Interview with Dewata TV

JOURNALIST: Indonesia and Australia have a uniquerelationship as neighbours. There have been many of ups and downs between thetwo countries. However, the positive side is both countries keep cooperatingfor the benefit of other countries and the world. Now, Foreign Minister JulieBishop is here with me in this beautiful garden. Thank you for having me.

JULIE BISHOP: Delighted to be here.

JOURNALIST: I cannot figure it out, you've had thisreally long trip, you have this Bali Process and I'm also aware you just hadarrived in Bali after the earthquake happened.

JULIE BISHOP: Indeed, I have been travelling throughoutSoutheast Asia for some days now and on Sunday evening I was flying on a Garudaflight from Surabaya to Bali at precisely the time the earthquake hit Lombok soon my arrival here in Bali I was informed of the tragic news that there hadbeen loss of life as a result of this significant earthquake and that there waswidespread damage. I said then and I repeat now that we extend our deepestcondolences and sympathies to the people of Indonesia and all those affected bythis earthquake.

JOURNALIST: Australia is such a good neighbour.

JULIE BISHOP: We are very close friends, we have alongstanding history of friendship and cooperation, and when a neighbour is inneed, of course Australia is always there to support.

JOURNALIST: That's very interesting, if you talk aboutthe long history of course the two governments keep changing so some might saythat this relationship has a mutual [inaudible]

JULIE BISHOP: The Australia-Indonesia relationship islong-standing. In fact, the Bali Process that we today co-chaired, that occurredtoday in Bali, is evidence of our longstanding history of cooperation. We areclose at a government-to-government level, business-to-business links areincreasing and of course the people-to-people links between Australians andIndonesians are very deep and strong.

JOURNALIST: The Bali Process - what issues have you beendiscussing in this forum?

JULIE BISHOP: The Bali Process is 16 years old, it wasestablished 16 years ago. This is the 7th Ministerial Conference, and there are45 countries who meet at a ministerial level to discuss these issues of illegaland irregular migration, people smuggling, human trafficking, modern slavery,forced labour, all of these abhorrent crimes that, I'm afraid are prevalent inour region. Australia and Indonesia are co-chairing this forum. We discussdifferent experience, different examples and best practice. For example,Australia has just introduced a Modern Slavery Act to combat modern slavery insupply chains, and we share that experience with other countries. We also worktogether in law enforcement and also in border management, to ensure that wehave orderly and appropriate migration practices.

JOURNALIST: Does this mean that there will be a change inAustralia's policy for asylum seekers?

JULIE BISHOP: Australia already settles a significantnumber of people under humanitarian and asylum seeker visas. Our refugee andhumanitarian visa category I think makes Australia the third largest, on a percapita basis, resettlement nation. The Bali Process is more about tacklingissues collaboratively, finding regional solutions. Each country of course is asovereign nation and will determine their own laws but the Bali Process is aforum to discuss these issues, share ideas, share best practice and cooperateat every level that we are able to agree.

JOURNALIST: And it will be applicable in some time?

JULIE BISHOP: It is applicable now. The Bali Process hasbeen in place for 16 years, this is the seventh ministerial-level forum. Thisyear we also had a government and business forum that was specifically focusedon issues like human trafficking and modern slavery. Businesses must look intotheir regional supply chains and be satisfied that there are none of thesecrimes in their supply chains that sustain them.

JOURNALIST: Both our countries have been fightingterrorism. The growth of ISIS has had a huge impact in both countries. InIndonesia the targets have shifted, the tactics are shifting, and women andchildren have included in terrorism now. How do you respond to that?

JULIE BISHOP: Last Sunday I visited the police station inSurabaya where the May suicide bombings took place and I met some of the policeofficers who are still injured as a result of those attacks and it reallybrought home to me how vulnerable communities can be and how determined we mustall be to eradicate terrorism from our lives. The level of cooperation betweenAustralia and Indonesia is very deep. We work at the security, intelligence,law enforcement levels. Our governments are both determined to keep our peoplesafe from terrorism and to combat violent extremism and the narrative that wesee so often online, on social media and on the internet. So Australia andIndonesia are determined to continue to work together, and with regionalpartners, to combat terrorism.

JOURNALIST: As a woman foreign minister, how would youinspire those girls and women, especially here in Indonesia, to have their ownvoices and to make changes?

JULIE BISHOP: In the case of terrorism, when women areinvolved in supporting terrorism, and indeed involved in carrying out terroristattacks themselves, it makes me more determined that the voices of moderationdrown out the voices of hatred and violent extremism. As Australia's first femaleforeign minister, I do take the opportunity to encourage women to find theirvoice, to back their judgement, to have the confidence to pursue their dreamsand their hopes and aspirations, and certainly working with Foreign MinisterRetno Marsudi as two female foreign ministers we do seek to inspire andencourage other women to fulfil their dreams.

JOURNALIST: That sounds great. Could you say something toinspire the women all over the world?

JULIE BISHOP: As Australia's first female Foreign Minister,I spend time working with other female foreign ministers and I believe we caninspire women to pursue their dreams, their hopes and aspirations, to haveconfidence in themselves and to have their voice heard. So working with otherwomen, supporting other women, is certainly–

JOURNALIST: Like Minister Retno?

JULIE BISHOP: Absolutely - Retno Marsudi and I are both onthe same page when it comes to supporting women to fulfil their dreams andhopes and aspirations.

JOURNALIST: Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, thank you verymuch.

JULIEBISHOP: My pleasure.