PRIME MINISTER:
Could I just say that yesterday was an opportunity to see in all its misery and starkness, the devastating effect of the tsunami. I was warmed by the evidence of cooperation between Australia and Indonesia, the cooperation between our military and our police and I again express my admiration, not only for the men and women of the Australian Defence Force but also AusAid and the voluntary organisations and the way in which so many Australians have come together to provide this surge of humanitarian relief and response.
As you know I spoke to President Yudhoyono by mobile while I was visiting one of the devastated areas and he expressed again his gratitude and we re-affirmed our determination to work together, not only in relation to the tsunami but also more generally. Australia's relationship with Indonesia is very important and this terrible tragedy has produced a level of intimacy and cooperation not previously seen, and I intend that to continue because our futures will always lie together and even though we will have differences on some issues, that's natural. We have a common future and I intend to build on what has occurred in recent weeks.
JOURNALIST:
Did the President tell you that he wanted to come to Australia to see you personally?
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes, we had talked about the possibility of a visit. I mean he's always welcome and I hope that will be able to take place at some time in the not too distant future. But that is a matter for him to decide and to work out, but he's very welcome.
JOURNALIST:
What' the key memory, the abiding memory that you'll take with you from what you saw yesterday?
PRIME MINISTER:
Oh there are several. I think of that poor lady who just had a limb amputated, she'd lost a leg, she'd lost her husband and she'd lost her children. That's a terrible burden and if we can in some small way provide comfort and help to somebody like that, then we're doing good things in the name of our country.
JOURNALIST:
The 1000 or so Australian troops that are there, how long do you envisage them staying for?
PRIME MINISTER:
I don't think they'll stay for months. I think you're looking more at weeks then months. There's no point in them staying beyond a time when the work they are now doing could be carried out by civilians. It's not the role of soldiers to do relief work of this kind on a permanent basis; they do it in an emergency situation because they have the capacity. But I would look to them coming home fairly soon but only when we can hand over their responsibilities to civilians.
JOURNALIST:
Do you think that the tsunami has put to bed any tensions that were lingering after Timor? Is this in some small way the only virtue that came out of the tsunami?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I think we had moved on from East Timor before the tsunami. But what the tsunami has demonstrated, the aftermath of this terrible event, what it has demonstrated to the Indonesian people and the public at large, is the generosity and decency and the capacity to help of the Australian people and the Australian Defence Forces and our Doctors. It's allowed us to demonstrate a side to ourselves that we always knew and understood, but perhaps others in particular, the Indonesians didn't.
JOURNALIST:
On domestic matters, there's the issue of Tony Windsor today at the Senate committee. He appears to re-stating his position about what happened last year and indeed going so far as to say under privilege that one of the key players in this was lying to protect Deputy Prime Minister Mr Anderson?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I haven't seen or heard any of this but I have no hesitation in saying that I believe John Anderson. I haven't met a more straight forward, honest person in public life. I don't know what other people have said but I know what I'm saying about him and I've always found him a totally honest, reliable person.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister getting back to just your visit yesterday, did it allow you an opportunity to get a sense of Australia's aid commitment going to the right places and going where the money's needed?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well it certainly reaffirmed my beliefs that the arrangements that we're going to establish for this $1 billion dollar package are the right arrangements.
We won't be just writing a cheque and handing it over. We're going to have a joint commission and the Australian Government and the Indonesian Government together must approve every project, and that is the right thing to do. In that way you can be certain the money goes to the right people and is used in the correct fashion. That is an issue, we shouldn't beat about the bush on that, that is an issue and that is why I put in place those arrangements.
JOURNALIST:
And so the question of a freeze on interest payments for example from Indonesia's debt, that's.......?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well there's not a lot of sovereign debt around to Australia from Indonesia, there's not a lot, but it's not the best way of helping countries. All it does is to temporarily relieve the treasuries of individual countries and that doesn't necessarily guarantee that the most needy in that country get the help. You have to understand that, that's the reason why I have the reservations.
Thanks a lot.
[ends]