But the episode brings no credit to the Foreign Affairs Department. It clearly knew when and where the Indonesians would attack, and that Australians were regarded with hostility. On the basis of this record, Foreign Affairs did nothing to ensure that Australian and other foreign aid workers and journalists were warned specifically of their peril. Overall, it is a sorry tale. The moral is not that Australia was wrong quarter of a century ago, or that it is wrong now, to seek a close, co-operative relationship with its largest neighbour, but that it should never be at the price of compromising fundamental national values and selling out a helpless people.
Old betrayals have a tendency to come back to bite the betrayers.
History is a cold judge. The Victoria Police has been severely tested by the anti-globalisation demonstrations in Melbourne. But in the first two days of the three-day World Economic Forum at the Crown Casino, the police have managed well. There has been violence. There have been some injuries, of demonstrators and police.