News Stories – 29 March 2007
Australia calls on Iran to cooperate with the international community
Australia calls on Iran to fulfil its international obligations by ceasing uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities.
Australia welcomes the unanimous adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1747 on 24 March 2007 implementing further legally binding sanctions on Iran under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter.
The Resolution’s unanimous adoption underlines the international community’s serious concerns about Iran’s nuclear program.
Iran must fulfil its international obligations and cease all uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities.
Australia strongly urges Iran to demonstrate its international credentials and implement fully UNSCR 1747, the measures of which are fully reversible.
UNSCR 1747 imposes increased measures against Iran, including a legally binding embargo on the transfer of arms from Iran, limits on arms transfers to Iran and an expansion of the list of individuals and entities subject to financial measures.
Australia will proceed to implement the terms of the resolution as required by all United Nations members.
Australia helping to improve long-range climate predictions in the Pacific
Australia is providing $3million, over three years for Phase Two of the Pacific Islands Climate Prediction Project (PICPP2), to enhance the ability of National Meteorological Services (NMSs) in Fiji, Kiribati, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Cook Islands, and Papua New Guinea to provide climate prediction services.
The Pacific Islands Climate Prediction Project will enable participating NMSs to generate seasonal climate predictions and communicate these predictions in practical situations relevant to Pacific Islands Countries.
The project has four parts:
- Develop and install computer based climate prediction software.
- Train NMS personnel in the use of the software and establish a climate prediction service.
- Facilitate linkages between NMSs staff and local communities.
- Train local communities in the best use of the information provided by the NMS.
For Pacific island countries, improved weather predictions and long range climate predictions will:
- allow water resource management agencies to allocate resources effectively;
- assist in the prediction of possible natural disasters;
- provide information for agricultural, fishing and tourism industries; and
- help Pacific island countries to prepare for the potential impact of climate change.
Phase Two of the Pacific Islands Climate Prediction Project will run from 2007-2010 and will be funded by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID). The Australian Bureau of Meteorology will manage the project.
For more information on the project visit: www.bom.gov.au/climate.pi-cpp/
Australia helping combat Tuberculosis in the Asia Pacific
Tuberculosis is a major disease in the Asia-Pacific region. Australia recognises the burden this disease places on the communities, health services and economies of countries in this region. The Australian Government is funding programs to help diagnose and treat tuberculosis.
According to World Health Organization estimates in 2005, South-East Asia had the largest percentage (34 per cent) of new Tuberculosis (TB) cases globally. In the Western Pacific there was over 1.9 million new TB cases diagnosed.
Australia’s international aid agency, AusAID, is working with partner governments and international agencies to help reduce the impact of TB in the region.
Australia has contributed $75 million to the global public-private partnership, the Global Fund, from 2004-07 to fight HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria.
Australia has provided $4.25 million to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Stop TB Program, including $1.8 million to WHO programs in Papua New Guinea.
Australia will provide $1.2 million over the next three years to the Kiribati Tuberculosis Epidemic Control Project. This funding will provide:
- more hospital beds for TB patients;
- training for community health workers; and
- building operational and research capacity within the Kiribati health sector.
News Stories – 22 March
Australia concerned about events in Zimbabwe
Australia is appalled by the Zimbabwean Government’s violent suppression of political opposition.
The Mugabe Government’s brutal suppression of opposition political activity in Zimbabwe is a clear sign of its desperation to cling to power in the face of its growing unpopularity.
The Mugabe Government’s disastrous policies have crippled a once thriving economy, leaving Zimbabweans enduring hyper-inflation nearing 1800 per cent.
Over 80 per cent of the population is now unemployed, living below the poverty line and suffering the lowest life expectancy of any country in the world.
Australia is urging Zimbabwe’s neighbours, who have the greatest leverage over Zimbabwe, and African institutions, to use their influence to persuade the Zimbabwean Government to respect the rule of law and the civil and political rights of the people.
As the current chair of the African Union, President Kufour of Ghana has said the situation in Zimbabwe is an embarrassment for Africa.
We are working with countries concerned about the political and economic catastrophe in Zimbabwe to place greater pressure on the Zimbabwean leadership, including by allowing the situation to be considered by the UN and its Human Rights Council.
Australia has imposed progressively strengthened travel bans and financial sanctions against members of the Zimbabwean Government since 2002 and we urge other countries to do likewise.
Australia calls on the Government of Zimbabwe to respect the rule of law and the civil and political rights of its citizens, to cease its violations of international law and to return Zimbabwe to the fold of civilised nations.
News Stories - 16 March
Japan : Australia-Japan Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation
The Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation signed by the Prime Ministers of Australia, Mr John Howard, and Japan, Mr Shinzo Abe, during Mr Howard’s visit to Tokyo, illustrates the increasing depth and momentum in the bilateral relationship. The Declaration will provide a framework for Australia and Japan to work even more closely together, and with others, to achieve the objective of a prosperous, open and secure Asia-Pacific region.
