The Foreign Minister of New Zealand, Don McKinnon, met with the United Nations Secretary-General in February and I know East Timor was high on his list of topics for discussion with Kofi Annan, and he was also going to talk to Madeleine Albright about East Timor. Australia's role in direct poverty alleviation inside East Timor can still be positive. There is a complete myth about development propagated by the Indonesian government and some sections of the Australian government and media. In reality, the balance of the 21 years of Indonesian rule, leaving aside the 250,000 dead, is extraordinarily negative. East Timor has the highest infant mortality rate in Indonesia.
Poverty is the highest.
Unemployment is highest among the young people whom they have supposed to have educated, and our land has been taken over by trans-migrants from other parts of Indonesia. Australia has made a reasonably positive contribution through AusAID in East Timor. The fact that they have an East Timorese as the local representative of AusAID, Florentino Sarmento, someone with credibility, respect for everybody is a very good thing. Australia could step up its effort in having Australian non-government organisations carrying out some of the projects because they have better experience, knowledge and credibility with the East Timorese people. Having more Australian non-government organisations in East Timor would function as a restraint on the Indonesian authorities abusing human rights.