and we should be not make the mistake of jumping from observing and reacting to what's happened in Bali to saying well this means its more likely that there's going to be a terrorist attack in Australia. That does not automatically follow. You have to look at the two in a related but separate way.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister you referred earlier today to President Yudhoyono's concerns just a few weeks ago Indonesia (inaudible)?
PRIME MINISTER:
And also the approach of Ramadan too. I don't think I mentioned that this morning but I think that was one of his...
JOURNALIST:
(inaudible) particular briefings around that time, what was he concerned about - a threat across Indonesia? Just what's your understanding?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well my understanding is, just from recollection without checking the papers, from recollection only, my recollection and therefore understanding is that what he said publicly was really a reaffirmation of a general concern about the possibility of terrorist attacks. There was nothing that I recall specifically different from what we'd been told.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister what do you say to the family of the 16 year old boy about (inaudible)? Are we winning this war on terror?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I can express as any human being would and because I'm a Prime Minister I feel a particular sense of responsibility for all Australians. I feel sad. It's a terrible thing to lose a 16 year old child. It's a terrible thing to lose any child to anybody close to you. It's a tragedy. Are we winning the war against terror? I think we are making progress. But that progress may represent action taken in the past that has diminished the number of terrorist attacks. Sadly you can't measure progress in a war against terrorism because you never really know how many attacks you've prevented. There's evidence that the capacity of JI has been reduced, there's evidence that the capacity of Al Qaeda has been reduced, but they can still carry out attacks. And people will therefore say that terrorism is still alive and active and that is true and its going to be a very long struggle. Its something we have to adjust to. The idea that we can say well in two or three years we're going to be free of terrorism is misplaced. I'm sorry to have to say that, but its true. I can't guarantee that there'll be a termination date. All I can promise the Australian people is that I will do everything I can to make this country as safe as possible. And I believe that the overwhelming majority of Australians will work with the Government and all people of goodwill in bringing that about. But in the process of giving that assurance, I want to reassure again the Muslim community of Australia that we see them as friends. We don't see them as enemies. We see them as sharing the struggle, not as a group of people who should feel frightened and isolated and alienated. This is as much an attack on the way of life, the overwhelming majority of them hold dear as it is an attack on the way of life that I hold dear and you hold dear and that should be understood. And nothing that we do or say should be seen in any other context.
JOURNALIST:
(inaudible) details of the contribution that Australia is making to the current situation in terms of personnel and other resources?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well there's no limit to the resources in terms of the cost of the resources. But I can't put exact numbers on them, but we're making police available, we're making victim identification people available, we have C130s who will be going to Bali during the course of the day. We have chartered other aircraft. Qantas off its own bat has offered a 767 to fly into Bali and I thank Qantas very warmly for that. Our Embassy personnel are on the way there and any additional resources that will be needed. Doctors, medical teams are being assembled if they're needed. We have to of course recognise that the attack occurred in another country and we must provide offers of assistance and we must act in accordance with invitations and requests we receive from Indonesia. I have no doubt that any help they need will be sought and I have absolutely no doubt about the capacity of Australia to provide it. I mean the important thing is they're ready. We've already provided support and I want to thank the public servants who worked through the night to be ready. They went on the job I think the IDC first met between midnight and one o'clock this morning and they spent a substantial part of the evening working on it so that the support could be sent as soon as possible.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister is Bali a place for Australians at the moment? Should Australians planning trips to Bali rethink them or should...
PRIME MINISTER:
Well anybody who's in Bali at the moment should be extremely careful about going to any places where a lot of people congregate socially and they should think very hard about going to Bali. I'm sorry to have to say that, because I feel for the Balinese people and I know the affection that many Australians have for the Balinese and for Bali, but the reality is that there have now been two attacks, the one in 2002 and now this one. And clearly it's a very dangerous place. Thank you.
[ends]