PRIME MINISTER:
I feel honoured and humbled to be able to lay a wreath on this monument here in Bali in the presence of Peter Hughes, one of the survivors of that tragic night back in October of 2002. I know for Peter this is an emotional moment. I think it’s hard for any Australian to pass this spot without feeling pangs of emotion, knowing what happened to so many of our countrymen and women and knowing what happened to so many of our brother and sister human beings on the terrible night in 2002 when the suicide bombers and others struck here.
So, I think it is fitting and appropriate that the Australian Prime Minister in Bali for APEC should take some time out to attend this spot, this spot sacred to the memory of so many people, to honour the dead, to commiserate with those who were injured on that night and who still bear the scars, physical and mental, and to acknowledge all of their loved ones who bear the pain of that terrible day to this moment.
I should also announce that the long campaign to provide a measure of justice to the victims of terrorist atrocities overseas is coming to a close. As you know, as a member of parliament, as an opposition leader, I campaigned to try to ensure that the Australian victims of overseas terrorism received assistance, commensurate with that of the Australian victims of crime back home and I am pleased to say that one of the first acts of the new government has been to make a retrospective declaration so that from the 21st of October those who were injured and the next of kin of those who were killed will be able to apply for up to $75,000 worth of assistance.
This is a modest enough acknowledgement for those who have suffered by virtue of the fact that they were Australian; those who were singled out as targets because they were westerners and their way of life was an abomination to those who wished us harm.
Today is not simply a day to acknowledge the Australian victims of the terrible atrocities that we have seen right around the world, including here in Bali, today is a day to acknowledge everyone who has suffered at the hands of terrorists because while the terrorists were targeting Australians and other westerners, their victims included many local people – Muslim, Hindu, of all faiths and none – and this is the tragedy of what happened here on that terrible night.
So, it is, as I said, an honour to be here. It’s good to have the chance to acknowledge those who suffered but also to celebrate the spirit which has kept the survivors of that terrible night going and I particularly want to pay tribute to my friend Peter Hughes who through his foundation has done so much to bring good from what would otherwise have been simply an atrocity.
Now, Peter, did you want to say anything? Ok mate. Thanks so much.
PETER HUGHES:
I would just like to acknowledge Tony. Tony has been a champion for the last four or five years with this. I know that Tony has a very good friend, Paul, and I know that myself, Paul and Tony have all thought about this compensation. It is not the money. What’s the price of $75,000 for a life? It is really nothing. It is about recognising the people, that it did happen eleven years ago, it did happen in 9/11 and I guess that we just want to acknowledge the fact that we are Australian people. We do also care about ourselves. We do look after others before ourselves. We are a country that does that. We are acknowledged for that. I think, Tony, by you bringing it to this point where you said you would do it and you’ve done that when you became Prime Minister and I acknowledge you for that, mate, and the Liberal Party and to everybody who is a victim, to everyone who has lost a loved one, just go and enjoy it because you will never bring back somebody that is close to you, that’s family, and I still have my son Leigh and to cherish that, it’s not about money it’s just about being recognised.
PRIME MINISTER:
Ok. Do we have any questions?
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, you were here in 2005 [inaudible]. What are your memories of that?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, Margie and the girls and I were in a hotel up the road, the Bali Mandira at Legian. The phone went a couple of times during the night and I thought to myself these were probably prank calls and then in the morning the phone went at about 5 o’clock. It was my sister who was a travel agent and she said “are you alright?” and I said “of course we are alright” and she said “well, there has been a bomb go off” and I was incredulous. I didn’t think lightning ever struck twice but it did and I ran down to the heart of Kuta where one bomb had gone off just because I knew there had been Australian victims. I had no other information. I was the Health Minister at the time. I thought that as a member of the Government, one should do something to be of assistance. The casualties had been moved by that stage, the police had the site sealed off. I ran back to the hotel, quickly got dressed, jumped in a taxi to Sanglah Hospital and I spent the rest of the day with some remarkable people. The consul, Brian Diamond, some remarkable people, the friends and relatives of the Australian victims who basically were there to render assistance and eventually we got all of the foreigners who were injured that day, we got them evacuated to various places. Some were evacuated to Singapore, some were evacuated to Darwin. But, you know, I want to just say that it was a remarkable team effort. Team Australia worked very effectively that day.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, there have long been plans to turn the site over there that’s now a car park into something that’s a bit more fitting memory of the victims. Do you make it…are you going to make it a pledge to see it done?
