Minister for Home Affairs

Media Conference - Farewelling AFP Deployment to Afganistan

28 April 2010

Minister Brendan O’Connor, Commissioner Tony Negus and Assistant Commissioner Frank Prendergast

House of Representatives alcove, Level 2
Parliament House, Canberra

Subject: AFP Deployment to Afghanistan

QUESTION: This, I presume is entirely a voluntary exercise is it [indistinct] volunteers to go?

TONY NEGUS: Yes it is and in fact for about six positions we had over 600 applicants within the AFP who were quite prepared and willing to go and do this. They see it as very exciting, very challenging and very worthwhile work.

QUESTION: There's certainly a new series on [indistinct] and developing theories are to get right in among the people to try to win over the people and that obviously involves a level of exposure by [indistinct].

In the work that these men are going to be doing, do you see them operating cheaply inside the wire in their training or out in communities, you know, on the ground [indistinct]?

TONY NEGUS: The role of these members who will perform and the other people we have in Afghanistan is very much that training the Afghan National Police from the ground up. To start with, that will involved inside the wire training at Tarin Kowt, at the training centre, and they won't be outside in the broader communities at this stage.

QUESTION: [Inaudible]…within the Afghan National Police force?

TONY NEGUS: Well as I've said earlier, we've trained around 500 staff so far and those early training initiatives look positive, but there is a lot of work still yet to do and we're starting from a relatively low base, levels of education, levels of police proficiency over there aren't particularly what you'd expect them in a developed country, so at the moment we're actually starting and looking at the basics of policing and working from there.

QUESTION: So commissioner, sorry, does that mean that they're not allowed to travel outside the wire of Tarin Kowt base at all? That's part of the rules of engagement [inaudible]?

TONY NEGUS: Well the rules of engagement are that the work that they conduct will be within Tarin Kowt, yes. We work with the military over there, so we don't rule anything out and we don't necessarily give away all the details of the work we would do, but certainly their security is the paramount objective of the AFP in making sure that they're performing their duties in a safe way.

TONY NEGUS: Look, not as a matter of course, no, but we don't as I said rule anything out, and we're continuing to work on what the next phase of this training development will need to be.

QUESTION: Minister, are you seeing improvements in the police? The Afghan police are traditionally notoriously corrupt in the field. [Indistinct]…

TONY NEGUS: Well as I said, we're starting from a relatively low base. We've trained 500 officers so far. This will involve ongoing mentoring as well as the initial training. And as I said, look, we have to start from the ground up with the Afghan National Police.

They're showing a willingness to participate in the training and to listen to what we've got to say, so we think it's an important component of building a civilian platform that can actually sustain the country going forward.

Or is it just a case of there you go.

What we have done in the past is have them come back to the training centre, and actually - and measure, work through briefs of evidence with them and help them in their ongoing development. But as I said at the moment our activities are contained to within the provincial training centre at Tarin Kowt.

And therefore we are not out in the field with them undertaking investigations on a day to day basis.

And again that is a significant part of what we do in collecting criminal intelligence through Afghanistan, and working with the local police to counter that narcotic trafficking.

QUESTION: Does it limit the ability of these officers to mentor and train if they can't actually go out to, out on jobs with the Afghan National Police?

TONY NEGUS: Look, ideally, mentoring and capacity building is done in the field, but we have to be realistic about the security situation here. The primary objective of the AFP is to provide the training in a safe environment for our own members, and we'll continue to reassess that, and as conditions improve, we haven't ruled out looking at different ways of actually conducting that training. But at the moment, the security environment is just not such that we could be with them in the field.

QUESTION: Given that low basis you talked about, what kind of commitment in terms of [indistinct]?

TONY NEGUS: Look, that's very difficult to assess. The government's committed for another two years in funding for that, and again we'll continue to look at how things develop in Afghanistan.

QUESTION: Minister, could I ask you a question. You said it just before in your formal address, that the aim is to have a transition to Afghan authorities as soon as conditions allow. If the conditions are such that these trainers are unlikely to be able to go outside of the wire because of security issues, it's going to be a long time is it not?

But we'll assess and monitor the capacity for the Afghan Government to take over further - take further responsibility, take greater sovereignty, if you like, as we go forward. And that will be - and we'll assess that properly and respond accordingly.

QUESTION: But you addressed the Australian people on this matter, will it be false to give them a false expectation that this is going to be up and down, wrapped up, that this is - progress is happening at such a pace that we can step back from it, you know, in a matter of months or a year or two.

