Mr LLOYD (2:27 PM) —My question is addressed to the Attorney-General. Would the Attorney inform the House of the most recent progress in investigating those responsible for the Bali attacks?

Mr WILLIAMS (Attorney-General) —I thank the member for Robertson for his question. The House is aware that Australia is working closely with the Indonesian authorities to both identify the victims of the atrocity and hunt down those responsible. As the foreign minister has just indicated, on Friday, 18 October the Australian Federal Police and the Indonesian National Police signed an agreement to form a joint Australia-Indonesia police investigation team into the Bali attacks. This followed meetings between the foreign minister and the justice minister and President Megawati Sukarnoputri and members of her ministry last week.

The agreement gives the AFP equal partnership in the conduct of the investigation and builds on the already strong relationship between investigators in the two countries. It allows for things such as security of the crime scene and the taking of evidence. In addition, a decision has been made to immediately enhance the ASIO presence in Indonesia.

Within 24 hours of the tragedy occurring, a multidisciplined team from Australia was on site in Bali. The AFP is actually highly experienced in complex murder and war crimes investigations and it has a mandate to investigate criminal terrorist acts. It has the experience and the ability to undertake this complex investigation.

I am informed by the AFP that there are currently more than 100 Australian law enforcement, intelligence officers and specialists working in the team in Bali, including about 50 involved in identification of victims. This figure is fluid and will continue to change to meet operational requirements. So we now have a highly experienced multinational forensic and investigative team assembled in Bali, specialising in investigations, intelligence, explosives and disaster victim identification. The team includes specialists from another 10 countries who are assisting with investigations, intelligence, explosives and disaster victim identification. Some of those have actually had experience at the World Trade Centre and other sites of terrorist attack.

The joint Indonesia-Australia police investigation team is continuing to work closely to determine what happened in Bali and who is responsible for the attack. I have been advised by the AFP that the crime scene is still closed and that the forensic team will be consulted before it is either partially or completely reopened. Despite initial concerns about the time it took to close the crime scene, it is yielding a considerable amount of valuable evidence, and the investigative teams in Bali and Australia are following up on a number of inquiries.

While the forensic examination of the scene is ongoing, it is at this stage too early to confirm the type and number of devices used. The AFP have advised, however, that preliminary evidence suggests that two devices exploded at Paddy's Bar and the Sari Club at around 11.15 p.m. Bali time. The suggestion of further explosive devices is still being examined. The Australia-Indonesia police investigation team is treating this line of inquiry as a priority, with a thorough forensic examination expected to provide answers as it painstakingly pieces together the complex circumstances. The team is developing three-dimensional imagery of the crime scene to assist investigators in re-creating the tragic events.

In addition to the crime scene investigations, a large volume of information has been received and is being processed in Australia, with witness accounts of the night providing a number of very useful leads. The number of questionnaire responses received from passengers returning to Australia now exceeds 6,000. Our investigation team reports that those questionnaires and interviews conducted to date have been extremely beneficial, with around 450 detailed witness statements to be taken. There are still approximately 100 potential witnesses in hospitals or not in a condition to be spoken to at this stage. I am advised also that it has been established that approximately 200 people were treated by Australian Defence Force personnel in Bali and discharged. The AFP has now obtained the details for these people, and they are to be traced internationally and interviewed regarding evidence that they may have.

In Australia, the investigation currently involves more than 400 AFP personnel. In addition, the AFP's international network is working with overseas partners to gather evidence. Again, these numbers are fluid and are likely to grow as avenues of inquiry are pursued here and abroad. As the foreign minister said, Australia continues to work very closely and cooperatively with Indonesia and with other countries to hunt down those responsible for this atrocity. We are determined that they will be brought to justice.