APSNet 4 August 2010
- Australian forces kill Taliban commander
- Taliban receive stolen supplies
- Slash cash for arms, says ex-Army chief
- PNG Cabinet Minister wants Australian prisons chief to cut corruption
- The region we must not ignore
- Australia to take 900pc more refugees from Indonesia
- Indonesia: The deepening impasse in Papua
1. Australian forces kill Taliban commander, Dan Oakes, Age, 2010-08-03
Australian special forces troops in Afghanistan have killed an insurgent leader responsible for waging a campaign of roadside bombing against coalition forces. It was originally reported three weeks ago that Afghan police had killed the Taliban leader, but defence claimed last night the lag in its reporting was due to the fact the Australian troops were on an operation that has just finished. Defence public affairs also asserted that Australian troops were involved in the killing, despite the original reporting not saying so.
- Taliban insurgent leader killed in Uruzgan, Media Release, Department of Defence, 2010-08-02
2. Taliban receive stolen supplies, Rafael Epstein, Age, 2010-08-02
Stolen Australian weapons and equipment have repeatedly been discovered among Taliban stockpiles, raising concerns that Afghan troops trained by diggers may have been pilfering military supplies. Documents released by the Wikileaks website show that in the past six years, ISAF troops have uncovered Australian mortar shells, a hand grenade and other equipment when defusing roadside bombs and capturing Taliban weapons stores.
3. Slash cash for arms, says ex-Army chief, Dan Oakes, Age, 2010-07-29
A former Australian Army chief has cast doubt on tens of billions of dollars of spending on defence hardware and advocated slashing in half the nation’s commitment to buy next generation fighter planes. Peter Leahy called for a radical rethink of spending priorities, saying more emphasis should be placed on non-military security and aid programs.
- Shifting Priorities in National Security: More Security Less Defence, Peter Leahy, Security Challenges*, Volume 6, Number 2, 2010
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4. PNG Cabinet Minister wants Australian prisons chief to cut corruption, RNZI, 2010-08-04
Papua New Guinea wants Australia to run its jails as a way to stop corruption and constant prisoner break-outs. Correctional Services Minister Tony Aimo said the move was a response to widespread internal corruption and nepotism that had led to repeated mass break-outs and debilitating internal power struggles in the prison system.
5. The region we must not ignore, Hamish McDonald, Age, 2010-07-31
Politicians who talk about preserving Australia as a ”sanctuary” from an overcrowded world, or deciding who will come here and the circumstances in which they come, cannot afford to take their eyes off the ring of islands off the north and east coastline.
6. Australia to take 900pc more refugees from Indonesia, Karen Michelmore, ABC, 2010-08-02
The United Nations’ High Commission for Refugees has said that Australia has committed to a 900 per cent increase in the number of refugees it officially resettles from Indonesia each year.
- Smugglers’ Paradise, Sarah Ferguson, ABC, 2010-08-02
- Top officials at the heart of refugee scam: Aussie report, Jakarta Globe, 2010-08-02
7. Indonesia: The deepening impasse in Papua, ICG, 2010-08-03
To move forward, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono needs personally to take the lead in recognising that autonomy means more than increased budgetary allocations or accelerated economic development. He needs to explore directly with credible Papuan leaders how political autonomy can be expanded; affirmative action policies strengthened in all sectors; and Papuan fears about in-migration addressed.
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Richard Tanter, Project co-ordinator