BRENDAN O'CONNOR: We've made a commitment in relation to the AFP's role for two years, and will be upfront with the Australian people about any changes that occur in Afghanistan.

But of course, we do hold hope to have the transition to the Afghan people, the responsibility to govern their own country, as quickly as possible. But we have to be realistic - and that has to be based on facts. But that is our ultimate goal - in relation to this matter.

QUESTION: And you think that conditions have been made more difficult by the lack of legitimacy that's now attached to the presidency of Hamid Karzai, that… claims that he defrauded, engaged in defrauding the last election, suggestions he was erratic - at worst, that this is, makes it harder to get that political legitimacy [indistinct]…

BRENDAN O'CONNOR: I think there are challenges in Afghanistan. We recently witnessed the President of the United States raise such issues with the President of Afghanistan, and indeed we need to continue to assess those challenges, but ultimately, as I said earlier, it's important that we do not allow this country to become a haven again for terrorists so they can launch attacks on us or our friends.

And that's why it's critical that the Australian Defence Force and the Australian Federal Police and other Australian agencies, along with the international coalition, do their very best to win the war and secure the peace.

QUESTION: Commissioner, just changing subjects very briefly. Can you tell us what progress the AFP has made in the hunt for [indistinct], whose been on the run now for about a month. And do your investigators believe that he's still in the country? Or are there concerns that he may have skipped the country?

TONY NEGUS: Yeah, Paul, as you can appreciate, that's an ongoing investigation. I really wouldn't like to comment on any progress or otherwise we've made. He is still at large. We are still continuing investigations into his location. But again - I wouldn't like to discuss in any detail where that's got to.

QUESTION: Minister, is the - according to police, are they on the same terms and conditions comparable to members of the Defence Force?

BRENDAN O'CONNOR: I might ask the Commissioner to answer that if it's… or Frank Prendergast.

FRANK PRENDERGAST: Thank you. The deployed police are on terms and conditions which are comparable to other Australian police deployed overseas. It's part of a special determination in relation to overseas' service.

As to its parity with Defence Force, I can't speak authoritatively on that.

But I would say the roles are different. The expectations of the members are different, and the type of people we're deploying, the terms they're deploying on are different.

QUESTION: Minister. If you say that the conditions in Afghanistan are still problematic, then why are Visa applications from asylum seekers coming from Afghanistan being delayed?

BRENDAN O'CONNOR: We made a decision on 9 April to suspend the review of asylum claims for six months in relation to the Afghani asylum seekers on the basis of advice - and the fact is there are issues that need to be considered in relation to Afghanistan.

In determining whether someone has a genuine claim for asylum we need to consider whether they have a well-founded fear of persecution. That of course is a different standard, a different test to the one that we might apply to certain parts of Afghanistan.

But this is something we are considering, and we will make a determination anytime between now and up to six months.

QUESTION: Could people acting out of humanitarian motives be caught up with the proposed anti-people smuggling laws?

BRENDAN O'CONNOR: The Anti-People Smuggling and Other Measures bill is an important bill. It is intended to deter people from providing material support to people smuggling activities.

Let's remember that organised syndicates are involved in exploiting people who are in some cases desperate. They are looking to rob them of their life savings, place them on dangerous boats - many - some of which sink. We need to make sure we do everything we can to dismantle organised syndicates in transit countries, and we're doing that in the case of Indonesia with the help of the Indonesian National Police.

We have to ensure we deter people from providing material support. That's the intent of the legislation. We know money is the lifeblood of organised crime - whether it be people smuggling or other forms of organised crime.

And if we can cut the flow of money we can certainly cripple the criminal syndicates that are involved in what is a pernicious activity.

QUESTION: Minister, is it [indistinct] say whether or not you knew these arrangements had any impact on [indistinct]?

BRENDAN O'CONNOR: I think the Minister for Immigration made clear, it is too early to make a full assessment. The Minister for Immigration also made clear at the time of the announcement that we didn't expect to see the end of the vessels that might arrive in our waters. But you know, we're monitoring the situation and we believe it was the right decision to make, and we will assess the effect of the decision when we're in a position to properly consider all of the information we have at this point - though it is too early to make a - to draw a conclusion as a result of the announcement.

QUESTION: Commissioner Negus, are Federal Police involved in any way in the Melbourne Storm fraud investigation?

TONY NEGUS: No, not at this time, we're not involved, no.

BRENDAN O'CONNOR: Thank you ladies and gentlemen.

END

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