EAST TIMOR

Adjourned debate on motion of Hon. David Winderlich:

That this council—

1. Remembers that at least 40,000 Timorese civilians were killed as a result of their assistance to Australia in the Second World War;

2. Regrets that there has been no official recognition of the role of the Timorese in assisting Australia in World War II;

3. Notes that the United Kingdom awarded the Island of Malta the George Cross on 15 April 1942 to honour the courage of its people;

4. Supports the call by the Mary MacKillop East Timor Mission for the nation of East Timor to be given the award of the Companion of the Order of Australia for the extraordinary service rendered by the Timorese people to Australia during World War II; and

5. Conveys its support for the awarding of the Companion of the Order of Australia to the Australian Honours Secretariat in Canberra.

(Continued from 17 June 2009. Page 2668.)

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Leader of the Opposition) (20:09): I rise on behalf of the opposition to support the motion proposed by the Hon. David Winderlich to which I have an amendment. I move:

After paragraph 3, insert new paragraph 3A, as follows:

3A. Notes the contribution of the Howard government in helping East Timor to achieve its independence.

Sister Susan Connolly of the western Sydney-based Mary MacKillop Institute of East Timorese Studies is one of Australia's most respected advocates of the East Timorese people. According to her, at least 40,000 East Timorese died at the hands of Japanese in reprisals. Just 400 commandos entered Timor in the invasion on 17 December 1941, and in February the following year thousands of Japanese invaded.

Australian commandos lost contact with Australia during the battle but continued to ambush and harass the Japanese. After contact was re-established in April these operations intensified to a 20,000-strong Japanese force. The Timorese natives helped the Australian commandos to such an extent that they were able to frustrate the overwhelming number of Japanese.

The young Timorese men, called 'creados', provided shelter and food and relayed information on Japanese troop movements. They also protected and carried commando equipment and tended to them throughout their suffering of tropical diseases such as malaria. Between 40,000 and 60,000 Timorese civilians died during the military occupation. It is interesting to note that Timor was not at war but a colony of a neutral nation.

The Mary MacKillop mission is campaigning through a nationwide petition calling for the Australian government to make East Timor a Companion of the Order of Australia. To date, it has collected over 23,000 signatures. While conceding such an award would be unprecedented in Australia, Sister Connolly points out that the British government, as I said in reading the Hon. Mr Winderlich's motion, gave Malta the George Cross on 15 April 1942 to honour the courage of its people. Malta was the first British commonwealth country to receive a bravery award. It should be noted that in July 2009 the government began presenting commemorative medallions to the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels and their survivors. This was for care of Australian soldiers during the Second World War in Papua New Guinea.

In relation to my amendment, on 20 May 2002 East Timor became independent. East Timor was Australia's most important military involvement since the Vietnam War. It was in December 1998 that John Howard marked a significant policy change in his letter to President Habibie. The letter suggested that after a period of autonomy there should be an act of self-determination in East Timor. In late January 1999 the Indonesian cabinet made its remarkable decision. East Timor would be offered a consultation (later defined as a referendum) on autonomy or independence.

Australia's significant diplomatic and political effort helped firm up international support for an act of self-determination and, later, when security broke down, helped to restore that security. Australia was involved from the outset, participating in the first UN monitoring mission and culminating in a public verdict favouring independence; leading the INTERFET mission, restoring security in East Timor throughout 1999; and contributing to the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) mission.

Financially, humanitarian efforts amounted to some $81 million in 1999 and 2002 and $150 million for the transition period in the early years of independence. Between 1999 and June 2001, Australia's contribution to peacekeeping was valued at $1.4 billion. National efforts involved thousands of Australians living and working in East Timor and the service of over 15,000 defence personnel.

The former secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Dr Ashton Calvert, described John Howard's diplomacy over East Timor as one of the most impressive examples of head of government international diplomacy that he saw in his career. With those few comments I commend my amendment to the council and also endorse the motion of the Hon. Mr David Winderlich.

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (20:14): I rise to give support to this motion. The people of Timor paid a terrible price for their loyalty to Australia during World War II. It was a price completely out of proportion with their population and with their role in world and regional affairs. The sacrifices made in their own name were largely for the benefit of our nation. The Battle of Timor occurred in Portuguese Timor and Netherlands Timor during World War II. It involved forces from the empire of Japan, which invaded on 20 February 1942, shortly before the first attack on Darwin.

On the other side were allied military personnel, predominantly from Australia and the Netherlands East Indies. Principal among these was Sparrow Force. Sparrow Force was a detachment based on the 2^nd/40^th Australian Infantry Battalion and other 8^th Division units. It had been established to defend Timor from invasion. A commando unit, the 2^nd/2^nd Independent Company, was also part of Sparrow Force.

On 16 February 1942, Sparrow Force was reinforced with British anti-aircraft gunners. The 2^nd/40^th and most of Sparrow Force units were based at Penfui airfield, outside the capital of Netherlands Timor, Kupang. Japanese units began amphibious landings in Timor on the night of 19 February 1942. Sparrow Force withdrew and during that operation encountered a force of 500 Japanese paratroopers who occupied well fortified positions.

The Australians attacked, however, but they ran low on ammunition and, being hopelessly outnumbered, they surrendered at Airkom on 23 February. Some members of Sparrow Force escaped to Portuguese Timor, where they joined the 2^nd/2^nd Independent Company. Although the Portuguese Empire was not a combatant, many East Timorese civilians fought with the Allies as criados or guerrillas, or indirectly supported them by providing food, shelter and other assistance.

By the end of February 1942, the Japanese controlled most of Netherlands Timor and the area around Dili in the north-east. However, they could not move into the south and east of the island without fear of attack.

