APSNet 2 July 2009

1. $60bn defence hardware plan
2. SBY implicated in cover up of ambush murder of U.S. citizens
3. Warning on wave of boat people
4. East Timor president defends PM
5. PNG’s climate change head ‘suspended’
6. Rudd puts a bomb under diplomacy
7. Aust ‘lacks manpower’ to keep Pacific peace
8. Time for healing in Iraq: Gillard

1. $60bn defence hardware plan, Patrick Walters Australian, 2009-07-02

The Rudd government’s new $60 billion defence capability plan will create 5000 jobs and fund 110 major equipment projects, led by the F35 joint strike fighter, new navy helicopters and early planning for the next-generation submarine. The government has also flagged a major defence industry policy statement later this year and detailed the industry capabilities it regards as vital to Australia’s long-term security, including electronic warfare, high-frequency radars and combat clothing for the three services.

• 2009 defence capability plan: public version, Defence Material Organisation, July 2009

2. SBY implicated in cover up of ambush murder of U.S. citizens, John M. Miller, Paula Makabory and Eben Kirksey, Press release, ETAN, 2009-07-01

Previously secret U.S. State Department documents implicate the President of Indonesia in a probable cover-up in an ambush in West Papua. The documents show Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is running for reelection on July 8, maneuvering behind the scenes to manage the investigation into the August 2002 murder of three teachers—one Indonesian and two U.S. citizens.

3. Warning on wave of boat people, Tom Allard, SMH, 2009-06-30

Indonesia authorities are bracing for a huge influx of boat people, anticipating as many as 10,000 asylum-seekers are waiting in Malaysia to transit through the archipelago and on to Australia.

• Boat crowded with 194 people intercepted off WA coast, Tom Arup, Age, 2009-06-29
• In Australia, Indonesian people smugglers sentenced; other cases proceed, ABC, 2009-07-02
• Boat arrivals in Australia since 1976, Janet Phillips, Harriet Spink, Australian Parliamentary Library, 2009-06-30 [PDF, 273.7KB]

4. East Timor president defends PM, Steve Holland and Stephanie March, ABC, 2009-06-30

East Timor President Jose Ramo Horta is defending Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao’s approval of a multi-million dollar government contract to a company linked to the PM’s daughter.
Zenilda Gusmao, the prime minister’s daughter, is listed in East Timor’s 2008 business registry as a shareholder in Prima Food. Prima Food last year won a government contract to supply rice worth $US3.5 million.

• Electoral violence in Timor-Leste: mapping incidents and responses, Timor-Leste Armed Violence Assessment, Issue Brief 3, June 2009 [PDF, 636KB]

5. PNG’s climate change head ‘suspended’, Liam Fox, ABC, 2009-07-01

The head of Papua New Guinea’s Office of Climate Change has reportedly been suspended amid allegations of improper deals involving carbon credits. An investigation was launched after media reports said the office had been making million-dollar carbon trading deals with foreign companies before a policy and legislation were in place.

• REDD: an Introduction, REDD Monitor
•  Money grows on trees: Papua New Guinea and carbon trading, Economist, 2009-06-06
• Conserving forests: REDDy and waiting, Economist, 2009-06-11
• Anatomy of a deal: The April Salome REDD project in Papua New Guinea, Chris Lang, REDD Monitor, 2009-06-07

6. Rudd puts a bomb under diplomacy, Daniel Flitton, Age, 2009-07-01

On one reading, the Defence white paper sounds a lot like Australia is preparing for war. There is no escaping the belligerent message a boost to Australia’s military sends to the region. The Government should pair its big plan for extra subs, bombs and things that go bang with an equally weighty statement outlining its diplomatic priorities – to spell out the many areas Australia can co-operate with, rather than confront, the region.

7. Aust ‘lacks manpower’ to keep Pacific peace, Linda Mottram, ABC, 2009-07-01

A defence expert says Australia lacks the manpower to fulfil promises to continue assisting Pacific states as laid out in Australia’s defence white paper. Despite the growing number of deployments in recent decades, the white paper does not promise more soldiers.

8. Time for healing in Iraq: Gillard, 
Daniel Flitton, Age, 2009-06-30

Julia Gillard has signed a clutch of six agreements with Iraq’s Prime Minister, Nuri al-Maliki, each designed to promote joint Australian-Iraqi enterprise in areas such as agriculture, education and public health. She said the Federal Government had no plans to withdraw its small squad of about 100 soldiers there to protect Australia’s diplomatic mission.

• Deputy Prime Minister signs six Memoranda of Understanding with Iraq, Julia Gillard, Media Release, 2009-06-28

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