PRIME MINISTER:
Look, I’ve just been talking to Peter about this and I think there are a lot of people who would like to see some further commemoration of the tragic events of that particular night. Yes, it would be good to see this turned into a peace park. There are some disputes over the ownership. There will inevitably be some, I guess, contention over the cost. We’ve got to sort out the ownership issues. Then we’ve got to talk about the cost but this is something that we would like to see happen and obviously the Commonwealth will do what it can to bring that about.
QUESTION:
What can it do, Prime Minister?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well first we’ve got to have the ownership issue sorted out and I know that Governor Pastika – who, at the time of the bombing, was called in to lead the police investigation – Governor Pastika of Bali is very keen to try to progress that but in the end we have to let the local people sort out those local issues and then once that’s sorted out we can do what we can to ensure that the land is secured and then it’s turned into an appropriate peace park.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, on the compensation, why are victims of terrorist attacks deserving of money that perhaps other disaster victims are not?
PRIME MINISTER:
Because the terrorist attacks that we’ve seen since September the 11th 2001 have been aimed specifically at westerners and the two Bali bombings, the two Jakarta bombings, were aimed specifically at Australians. Now, when someone has suffered simply by virtue of being an Australian, I think our nation has a special level of duty towards them and that’s why I think it’s important that this should happen. I mean, if you go overseas and you get hit by a motorcar, that’s a terrible thing but the car hasn’t hit you because you’re an Australian, it’s just the sort of accident that happens from time to time, wherever people might be. But if you are injured in a terrorist attack that has in some way been specifically directed at westerners, at Australians, well, then I think the nation does have a level of duty to you and that’s what this scheme to assist the overseas victims of terrorism will do.
QUESTION:
Mr Hughes, do you have a view on that?
PETER HUGHES:
Look, I guess when you come to a holiday destination like Bali you wouldn’t expect to get blown up. I’m guessing that, especially overseas, I note if they came to Australia and something like that happened in Australia, there’d be an outcry. So, this has been a long time coming. This didn’t just happen. This took eleven years of, you know, talking to people and working out whether we should do it. It got a bit embarrassing at times because we felt like we had to ask. You know how embarrassing it is for an Australian to ask for anything? Pretty hard, I’ll tell you. So, really, I think it’s overdue and what’s happened and what Tony’s done and the Government’s done is fantastic and I think that, you know, we were targeted as westerners and it wasn’t fair.
QUESTION:
Can I ask Governor Pastika a question?
PRIME MINISTER:
Governor, would you? Only if you wish, Governor.
QUESTION:
I’d like to ask the Governor if the Peace Park is realistic. It’s been now 11 years that that site’s been vacant and we’ve seen a lot of, as Mr Abbott said, disputes over the ownership and what the owner wants to do with it. What can the Bali Government do and what is the Bali Government doing?
GOVERNOR PASTIKA:
It is still our hope to make this memorial park become true but however we are still, again, still negotiating because it’s not easy to get the land. Sometimes people who own the land give a very unrealistic price and we cannot do anything. But however, we stop any license to that area. So nobody can build anything. That is what we can do now, as the Government.
PRIME MINISTER:
If there’s one more question, I’ll take another question. Any other questions? Ok, thanks so much everyone.
Before I go, I should say pay a further tribute to all of the Australians who were the victims, all of the Australians who were the helpers, all of the Balinese people and Indonesian people who were the victims, all of the Indonesian and Balinese people who were the helpers on that night and indeed, on the night of the second Bali bombing as well. Dr Adam Frost, for instance, the amazing Newcastle GP who did so much to stabilise the victims, along with the medical staff at Sanglah Hospital.
I pay tribute to Governor Pastika for his work as the chief Indonesian police investigator which brought the perpetrators of the atrocity to justice. When people do something like this, sure, they might be targeting Australians or westerners but in the end they are attacking humanity. That’s what they’re doing. They’re attacking humanity and that’s why it’s so important that we stand resolute against that kind of thing, as every Australian Government always will.
Thank you.
[ends]