Interview with Fran Kelly – Radio National, ABC

Subjects: Fiji, Afghanistan, Pakistan

FRAN KELLY: Well, as we've been discussing this week, the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, is in Niue today for the Pacific Islands Forum but he won't be seeing the Fiji leader Commodore Frank Bainimarama there because he's boycotting that meeting. Asked what he could do about this no-show our PM said words are bullets and the forum will be issuing a strong message about the situation in Fiji. New Zealand's Prime Minister Helen Clark has also put the Commodore on notice to expect a robust response.

We're joined now in the Breakfast studio by Foreign Minister Stephen Smith. Minister, good morning, welcome to the program.

STEPHEN SMITH: Good morning, Fran. Thank you.

KELLY: Before we talk about the Pacific, can we just begin in Afghanistan? Because overnight, as we've reported this morning on Breakfast, 10 French NATO soldiers were killed in a Taliban ambush in Afghanistan. Frighteningly just outside Kabul, this was a daylight ground attack on these foreign troops. Why can't we contain the Taliban?

SMITH: Well, it's difficult and dangerous work. It's a long term project. The French have the command in Kabul, in the Kabul area. This was just east of Kabul. Any death is a tragic death but it cuts both ways. Australian soldiers in the last few days have had success capturing and killing a senior Taliban commander so this is essentially a war, it's a war against extremism and terrorism and, unfortunately, there are casualties.

KELLY: Yes, but it's getting worse. The number of casualties of international soldiers killed there this year is 176, there's more being killed per month now in Afghanistan than in Iraq.

We heard from British Major Charles Hayman this morning, he's a security expert, who said that we've got 50,000 troops there, that's a peacetime force. We need to double that. Do you agree?

SMITH: We were pleased with the result from the Bucharest conference which saw a substantial bolstering of the NATO commitment in terms of military support. The French increased their numbers. That was a good thing. And I don't think it's beyond the realms of prospect that in the near future the US administration, the current one or a future one, will look at a rebalancing of US forces from Iraq to Afghanistan.

What Afghanistan requires is a long term commitment, both in terms of military but also in terms of civil reconstruction or nation-building. Which is what Australia is doing: 1100 people in the south for our combat forces, doing difficult and dangerous but very effective work, but also a major capacity building and civil reconstruction program.

This is a long term project. The reason there are casualties in Afghanistan is because Afghanistan, particularly the Afghanistan-Pakistan border area, is the current hotbed of international terrorism. It's in our national interest to be there. It's in the international community's interest for there to be a concerted NATO and other international community support in that effort.

KELLY: And it's in our national interest too to watch very closely what's going on in Pakistan. Obviously you've been discussing in the last 24 hours the departure of the former President, Pervez Musharraf. You're hoping that this will increase political stability in Pakistan as the elected government focuses more on issues like security but it could have the opposite effect. I mean, this coalition is not showing signs of being all that functional at the moment, is it?

SMITH: No, but one of the things which we've seen since the election in Pakistan earlier this year, and the Pakistanis did a good job in sticking the course, since the terrible assassination of Mrs Bhutto. It could have been easy for them to have cancelled or deferred that election. They boxed on and since that time the political leaders, the elected leaders, have focused almost exclusively on Musharraf, for old times' sake.

They've now seen him off. It does give the chance for them to now focus on the real substantial problems that Pakistan have which are economic, social but also security and strategic, particularly in the so-called FATA areas, the Federally Administered Territory Areas near the Afghanistan border. When we think of Afghanistan we now have to think of Afghanistan-Pakistan.

KELLY: Absolutely.

SMITH: Because that is where the difficulty is and that is where the insurgents seek refuge across the border. It's not just a bilateral issue between Pakistan and Afghanistan, it's a regional and international issue and I've had this conversation with my Pakistani counterpart, Mr Qureshi. Australia stands ready, willing and able to assist Pakistan both in terms of development assistance in that area - we already give some food aid but we're happy to contemplate more - and also technical advice in terms of countering the insurgency there.

The Pakistan army has for years stood across the border looking at the Indians. They've got to adopt and adapt to the modern challenge and our forces, our military advisors are very, very good in that area.

KELLY: So we're offering or we will send some military advisors?

SMITH: Well, we've offered technical support. I've ruled out, you know, a supply of military personnel.

KELLY: Sure.

SMITH: But there is technical expertise that we can bring to bear and I've indicated to the Pakistani Government and Pakistan officials that we stand ready, willing and able to render that and other assistance.

KELLY: Well, talking of security in Pakistan, there's now a suggestion that because of concerns about player safety the Australian cricket tour of Pakistan next month might not go ahead. Do you have any sense of will it go ahead, should it go ahead?

SMITH: Well, it's a matter for Cricket Australia. We saw earlier in the year Cricket Australia decided to defer a scheduled test tour to Pakistan. This is the Champions Trophy, a one-day tournament scheduled for September-October. It will be a matter for Cricket Australia. Just as we did with the test tour, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has been making available to Cricket Australia all of the up-to-date travel advice and threat assessments to help them make their own judgment.

One thing I absolutely do know though is that both in this case, as in the test tour, Cricket Australia has absolutely uppermost in its mind the safety and welfare of its players and any proposed touring party. They'll make their own judgment. I think that will be in a matter of days or weeks. It's a matter for them. We are making available all of the up-to-date advice to help them make their judgment.

KELLY: Okay. Just briefly to the Pacific Forum and Fiji, the no-show there of Frank Bainimarama. Our Prime Minister said words are bullets but tough talk's meant nothing to the Commodore so far, has it?

SMITH: It is very disappointing that Commodore Bainimarama hasn't turned up. I frankly think it was a matter of honour. At the last Leaders' meeting in Tonga in October of last year, he gave a faithful and unconditional undertaking that he would take Fiji to an election before the end of March of next year. He now hasn't turned up to take his medicine, if he's not proposing to do that.

I was a member of the Foreign Ministers Contact Group who visited Fiji last month. We came to the conclusion that if the political will was there, there was nothing standing in the way of having an election. I think the leaders of the forum in Niue today will react very badly to his no-show. It is a matter of honour and I think he's conducting himself in a dishonourable manner.

KELLY: And just finally, Minister, there's a state election in your state of Western Australia just weeks away. I know you're pretty clued in to state politics in WA.

SMITH: Not as much these days as I used to be, Fran.

KELLY: Well, they're pretty good instincts, I think. I wonder what you think of these polls and how tight the finish is going to be. Will Alan Carpenter's Government be re-elected?

SMITH: I think it's going to be close. I think Alan will win but I think it's going to be, you know, a tough, tight, close election. It's always hard for Labor in Western Australia and Alan's taking nothing for granted.

He's been a good and effective leader in some difficult circumstances. I think he'll get there but no one can afford any complacency and there's certainly no complacency in Alan's mind. I can assure you and your listeners of that.

KELLY: Stephen Smith, thanks very much for joining us.

SMITH: Thanks very much, Fran.

KELLY: Foreign Minister Stephen Smith.

[Ends]

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