AF-A-S
NQ DATE
M/ 42. 22 Febr~ uary 1971
PRIfBMI r! rFi Arm2. m3mTw) Il A PA IAr. TANT
Fol~ lowing is the text of an addreos by the Prine Minister
and Minister for Foreign Afffair Mr kWhitlam, to the Dowan
Peri-. alciinn ) P,. kYat TRenxiblik Tndoncoia ( Ind-o7nc~ tia Parliament) in
O Jakarta today. The speech was delivered at about 1600 hours
Canberra time. I am ro-Loundly moved by th-e honnur yo) u ' have dlone me,
and through me, m-y Government and nation in inviting me to address
you. When a little over t.! o months . ao I became Prime
tirU'istpr, as leader of th-e majority party in the Australian
* Parliament, I placed a visit to Indones-: ia at tu e vnry ' he~ d of
my nriorities. I was highily gratified by -the warmth o. f President
Soeharto's invitation. I and those travelling with me members
of my family, my stiff, and my officials hnave been deeply
touched by hosnite-lity and pr-nerosity with, which we hnave all
been treated. This visit comes at a !-ime of great cl> ange of grea. t
change in ry own nation and of great c'. arge in our region. I want
to em-ha! sise, h'-) wevf-r, at -the ouLtse-t, thnat my visit syrbolisec
continuity a5 well as change. 12
. In June last year my prcdoceosor as Prime Minister of
Australia, the Rkt. Hon. William McMahon, visited Jakarta and
xrde, sed this ass-c-bl1y. On Petu. L~ i to Au~ siralia he ti h
pcople of Australia, as I shall tell them, of the friendship
which the -oeopole and rvirernment n. f T~ dnzahad extended to himi
and through him, to Australia. Mr Mc~ abon was able to report
that at the official level, his discussions had fuirther advanced
co-osoeratuiton betw; ceri our tk~ ro countric,,.
Tbere w~ kas and is no partioan kdisot iIn y utyo
this mratter. Thbe cr11a ngae o f G o vePr n ie n Iias iade no cl-ange in
Australia's desire for the closest co-operation with the Government
and people of Indonesia.
I know that that wish is shared by the Indonesian
Government and neople. Austra-li* an-Indone,,,' Iin friendship is a,
constant factor in a charging region and a changiLng w. orld.
The new Australian Government has macle many sigrificant
changes in Australia's international relations, It would have been
strange indeed had it Inot been so, for my Government was elected
by the people of Australia with a mandate for ch. n, or -,-an. PeS
at home and abroad. You will -ecall that m~ y T~ arty e Autralian
Labor Party had been out'of office for 23 years, InhAvi: ng lost
power before Indonesia finally won her great struggle for
independence. -I-
As an example of the changes that have taken place,
I cite the record of Australia's voting in the United Nations
General Assembly. In the 1971 General Assembly, Australia
voted against three resolutions on Southern Africa and three
others concerning the Indian Ocean, apartheid and selfdetermination
all of which Indonesia supoorted. But in the
1972 General Assembly, immediately after my Government took
office, Australia voted affirmatively with Indonesia on each
of those resolutions. On all important iissues of race,
decolonisation and self-determination, our voting now accords
with Indonesia's. On the day that I was sworn in as Prime Minister
of Australia I made this statement to our people, which sums
up the general approach of my Government. I said that I
wanted " An Australia which will enjoy a growing standing
as a distinctive, tolerant, co-operative and well
regarded nation not only in the Asian and Pacific
region, but in the world at large."
I will return later to the role of middle powers in
the world at large. Let me say something first about our
relations with our neighbours and our region. In the distant
past Australia tended to ignore South-East Asia. Generations
ago, we were still largely a European outpost, a part of the
old British Emnire, with our loyalties and nreoccupations in
Europe alone. In the oast 20 years we moved to an opposite
extreme. / 4
Influenced by such events as the Chinese revolution
and the war in Indo-China, we became oreoccupied, even obsessed,
with South-East Asia as a new Australian frontier, even a frnntline
for our security. This led us into military involvements
and military pacts that are no longer relevant to the contemporary
needs of Australia or the region in which we live.
In the wake of a Vict-Nam settlement, it is my hope
that we will see South-East Asia in a calmer, more constructive
perspective. We -want our attitude to be based less on irrational
fears for our security, and directed more to peaceful political
initiatives for the welfare and nrogress of our neighbours.
My Government believes that it has a responsibility
to take a generous oart in any international effort for the
social and economic rehabilitation of Indo-China. There are
several reasons why such resnonsibility devolves on us.
Australia was one of the belligerents, although my
Government has withdrawn all its forces from Viet-Nam and ended
its military involvement. Over and above that, we are the
richest member of the community of nations in the South-East
Asian region, with a strong interest in the welfare of our
neig-bours. We believe that the problems that you and other
nations of the region face now are human and social problems,
nroblems that are common to all mankind. How best to raise
your stndards of living: how to bring literacy, cultural and
educational opnortunities to your people: how to control the
growth of population and the environmental problems it will
bring in its wake as your cities become more industrialised:
how best to make use of the foreign aid resources at your
disoosal to overcome poverty and disease. It is in these
areas that my country is most anxious to help. We note the
measures you are now taking to achieve population control.
We would welcome, if your Government desires it, a long-term
study of the whole rnncept of foprain aid to determine how
best to apply it to urgent human and social needs. 2
Last month I visited N-w Zealand where a new Labor
Government has also been elected. The New Zealand Prime
Minister, Mr Kirk, and I expressed our intention of working with
our Asian and Pacific neighbours in making adjustments to
existing arrangements and. seeking new forms of co-operation.
