WA man confirmed as 12th Aussie
victim
17:17 AEDT Mon Jan 3 2005
The number of Australians for whom grave fears
are held following the tsunami disaster has been
cut from 107 to 79, Foreign Minister Alexander
Downer said.
The number of people who are unaccounted for in
tsunami-affected areas has also come down to 650
from about 1,000.
Mr Downer was speaking to reporters before he
and Australian Federal Police (AFP) commissioner
Mick Keelty head to Thailand to see first hand the
devastation from the Boxing Day tragedy.
Twelve Australians have been confirmed dead,
with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
(DFAT) confirming Jim Sparrow, of Perth, as the
12th Australian victim.
Mr Downer said DFAT staff been contacting
people who had reported family and friends
missing, and had been able to reduce the number of
people for whom serious concerns are held.
The 79 were known to be in areas hit by the
tsunami and remain missing, feared dead.
"It's good that some of the people for whom the
department was gravely concerned about have now
been found," Mr Downer said.
"That is encouraging, of course."
Mr Downer said he would talk to Indonesian
officials about the creation of a tsunami warning
system for the Indian Ocean.
Indonesia said it planned to set up an early
warning system, with the support of Thailand and
India.
Such a system already exists for the Pacific
Ocean.
Mr Downer said he was buoyed by the growing
support for an Indian Ocean warning system.
"What we're seeing now is all of the relevant
key countries of the region saying we have to have
some sort of tsunami warning system in the Indian
Ocean, just as we have ... in the Pacific," he
said.
"We are working with other countries in the
region to set up not just a detection centre in
one country, because some of the detection
technology may I think be available or can be
easily developed, but to make sure that it's
properly coordinated.
"It's going to be a big job, it's going to
require a multi-national effort."
Mr Downer, who will arrive in the Indonesian
capital Jakarta on Tuesday night after touring
Phuket in Thailand, said he was keen to discuss
the issue with Indonesian authorities.
"We've been doing some work to try to promote
and coordinate an approach as best we can and I'll
be talking with the Indonesians while I'm in
Jakarta about that," he said.
Mr Downer said Australia's aid contribution
would continue to grow, on top of direct financial
assistance and the deployment of staff and
experts.
"Just in terms of the provision of the aid from
our aid budget, that figure stands at $60 million
and we've said that won't be the end of it. We
will be prepared to do considerably more over
time," he said.
He said there would be a long term demand for
help from Australia and other countries.
"Frankly the reconstruction of communities in
Indonesia and Sri Lanka, as well as Thailand and
India, is going to take years, it's not going to
take months," he said.
"There will need to be a continuing program of
support from the international community."
Mr Downer refused to comment on suggestions
Australia could boost its aid to those areas hit
by the tsunami to $500 million.
©AAP
2005
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