Mr MOSSFIELD (5:24 PM) —I rise to support the remarks of the Leader of the Opposition and other Labor Party speakers who have indicated our support for the Australian Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands. This intervention force is led by the Australian Federal Police, the military and Protective Service personnel. As the Leader of the Opposition says, it meets all the criteria that Labor believe to be necessary for an effective and legitimate Australian commitment to a peacekeeping effort in the Solomon Islands.

Australians have read with concern and seen on TV screens that lawless gangs have virtually taken control of Solomon Islands and turned ethnic disagreement into a reason for armed attacks on innocent civilians. If we are able to provide military personnel to conflicts in far-off Iraq and Afghanistan, it is only fair that we come to the assistance of our near Pacific neighbours when specifically requested to by their elected governments. It is also only fair that we provide security as well as social and economic assistance to small Pacific states such as the Solomon Islands which provided a blanket of protection to Australians in the Second World War and which, since that time, have been locations for outgoing tourism. I have had the pleasure of visiting a number of our Pacific neighbours, such as Vanuatu, Tuvalu, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Tonga and Kiribati. I notice that these states will be providing some peacekeeping forces to the Solomons. I have also had an overnight stop in Honiara. The other thing I should mention when talking about our assistance to these countries is that volunteers from Australia provide great assistance to these people, particularly in the medical field. Only a week or so ago, in my office, I presented certificates to a couple of people who were volunteering their services in Fiji.

In general, people from these regions are peace-loving, family-oriented people. Their relaxed culture centres on family, church, singing, dancing and, of course, sport, particularly rugby union. We are fortunate to have many of these communities living in Australia today. We are able to enjoy their culture, and their sporting skills strengthen our various sporting codes. But this unique Pacific culture can easily be destroyed by corruption, lawlessness, poverty and environmental damage. The Solomon Islands, which gained its independence in 1978, is facing numerous political and economic challenges. It has seen corruption, resource exploitation and economic stagnation. These pressures have led to ethnic disputes over land and jobs, resulting in violent clashes between ethnic groups, with casualties on both sides. The violence has been made possible in some cases by the use of a number of illegal weapons which have come from the long-festering conflict in nearby Bougainville. It is pleasing to see that, as a result of the intervention of our peacekeeping forces, many of these weapons are now being turned in and destroyed and one of the leading troublemakers, Harold Keke, has surrendered and is now in custody. It is reported that, when the gun ownership amnesty expires this Thursday, 21 August, some 950 guns and 17,000 rounds of ammunition will have been surrendered since the Australian troops arrived in the Solomons on 24 July. This is a pleasing result.

The Labor Party has urged a proactive role for Australia in the Solomon Islands. It did not agree with the government in 2001 when it held that the solution to the Solomon Islands' problems was home-grown. The member for Denison, in his contribution to this debate, pointed out that the Australian government should have acted earlier when the Solomon Islands situation was less serious than it later became. When an Australian delegation, led by the President of the Senate and including the member for Denison as deputy leader, visited the Solomon Islands in April 2000, the Prime Minister of that country at that time asked the delegation why the Australian government had not supported the Solomon Islands request for a Commonwealth intervention force of approximately 50 police to reinforce their local police force. At the time of this request, the elected government was still in office, key institutions of the administration were still functioning and the police force, with some difficulties, was still providing law enforcement in the capital, although, of course, it would have been greatly assisted by a further injection of police from neighbouring countries. Unfortunately, this request was not taken up by the Australian government. Only a short time later the country descended into anarchy, with the armed kidnap of the Prime Minister and his forced resignation. Many people died in the violence that followed.

The Labor Party saw, as outlined in the Leader of the Opposition's speech, that the problem of lawlessness in the Pacific islands was of great importance to Australia's long-term foreign policy interests. Indeed, the Labor Party created the position of the Minister for Pacific Island Affairs when it was in government. The Pacific islands are in our immediate geographical region and, while our trade, military and cultural ties are stronger elsewhere, we nevertheless have an obligation to engage in our region. The ALP has always recognised this.

The lawlessness in the South Pacific had the potential to create an environment where drug running, people-smuggling, money laundering and other transnational crimes could flourish. Of future concern in today's terror-charged climate is that terrorists themselves could use our Pacific neighbours as a stepping off point to attack targets in Australia. This would be more likely to happen in a country where law and order have broken down. That is why regional stability is so important and why this peacekeeping mission is supported by the Labor Party.

It is important for Australia and New Zealand to be seen as the goodwill leaders in the Pacific because this is our region of influence—not Iraq or Afghanistan. We are prepared to subject Australian taxpayers to finance our military operations in faraway lands, but we cannot afford to fuel up our own naval patrol boats in the Pacific so that they can fully patrol their area of responsibility. This is another fact that we were advised of during my two trips to the Pacific. In many cases, the patrol boats were tied up and limited in their operations because of the cost of fuel.

The other issue that I observed in my two trips to the Pacific is the growing influence of other nations, particularly China. This will grow if Australia and New Zealand leave a vacuum. There are considerable strategic, social, environmental and humanitarian reasons for accepting the Solomon Islands government's invitation to be part of a peacekeeping force, and it is good that the Australian parliament is able to accept this invitation in a bipartisan way. Quite clearly, the assistance to the Solomon Islands, subject to that government's request, needs to go beyond restoring law and order. Restoring the economic and commercial structures will also be important.

Earlier media reports have referred to the virtual collapse of the banking system in the Solomons. In an article in the Sydney Morning Herald in May this year by Tom Allard, it was reported that ANZ, Westpac, the National Bank of the Solomon Islands and the Solomon Islands Central Bank had closed their branches following visits from `well-known Solomon Islands enforcers' demanding to open an account. The ANZ spokesman is quoted in the Allard article as being `concerned that the request to open an account could serve two purposes—to provide the means to launder money or to encourage irate investors to besiege its premises demanding promised returns'.

The issue of Australia's responsibility under international law also needs to be examined concerning our involvement in the Solomons. The shadow minister, the member for Griffith, covered this point in his contribution in this debate. The Solomon Islands situation is that a sovereign government and the parliament of that country requested intervention, and therefore the doctrine of state sovereignty which forms the core of the UN charter is preserved. Also, the fact that the mission to the Solomons has been endorsed by the Pacific Islands Forum again reinforces the doctrine of state sovereignty. I believe that the Australian government should not simply stop at restoring law and order; we should offer the Solomon Islands assistance in restoring their domestic economy, which, because of the law and order problems, is on its knees. The CIA's World Factbook, which was updated on 1 August this year, states:

of the Solomon Islands—

The Australian government's natural desire to withdraw troops as soon as possible should be tempered by the need to work with the Solomon Islands authorities to restore the economic and civil infrastructure. It is highly likely that this will take more than just a few months. We have seen in Afghanistan and Iraq that winning the peace is a lot harder, in many cases, than winning the war.

We see in the Solomon Islands that the civil infrastructure has collapsed. There is a lack of confidence in the local law enforcement agencies and the judiciary. Politicians have been accused of corruption. There are disagreements on land rights and the rights of various tribes. The present government also needs to restore its authority. Now that we are there, Australia must ensure that we achieve for the people of the Solomon Islands a situation that will enable them to return to their relaxed, peaceful lifestyle. As a means of playing a greater role in the very difficult circumstances facing our Pacific neighbours, the federal government should consider reintroducing a minister with Pacific island responsibilities.

We have a responsibility to our region as well as to our allies elsewhere. The intervention force in the Solomon Islands, along with our troops in Bougainville and East Timor, are examples of the leadership role that we can and should be playing. I support the motion.