We see great merit in an organisation genuinely representative
of the region, without ideological overtones, conceived as an
initiative to help free the region of the great power rivalries
which have bedevilled its progress for so long, and which would
be designed to insulate the region against ideological
interference from the great nowers. I must emnhasise that
such an objective is one which would take time and careful
consultation with all of our neighbours.
There is one very great change about to occur in
our region of very special imoortance and interest to Indonesi2.
and Australia equally. Indonesia and Australia at nre: e" t ./ 9
a common border the border between Indonesia and Papua New
Guinea. Before long that will no longer be true. Indonesia
will share that border with an independent nation, the nation
of Papua New Guinea.
I have just visited Papua New Guinea to explain my
Government's plans to the Deople there. What I have tried to
put to them is that a decision about independence is not just
a decision on behalf of Papua New Guinea. It is also a decision
on behalf of Australia. It involves in a very real sense
S-Australia's vision of herself in the world. To put it nlainly,
Australia is not willing any longer to rule a colony.
We regard it as unacceptable that Australia, of all
countrie:, should be one of the world'-s last colonial powers.
It would be incredible if the Australian Labor Party, which, in
its last Government, wholeheartedly supported the cause of
Indonesian independence, were to accept willingly a colonial
D role for herself in the 1970s.
SIt is not only a question of our responsibilities to
the neople of Papua New Guinea, it is not only a question of
our clear responsibilities under the United Nations Charter,
it is a question of our responsibilities to ourselves.
We are determined that we shall be true to ourselves
and divest Australia of the colonial taint. This in no way
means that we are going to wash our hands of our responsibilities
towards the people of Panua New Guinea. We freely ana gladlY / 7
accept that for many, many years to come, Papua New Guinea '. ill
need continuing and substantial assistnnce from Australia. She
shall have it and this again is a policy which would not be
changed even if there were a change i the Gover4; mcnt of Australia.
But our true role is as a friend and neighbour, not as a ruler.
I believe that Indonesia can also play a valuable part
as Papua New Guinea's friend and nearest neighbour. I hope the
Seopl. of Papua New Guinea will look to Indonesia as an example
of how neoples of different cultures and customs, of different
Slanguages, of different religions, at widely different stages
of deve. orment spread over a vast, divided and difficult terrain,
Scan come together, live together , nd grow together as one great
nation. If I might sum up the general lines that my Government
will follow, I should like to quote a brief nassame, I wrote
18 months ago when in Opnosition, for a book outlining for th,
0 Peoole of Australia, the lines a Labor Government, if they
elected one, would pursue. I wrote then:
" Essentially, a nation's foreign nolicy depends upon
a balance between commitment and Dower. Australia's first and I
fundamencal commitment is to. our own national security. This is
a commitment quite commensurate with our power and our re: source;.
Our second commitment is to a secure, united and friendly
Papua New Guinea. This too is well wit'in our nower. Our lack
of wisdom and foresight, rather than any lack of nower and influere,
is our real danger in this case. / 8
Our third commitment is to achieving friendly relations 3
with our nearest and largest neighbour, Indonesia.
Our fourth commitment is more general, because in this
context our power becomes more generalised it is our commitment
to the peace and prosperity of the immediate region. Clearly
our ambitions and aspirations on this level run beyond our actual
power. Even so, we are far more influential than mere numbers
would suggest Our fifth commi tmient is to our own renutation: our
power in this case lies in our will, not our resources. This
taint of racism must be removed if w. e are to be a good neighbour
in our region." These are the five great pillars on which my Government
proposes to establish its international relations. But it is
not merely to ourselves, or even simply to our own region, that.
our ultimate commitment lies. Our ultimate interests lie in
helping to nreserve stable and peaceful relations between the
great powers. In military and industrial terms, Australia
and Indonesia can both perhaps be described as middle powers.
We have a common interest in seeing th.'. it stable balance is
maintained between the great nowers China, the Soviet Union,
Janan, the United States on whose decisions the peace of the
world will principally derend. As middle Dowers, we can both be
active in working for peace and understanding in the world at
large. It is in this broader context that I see the need for a
fresh and indenendent policy for Australia in international rel-""
It is in this context that I see great new opportunities for
co-operation with Indonesia.
Once more let me express my deep gratitude for the manner
in whici you and the Government and people of Indonesia have
received me. I am glad to have the opportunity so early in the
life of my Government to reaffirm the existing links between our
two countries and to forge new and stronger ones.
Living as we both do in a region which is in many ways
the world's most turbulent and economically deprived, we cannot
ignore the very great difficulties and complexities which lie
ahead, for us and for our neighbours. Yet, even so, it is
S impossible not to hold real hope for the future, even while
acknowledging the dangers.
There is a very real prospect that there will be no
major international conflict in our neighbourhood in the foreseeable
future. The region has seen 30 very dark and troubled years. It
would be naive to believe that we are now entering a period of
profound peace. But at least we may look forward to a period of
S comparative oeace uneasy, fragile, imperfect nerhaps, but if
we have the will and determination, it will be enough to allow us
to create the conditions in our rgiJon by which we can reduce the
scourges of ooverty, starvation and suffering. In that war a
war that is really worth waging I profoundly believe our two
great countries will cement a deep and enduring, an unbreakable
nartnership.