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Leave out the rhetoric and get back to basics

By Tim O'Connor - posted Friday, 9 June 2006


Previous requests to Australia from the Solomon Islands Government for assistance had been refused. While action at this earlier stage may have averted the crisis coming to a head, to philosophise on what impact an earlier intervention may have had is now a moot point. To Australia’s credit it had a long-term approach from the beginning.

The first phase of removing the weapons was successful but the longer term aim of maintaining the peace has proved more difficult as recent riots illustrate. While the latest election was deemed to be free and fair, the real wrangling began in the rush to be prime minister. Relations now between both governments appear highly strained.

Fresh with the success of the initial stages of RAMSI under our belt, Foreign Minister Downer announced an intervention in PNG via the Enhanced Cooperation Program (ECP). A well-intentioned, though badly thought out strategy, the ECP mirrored the worst kind of “aid” practice.

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Designed in Australia, from outside the organisation with the development mandate and by those with little experience of operating in PNG, the ECP was heavily resisted by the PNG Government. Under threat of losing their aid program, and 20 per cent of their budgetary funds, the PNG Government was forced to relent.

Finally the ECP came adrift on the rocky shores of the PNG High Court which found the indemnity clause, that Australian police were demanding if they were going to be working on the beat, was unconstitutional. Hence the police, already deployed and active, were flown home. Tens of millions of Aussie tax payer dollars were wasted and relations between the two governments were heavily strained.

Early in 2006 a boatload of West Papuans landed on one of the few islands to our north that had not been excised from the Australian mainland. It propelled the issue of human rights abuses in West Papua to the front page of the media and garnered much public support. The courageous navigators upended the warm fuzzy boat of bilateral emotions that had been developing between Jakarta and Canberra.

Currently, back in East Timor, the self-appointed “regional sheriff” has again been called to assist. The emerging government of East Timor navigated tricky waters in its relations with Jakarta and between it and Australia. The Australian Government has firmly sided with the popular Xanana but the resilient Alkatiri doesn’t seem keen to shift. If Alkatiri surrenders this position it will place further tensions on our relations.

Do you see a pattern emerging?

Australia’s continual bilateral interventions in the region have made us few friends in the governments of any of these countries. While there are always conflicts in international relations, this current record seems to suggest we are doing something very wrong.

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A key failing that Australia has made in its international interventions has been the tacit nature of the multilateral support we have garnered. There were several token countries involved in RAMSI, none were involved in the PNG ECP fiasco, and now there is little real outside support in East Timor. While such an approach is reflective of the increasing preference for unilateral engagement practiced by the US, failing to utilise international frameworks and institutions leaves us highly vulnerable should things go wrong - as we now know they often do.

The new approach promoted by the White Paper into aid does proffer a softer side to our aid recipients but it will not deliver stability in our region. Key tensions remain around promoting economic growth as the main objective. The implicit suggestion that development will flow from economic growth does not have a great track record, particularly in terms of equity. In the same vein, progressing the good governance agenda will continue to create tensions, particularly with those currently in power. These tenets will continue to promote suspicion among aid recipients.

For Australia to truly be a better global citizen and to ensure the long term stability in our immediate region, we need to work harder developing the multilateral relationships that already exist. Prevention is always preferable to reacting to disasters and again the White Paper on aid does little to move Australia onto the front foot in this regard. Our interventions need to be under the auspices of the UN and not prone to the vagaries of international law and political whim as is presently the case.

As Hugh White said at the recent PNG update (pdf file 48KB) “multilateralism is a pain in the arse” but it really is the only sustainable alternative.

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About the Author

Tim O’Connor works at AID/WATCH an independent watchdog monitoring the community impacts of Australia’s aid and trade polices.

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