The Prime Ministers of Australia and Japan signed the Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation in Tokyo on 13 March.
It is a positive and forward-looking document, at less than treaty level, which paves the way for even closer security cooperation between Australia and Japan.
It reflects shared values and a substantial history of working together to promote peace and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond, building on our collaboration in international operations including in Cambodia, East Timor, and more recently in Iraq, and on issues such a non-proliferation, the fight against terrorism and the response to natural disasters, such as the 2004 tsunami.
Specific areas of cooperation include, but are not limited to:
- law enforcement; border security; counter-terrorism; disarmament and counter-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; maritime and aviation security; peace operations and humanitarian relief operations.
The Declaration establishes foreign and defence ministers “2+2” talks, which will enable us to coordinate better in the areas of cooperation identified in the Declaration.
Australia and Japan are committed to strengthening practical cooperation in the Declaration, including through joint exercises and training, so that we can work more safely and effectively together, including in peace operations and disaster relief.
For text of the Declaration see: http://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/japan/aus_jap_security_dec.html
Sub-Regional Ministerial Meeting on Counter-Terrorism held in Jakarta
The foreign ministers of Australia Mr Alexander Downer and Indonesia Dr Hassan Wirajuda, co-hosted the Sub-Regional Ministerial Meeting on Counter-Terrorism (SRMMCT) in Jakarta on 5 and 6 March. The theme of the meeting was Deepening Cooperation and Addressing Emerging Challenges in Combating Terrorism in the Sub-Region.The SRMMCT highlighted an increasing commitment and convergence in approaches to countering terrorism amongst the six participant countries (Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand).
The SRMMCT was attended by foreign and justice ministers, police chiefs and senior officials from the six countries, including Australia’s Attorney-General, Mr Ruddock, and Deputy Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police, John Lawler.
Topics discussed included:
- the current threat of terrorist groups in the sub-region;
- regional law enforcement and intelligence cooperation;
- legal frameworks;
- preventing terrorist access to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons (CBRN);
- countering extremism and propaganda, including the role of the media and the internet; and
- mass casualty emergency response.
The Ministers renewed their commitment to meet the terrorist threat with coordinated and targeted measures at the national, sub-regional and global levels. Ministers agreed to strengthen:
- measures to prevent trans-border terrorist movement;
- legal frameworks and practices for mutual assistance and extradition; and
- regional law enforcement networks, including the Jakarta Centre for Law Enforcement and Cooperation (JCLEC).
Ministers agreed to sponsor:
- a second-track dialogue of religious leaders, academics and media practitioners to explore ways to discourage support for terrorism;
- initiatives to examine the use of the internet in spreading and countering extremist messages;
- an experts’ workshop to discuss and address the illicit movement of small arms, light weapons and dual-use explosives utilised by terrorists; and
- initiatives to enhance cooperation on mass casualty emergency response.
Australia will shortly host regional outreach initiatives to counter nuclear and bio-terrorism.
Australia and Japan to start negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement
Australia and Japan have agreed that the first round of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations will be held in Canberra from 23–24 April. The first round of talks will most likely concentrate on procedures and the framework for the negotiations. While there are sensitivities on both sides, both countries have agreed that the negotiations will begin with all products and issues on the table. There is no deadline for concluding negotiations.
The decision by the Australian and Japanese Prime Ministers, Mr John Howard and Mr Shinzo Abe, to commence negotiations on a bilateral FTA in 2007 - the 50th anniversary of the bilateral Commerce Agreement - is a very significant development for Australia.
Japan is a key partner for Australia. It has long been our largest export market by far and it is the world's second largest economy.
Concluding an FTA will be very difficult, as was concluding the Commerce Agreement. But like the Commerce Agreement, an FTA will deliver substantial gains for both Australia and Japan.
Joint Japan-Australia econometric modelling suggests that Australia’s GDP would increase by about A$40 billion and Japan’s by around A$27 billion
An FTA would help secure markets for and supplies of energy and food.
Australia is Japan’s number one energy supplier. Australia supplies more than 60 per cent of Japan’s iron ore and coal needs, one quarter of its uranium requirements and one fifth of its natural gas needs.
An FTA would not have a significant impact on Japan’s agriculture sector.
Japan’s agriculture production is three times Australia’s and Japan’s imports from Australia are small compared to Japan’s own production (less than six per cent).
Joint econometric modelling show that even if all barriers to trade were removed immediately, Australia’s agriculture exports would only rise by five per cent and Japan’s agriculture production in 2020 would only have decreased by 0.6 per cent.
The Prime Ministers agreed that sensitivities are best handled through the negotiation of a comprehensive FTA, beginning with all products and issues, as well as options for flexibility, on the table.
Both sides agreed that any FTA will be comprehensive, World Trade Organisation (WTO) consistent and concluded through a single undertaking.