----- Original Message -----
From: Ture Sjolander
Sent: Wednesday, August 29, 2001 8:20 PM
Subject: URGENT ATTENTION: THE PRIME MINISTER !

 
----- Original Message -----
From: Ture Sjolander
Sent: Wednesday, August 29, 2001 7:45 PM
Subject: re phone conversation with you Townsville office 7:05 today

Dear Peter,
 
Give this thoughts I present you now your serious consideration.
 
I have been living for a period on Christmas Island. 1997 the  Island was visited by 6 MP's.  I meet them all . That time I suggested them a 3 point proposal which you will find on the Internet under Indonesian "Joint standing committee on treaties" at the Parliament House.
The reaction was very good and part of my proposal has been established on the Island. My speech are encl. see attachment.
What I like to tell you now is in my opinion of great importance.
 
Christmas Island population are mainly Islamic/Muslims,  and the rest of the population are Malay/Chinese,  all together approx. 80 %. The present  business on the Island today is very bad after even the Casino has failed. ("Suharto" owned anyhow when it was running)  The people on the Island need jobs obviously and to build one or even two detention center on Christmas Island would be a very good solution for many reason, not only for the refugees.
 
Every new refugee will be transported to Christmas Island the nearest future,  could be one solution. At least for a certain time...
 
As the Island is an Australian territory (of great strategic importance in the future) it would be natural to establish new detention center on the Island and the cost to build this centers,  has to be taken anyhow on the mainland of Australia, as it is proposed to be done.
 
I would like to develop this proposal to you through a phone conversation between us to start  with,  and I strongly believe you can gain from presenting it in your turn, to your fellow government colleges.
 
I hope you got an idea where I am aiming. But it is urgent as you will know from the  present situation "off shore", and the upcoming election !
 
Give me a call and let us elaborate on this issue I believe is a very constructive idea.
 
Give it a go, Peter.
 
Faithfully
 
Ture Sjolander
 

This is the html version of the file

 http://www.aph.gov.au/hansard/joint/commttee/j7026932.pdf.


Google automatically generates html versions of documents as we crawl the web.

Page 1

PROOF

COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA

JOINT STANDING COMMITTEE ON

TREATIES

Reference: Australia-Indonesia Maritime Delimitation Treaty

CHRISTMAS ISLAND

Thursday, 9 October 1997

PROOF HANSARD REPORT

CONDITIONS OF DISTRIBUTION

This is an uncorrected proof of evidence taken before the Committee

and it is made available under the condition that it is recognised as such


Page 2

CANBERRA

JOINT STANDING COMMITTEE ON TREATIES

Members:

Mr Taylor (Chairman)

Mr McClelland (Deputy Chairman)

Senator Abetz

Mr Adams

Senator Bourne

Mr Bartlett

Senator Coonan

Mr Laurie Ferguson

Senator Cooney

Mr Hardgrave

Senator Murphy

Ms Jeanes

Senator Neal

Mr Tony Smith

Senator O’Chee

Mr Truss

For inquiry into and report on:

Australia-Indonesia Maritime Delimitation Treaty.

CONDITIONS OF DISTRIBUTION

This is an uncorrected proof of evidence taken before the Committee and

it is made available under the condition that it is recognised as such


Page 3

WITNESSES

BARRY, Mr Julian Titus, Programs Director, Parks Australia (North), GPO

Box 1260, Darwin, Northern Territory 0801 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

DAWSON, Mr Russell Stephen, President, Christmas Island Chamber of

Commerce, PO Box 510, Christmas Island, Indian Ocean, Western

Australia 6798 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166

FERGUSON, Mr John, Christmas Island Resort, Christmas Island, Indian

Ocean, Western Australia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

HART, Mr Roger Ian, Project Officer, Parks Australia (North), PO Box ZZZ,

Christmas Island, Indian Ocean 6798 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

MABERLY, Mr Paul Anthony, Chief Executive Officer, Shire of Christmas

Island, PO Box 863, Christmas Island, Indian Ocean 6798 . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

