Australia belongs to Asia

In his article Does Australia really belong to E. Asia? ( The Jakarta Post, Nov. 15, 2001, p.3), Jusuf Wanandi makes a number of unreasonable observations about the recent election campaign in Australia. I will take up my serious concerns directly with Mr. Wanandi as soon as we meet, but for the public record there are a couple of matters I would like to set straight.

Mr. Wanandi accuses the Australian electorate of being racist and xenophobic, and of being "immature and full of fear". While not stated, I assume he is referring to the part played in the election campaign by the issue of people smuggling.

Australia has a proud record on refugee re-settlement and will continue its refugee program. Legitimate refugees entering Australia number some 12,000 annually (second only to Canada per capita), and they are welcomed by the Australian community -- irrespective of their race or religion. Australian concern about people smuggling is different, and has nothing to do with racism or xenophobia.

People smuggling is an organized criminal activity. It involves substantial sums of money, and is often mixed up with other illegal activities. Moreover, the so-called "refugees" are either not legitimate refugees or, if they are legitimate, then they are "queue jumpers" seeking to circumvent the UNHCR system and cheat legitimate refugees, who play by the rules, out of possible placements. It is a growing and serious problem that affects many regional countries. The issue is not where the people come from, but how they come.

Australia is an immigrant nation built by people from 160 nations around the world, including hundreds of thousands of refugees. It is also one of the world's most successful multicultural societies. Maintaining the right to control access to our borders does not change that.

Mr. Wanandi also suggests that Australia is showing less interest in being part of Asia. This is not borne out by reality if you look, for instance, at the pattern of our diplomatic representation, at recent trade and investment statistics, the tempo and scale of our educational contacts, and the people-to- people linkages. In the case of Indonesia, even during the difficult period in our relationship that surrounded the events in East Timor, these linkages were undiminished. I would also hope that the quality and constancy of Australia's contribution to economic prosperity in Indonesia and elsewhere in Asia over the last 50 years could at least be acknowledged.

In short, Australia's commitment to Asia remains undiminished. The Howard government's continuing efforts to promote closer integration with Asia through APEC, AFTA-CER and the development of FTAs in the region are a clear manifestation of this.

RC SMITH

Ambassador

Australian Embassy

Jakarta