TV Interview - Sky News

E&OE TRANSCRIPT 
SKY NEWS AUSTRALIA         
NEWSDAY
FRIDAY, 20 SEPTEMBER 2024

SUBJECTS: 25th Anniversary of Australian Service in Timor-Leste; Melbourne Protests.

HOST, CHENG LEI: Australia is set to mark 25 years since troops were deployed to East Timor. The ADF helped bring peace and security to the fledgling country after the Timorese moved towards independence from Indonesia in 1999. Joining me live is Minister for Defence Personnel and Veterans' Affairs, Matt Keogh. Hi there, Minister Keogh, great to have you with us. So what are your reflections on this day?

MINISTER FOR VETERANS’ AFFAIRS AND DEFENCE PERSONNEL, MATT KEOGH: Good morning. Well, I think, you know, commemorating 25 years of not just INTERFET, but the United Nations missions that followed it are about recognising the Australian Defence Force personnel, but also the Australian Federal Police personnel, firstly, that lost their lives, those that were injured through their actions, but also the significant work and contribution that Australia made to East Timor's independence, being able to bring peace and stability after their referendum on independence to a fledgling nation so that they could stand on their own two feet. Australia has been with East Timor along that whole journey over the last 25 years, and it's important to take stock and to take time to commemorate those that have served, but also our enduring friendship with East Timor.

LEI: What do you think has changed in our relationship with East Timor and also in how people see the ADF?

MINISTER KEOGH: So I think over those 25 years, there's been a number of missions. The first Australian led, the others led by the United Nations, but then also humanitarian effort, and most recently with the 2021 floods through Dili. But I think the relationship with the Australian Defence Force from the Timorese started in a positive way and has continued to be positive. One of the things I was able to see firsthand when I was in Dili last week for the commemorations held in Timor-Leste, was the number of Australian Defence Force veterans who regularly visit East Timor today and are engaged with community organisations, supporting schools, supporting charities, working not just in Dili, but I throughout the highlands of Timor Leste, and continue to be involved in supporting the community, the people in that country, from the bonds that they formed some 25 years ago.

LEI: Do you think the perception of the importance of Defence has been eroded in past years due to the culture wars?

MINISTER KEOGH: I think what we've seen over the last few years in Timor-Leste is both the continuing engagement of veterans involved in supporting the Timor-Leste community in a wide variety of ways, but also the work that the Australian Defence Force has been doing in partnership with the Defence Force of Timor-Leste, helping to grow their capability, helping them to grow in what they are able to achieve and to do, not just in Timor-Leste, but I also. We're now seeing Timor Leste participate in its own right in other peacekeeping operations around the world, and we're very happy to support them in that work.

LEI: But just last week we saw those massive protests outside the Defence expo in Melbourne and also the doctored audio of, you know, ADF staff by the ABC. And just this cloud of doubt around joining Defence Forces and western democracies are having this problem all over the place with recruiting and retaining people.

MINISTER KEOGH: Certainly Australia is no orphan when we look at our partner countries, when it comes to difficulties with recruiting to our Defence Force, I'm very happy to say that we've now returned our retention rate to its long term average, which is a good sign. It means that the efforts we've been taking when it comes to retention are paying dividends. The protests at Land Forces. There's protests at Land Forces Conference every time it's held, no matter what city it's held in around Australia. And that's a key part of some of these activities that we see, and that's not unique to Australia either. But we continue to do the work that's necessary to not just retain people in our Defence Force, but also to grow the Defence Force, given the geostrategic circumstances. Given the geostrategic circumstances that we find ourselves in, which are about as uncertain as the wind is here on Anzac Parade in Canberra.

LEI: Ok, thank you so much for that. On that note, thank you so much for Matt Keogh, Minister for Defence Personnel and Veterans' Affairs.

END
 

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