Mr GEORGIOU (2:24 PM) —My question is addressed to the Prime Minister. Would the Prime Minister outline to the House the government's response to the bombing last week of the Marriott Hotel in Jakarta?

Mr HOWARD (Prime Minister) —I thank the member for Kooyong. I know that all members of the House would have been distressed at the bombing outside the Marriott Hotel in Jakarta last week. I took the opportunity the following day to speak to President Megawati to convey, on behalf of all Australians, not only our condolences at the loss of life but also the renewed determination and willingness of the Australian government and the Australian people to work as closely as possible with the government and the people of Indonesia to strengthen the joint effort to oppose terrorism in our region. I am happy to say that not only were there officers of the Australian Federal Police on the ground in Jakarta ready to offer assistance but we were able to send additional police officers the following day, particularly police officers very skilled in crime scene investigation work. The AFP continues to work very closely with the Indonesian police and a specialist team has already started forensic work at the bomb site.

It should be remembered by all members of this House that the overwhelming majority of those who died in this atrocity were Indonesian citizens and people of the Islamic faith. It totally repudiates the obscene claim made by the terrorists that, in launching terrorist attacks, they are avenging their Muslim brothers. In reality on this occasion, as on so many occasions, they have not avenged their Muslim brothers; they have killed their Muslim brothers and sisters. It is a reminder that terrorism is as repugnant to the basic tenets and instincts of Islam as it is to the instincts of Christianity and Judaism and, indeed, to the civilised values of people who hold no particular religious belief. It continues therefore to unite all of us in a common moral crusade against terrorism and that crusade has to be backed with strong cooperative action. It has to be backed with continued strong support for our intelligence agencies and cooperative action between the agencies of the countries in our region. Intelligence and information sharing are crucial and Australia's network of bilateral memoranda of understanding on counter-terrorism attests to this.

The foreign minister is already working with Indonesia to arrange a regional ministerial conference on these matters, and I will have the opportunity of discussing these issues not only at the Pacific Island Forum later this week but also at the APEC leaders meeting in Thailand in October. The attack in Indonesia last week reminds us that terrorism is very much a grim reality of modern life. The fight against terrorism will go on for years, and it will require not only the combined cooperation and commitment of the agencies of our nation but also the cooperative efforts of the agencies of our nation and many others in our region.