Australia and Indonesia improve immigration cooperation
Thursday 13 November 2008
The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans, today met His Excellency, Mr Andi Mattalatta, Minister of Law and Human Rights, Republic of Indonesia in Canberra to discuss the ongoing cooperation on immigration matters between the two countries.
Minister Mattalatta is in Australia as a guest of the Australian Government following the Australia-Indonesia Ministerial Forum.
Senator Evans and Minister Mattalatta agreed to renew and intensify the cooperation between the two countries, in particular in relation to efforts to deter people smuggling.
'There is continued enthusiasm for Australia and Indonesia to continue to work cooperatively to combat the people smuggling threat,' Senator Evans said.
'This has been clearly demonstrated through the prevention of several recent people smuggling attempts in Indonesia.
'The Australian Government is looking to build on the cooperation between the two countries with range of new regional initiatives that I discussed with Mr Mattalatta today.'
The new measures include:
- An additional $7.9 million to further develop the border movement alert system (CEKAL) in Indonesia to enable more reliable detection of people of concern and assist in preventing people smuggling and irregular migration.
- A highly detailed analysis of people smuggling and the movement of people in and towards South East Asia to better address the issue and its impact on Australia and the region.
- Further funding and support for the Bali Process for people smuggling initiatives.
There is also an English language training program and masters-level scholarships for Indonesian immigration officers in Australia, and technical cooperation and exchanges.
Senator Evans thanked the Indonesian Government for its ongoing cooperation in preventing the irregular movement of people in the region, while facilitating the safe and secure movement of lawful travellers.
The Australia-Indonesia Ministerial Forum yesterday reaffirmed Australia’s and Indonesia’s commitment to working together under the Lombok Treaty in the area of law enforcement cooperation, in particular in relation to people smuggling and trafficking in persons.
URL: http://www.minister.immi.gov.au
/media/media-releases/2008/ce08107.htm
Last update: 13 November 2008 at 17:56 AEST