Senator BROWN —My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Foreign Affairs, following the SBS TV Dateline program last week and a report by Anthony Balmain in both the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age which says, amongst other things, that the Australian government colluded with Indonesian and other governments to fraudulently deny the people of West Papua an act of choice on the basis of one person, one vote. The government at that time, in 1969, held a number of documents which showed the process to be fraudulent. Will the government undertake an independent inquiry into these extraordinarily important and damning documents? If it will not do an independent one, will it support a parliamentary inquiry to the same end and a review of the United Nations decision to accept that fraudulent process of imposing military rule on West Papua?

Senator HILL (Environment and Heritage) —The 1969 act of free choice was accepted by the United Nations. Australia and all other members of the UN in 1969 accepted the result and Australia recognises Irian Jaya as part of Indonesia. In our view, it is not for the present government to comment on or explain the policies of the then Australian government, the United Nations and the international community in relation to Irian Jaya, which were made in the context of international support for completing the process of Indonesia's decolonisation from Dutch rule. Of course we strongly encourage Indonesia to ensure that international human rights standards are maintained in Irian Jaya and that grievances are redressed through dialogue and consultation.

Senator BROWN —Madam President, I ask a supplementary question. The question is whether the minister is acquainted with a UN document, available to the Australian government before the 1969 so-called act of free choice which was nothing of the sort, which commented that personal political views of the UN team were that 95 per cent of the Irianese, that is the West Papuans, supported the independence movement and that the act of free choice was a mockery. I ask: how can this government live with an act that was a mockery, that is now known to be a mockery and which keeps civil rights and freedoms denied to two million people, our close neighbours to the north of this country?

Senator HILL (Environment and Heritage) —I know of the public suggestions and the references to which Senator Brown is referring. However, it remains the position of our government anyway that it is not appropriate for us to seek to explain the decisions of a government some 30 years ago. The important issue now is how to go forward, and the Australian government takes the view that Irian Jaya is part of Indonesia and that we should work with Indonesia to do our best to ensure the maintenance of high human rights standards and the sorts of values that we believe to be important. To seek to reconstruct the past we do not think could serve any positive or useful purpose for the people of Irian Jaya or anybody else.