The 2^nd/2^nd Independent Company was hidden throughout the mountains of Portuguese Timor and it commenced raids against the Japanese, assisted by Timorese guides and porters, utilising Timorese mountain ponies for transport and other logistic support. Indeed, during the early months of Japan's occupation, the success of the Australian forces in East Timor was made possible only by the additional support they received from the local Timorese, who risked execution by the Japanese by providing information, food and shelter.

During the following months, the guerrillas inflicted significant damage on the Japanese occupation forces wherever and whenever they could. The Japanese recognised the strong link between the local population and the Australian forces and instigated a counter-offensive campaign that was designed to intimidate the locals and destroy their links with the Allies. In spite of this, many Timorese continued to risk their lives to assist and protect the Australian forces.

The price paid by the people of East Timor during their campaign of resistance was heavy. Somewhere between 40,000 and 70,000 died as a result of indiscriminate attacks by Japanese forces, or from other effects of the occupation. Japanese forces remained in control of Timor for 3½ years, until their surrender in August 1945.

While the commando campaign on Timor had little direct strategic value, the fact is that the allied commandos and the Timorese who assisted them prevented an entire division from reaching the New Guinea campaign. Such a contribution to the war in New Guinea at that time could have easily turned the tide of battle in favour of the Japanese invasion force. Indeed, the history of the Kokoda Trail, and the impact of the war in the Pacific, could well have been very different.

I recognise the award of the George Cross made by the British government on 15 April 1942 to the people of Malta to honour the heroism and devotion of its people and see the parallel there. Malta was important to the allied North African campaign, and the island endured heavy aerial bombardment and a naval blockade over an extended period as Adolf Hitler sought to neutralise it in preparation for a German invasion.

While the people of Timor did not suffer the air and sea offensive suffered by the population of Malta, I note that the number of Timorese lost during the Second World War far exceeded the number killed in the German offensive operations directed against Malta.

The time to recognise the courage of the Timorese people is long overdue and I commend this motion to the council, although I must say that I think it is a shame that the Hon. Mr Ridgway has sought to politicise the motion by moving the amendment. I am not quite sure what we are going to do. We will oppose the amendment but we will have to see what we do with regard to ensuring the success of this motion.

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (20:20): Very briefly, I indicate Family First support for the motion and I congratulate the Hon. Mr Winderlich on moving it. In fact, it is something that is well and truly overdue, as members of the council have mentioned in their contributions. I also indicate that we support the Hon. Mr Ridgway's amendment.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (20:20): I indicate that Labor members have decided to support the important motion of Mr Winderlich. However, I, too, am a bit saddened by the Leader of the Opposition's attempt to politicise unnecessarily a very important motion; I think it cheapens the motion and is very sad. I oppose the amendment.

The Hon. DAVID WINDERLICH (20:21): I thank all members for their contributions. I also indicate at the outset that I am quite comfortable with the amendment. People who know me well, particularly from my involvement in refugee issues, would have heard me make vociferous and heated criticisms of former prime minister John Howard. In fact, at one point I was saying that I think it was people like him who make a place like hell necessary. I have been no fan of John Howard on many fronts; however, on East Timor, I think he did the right thing. I think it also followed a period of successive Labor governments doing the wrong thing in respect of East Timor. I think those are just the facts of history. On many other fronts I would be very critical of John Howard—one of his most bitter critics, which is what happens when you walk into detention centres and see children—but with respect to this motion I am quite comfortable with the amendment and quite happy to support it.

Most of the points have been made, so I will not repeat them, but perhaps I will very briefly summarise them. A key point is that the people of East Timor made an outstanding and unique contribution to the security of Australia and, more than that, they made that contribution in what is virtually universally recognised as one of the just wars in history. I do not necessarily support Australia's involvement in every war that we have been involved in, nor do I necessarily celebrate them. I think some wars are a mistake; I think some wars are wrong—arguably, most are—but I think the Second World War, which was a struggle largely of democratic countries against international fascism, was a just war. The East Timorese in their support of Australia made a contribution not just to our security but to international democracy. I think that is well worth celebrating.

The point has been made that it is not unprecedented to give awards to nations. Britain awarded the George Cross to Malta, so within our broad Westminster system of government this sort of thing has occurred. It would be a first for Australia, but it would not be a first internationally.

One point that has not been made, but which I think is implicit in this, is that I think there is a special bond developing between East Timor and Australia. It started with their incredible contribution in World War II. I think in a couple of ways we let them down and we perhaps set that relationship back—and I refer to the acceptance of the 30 years of Indonesian occupation and an attempt to seize too much of the profits of the East Timor oil reserves—but they appear to have forgiven us for that. At all sorts of non-government levels for years a special bond has developed between the many Australians who have worked to support East Timor with both their independence and also to provide it practical support.

Now, with this initiative, I think to give them the Companion of the Order of Australia is symbolic recognition of that bond. It is also important to recognise the special role played by the Mary Mackillop East Timor Mission. This initiative is really all their work. They have provided years of practical support on the ground to the East Timorese people; now, this is an attempt to provide symbolic recognition to the people of East Timor.

If this motion passes today, as it clearly will, it will be submitted to the Australian Honours Secretariat at Government House in Canberra who will conduct a formal investigation into the merits of the nomination. I believe that the support of this council for this nomination will add considerable weight to the nomination and will make the Secretariat look upon it in a very favourable light. Of course, above all, that will be to the credit of the people of East Timor and to the Mary Mackillop East Timor Mission. I thank members for their support. I look forward to the successful passage of this motion through the council.

Amendment carried; motion as amended carried.