MABERLY, Mr Paul Anthony, Chief Executive Officer, Shire of Christmas

Island, PO Box 863, Christmas Island, Indian Ocean, Western Australia

6798 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188

MEEK, Mr Paul Douglas, Natural Resources Manager, Environment

Australia, Parks Australia (North), PO Box ZZZ, Christmas Island,

Indian Ocean 6798 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

MOCKERIDGE, Mr Anthony Jeffrey, Acting General Secretary, Union of

Christmas Island Workers, Poon Saan Road, Poon Saan, Christmas

Island, Indian Ocean 6798 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

MURRAY, Mr David John, Government Conservator, Parks Australia

(North), PO Box ZZZ, Christmas Island, Indian Ocean 6798 . . . . . . . . . . 155

RUMPFF, Dr Holger Julius, Project Officer, Natural Resources Department,

Environment Australia, Biodiversity Group, Parks Australia (North),

PO Box ZZZ, Christmas Island, Indian Ocean 6798 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

SJOLANDER, Mr Ture, PO Box 481, Christmas Island, Western Australia

6798 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184

SMOLDERS, Mr Andrew Godefridus, Shire President, Shire of Christmas

Island, PO Box 104, Christmas Island, Indian Ocean 6798 . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

SPENCE, Superintendent Philip Martin, Officer in Charge, Australian Federal

Police, Christmas Island, Indian Ocean 6798 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

WALLEY, Dr Allan Stephen, Box HHH, Christmas Island, Indian Ocean,

Western Australia 6798 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180


Page 4

JOINT STANDING COMMITTEE ON TREATIES

Australia-Indonesia Maritime Delimitation Treaty

CHRISTMAS ISLAND

Thursday, 9 October 1997

Present

Mr Taylor (Chairman)

Senator Coonan

Mr Adams

Mr Hardgrave

Mr Tony Smith

The committee met at 2.19 p.m.

Mr Taylor took the chair.

133


Page 5


Page 55

TR 184

JOINT

Thursday, 9 October 1997

[5.04 p.m.]

SJOLANDER, Mr Ture, PO Box 481, Christmas Island, Western Australia 6798

CHAIRMAN:  

Welcome. In what capacity are you appearing before the committee?

 

Mr Sjolander, I am a Swedish citizen, but I have been a resident of Australia for a decade. I came over here in December 1996. In January I was invited to the final negotiation in Woolloomooloo, Sydney, on a Swedish warship. It was a competition between Siemens Germany and Sweden's Kockums to build submarines. Some of them are built now.

I suggested at that time, because it was a hard competition, one should make it a joint operation, a joint venture. That is what happened and they were built in Adelaide, not at Kockums, because there were a lot of incidents during that time on the coastline in Sweden with the Soviet Union, or whatever it was.

After 14 days I am in a new residence on the island. I have seen what you have seen: you are accommodated in the laundry on the other side of the island, and now you have seen this, dust machine, on this side of the island and all the asbestos and the

species called human beings. they are as threatened as birds, or whatever, as far as I can see. This is the most neglected Australian super potential I have seen during my 10 years in this country: on my flight in, I saw a pearl in the ocean.

Yesterday I wrote something for myself after 14 days observation, day and night, I would say, and my conclusion yesterday was to make some kinds of proposals to you.

You are all members of the parliament and, firstly, to make it short, we could build a submarine underground harbour here. I do not think that I have to promote that more because you have already emphasised the strategic importance of this island.

Secondly, we could investigate the feasibility of inviting James Cook University, which is very good in marine science, and the Australian Institute of Marine Science in Cleveland Bay to come over here for a symposium and we could make that a first research station for scientists in residence here. That could be a very good combination of investigating the water around here and, if I go back to point 1 again, even if a submarine underground harbour is not built here, it could be a very good argument or motivation to publish it with regard to this treaty with Indonesia.

Thirdly, I think that this is a very good place to link the international program of space with an observatory. All three of these three activities are very clean and none of them seem to be environmentally problematic at all, and they could create a hell of a lot of good jobs here on the island. It would not just be this dust producing hellhole and a money laundering machine, as I can see it.

What I say could also give a better future for tourism, and livinstandards; and, probably, the environment on this island should be much better, too. Fourthly, why not open up with a symposium on this island and invite all these people? Maybe the host could be a national park.

That is all I want to say.

CHAIRMAN,

Thank you.

TREATIES



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