Crisis PoliCymaking Crisis PoliCymaking australia and the east timor Crisis of 1999 DaviD Connery THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY E P R E S S E P R E S S Published by ANU E Press The Australian National University Canberra ACT 0200, Australia Email: [email protected] This title is also available online at: http://epress.anu.edu.au/policymaking_citation.html National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Author: Connery, David. Title: Crisis policymaking [electronic resource] : Australia and the East Timor crisis of 1999 / David Connery. ISBN: 9781921666568 (pbk.) 9781921666575 (eBook : pdf) Series: Canberra papers on strategy and defence ; no. 176. Notes: Includes bibliographical references. Subjects: Australia--Politics and government. Australia--Foreign relations--Timor-Leste. Timor-Leste--Foreign relations--Australia. Dewey Number: 320.60994 All rights reserved. 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Strategic and Defence Studies Centre Publications Program Advisory Review Panel: Emeritus Professor Paul Dibb; Professor Desmond Ball; Professor David Horner; Professor Hugh White; Professor William Tow; Professor Anthony Milner; Professor Virginia Hooker; Dr Coral Bell; Dr Pauline Kerr. Strategic and Defence Studies Centre Publications Program Editorial Board: Professor Hugh White; Dr Brendan Taylor; Dr Christian Enemark. Layout by ANU E Press Cover image: David Foote-AUSPIC Printed by Griffin Press This edition © 2010 ANU E Press Contents Abstract vii Acronyms and Abbreviations ix Bureaucratic Classifications xi Acknowledgement xiii Chapter 1: Australian Policymaking and the East Timor Crisis 1 An Under-Explored Topic . 1 Policymaking and the Policy Cycle . 2 Sources . 4 Australia’s National Security Policymaking System in 1999 . 6 Chapter 2: A Brief Outline of the East Timor Crisis: The View from Canberra 17 ‘This is big’ . 17 Organising for the Consultation . 29 Chapter 3: Initiating the Policy Cycle 41 Issue Identification . 41 Policy Analysis . 56 Policy Instruments . 71 Chapter 4: Bringing Policy Advice Together 83 Consultation . 83 Coordination . 98 v Chapter 5: Decision and Beyond 113 Decision . 113 Implementation . 121 Evaluation . 130 Chapter 6: Conclusion: East Timor and the Characteristics of Crisis Policymaking 137 Influence of the East Timor Crisis . 137 The Characteristics of Crisis Policymaking . 140 Appendix 147 Bibliography 151 About the Author 177 vi Abstract The events in East Timor and Canberra during 1998 and 1999 provide the focus for this study of Australian Government policymaking in national security crises. The research for this study builds on a range of published government, media and academic sources, and interviews with nearly sixty Australian political leaders, public service officals and military officers. These interviews provide a deep and broad look at the Australian Government, from the top- level National Security Committee down to desk officers within the major departments of state. The subsequent examination of this evidence shows how the Australian Government operated during this crisis, as well as the broader impact of this crisis upon Australian policy. The study uses a policy cycle as an organisational and structural heuristic to examine this inherently messy process. Five essential characteristics of Australian policymaking in national security crises provide this work’s key finding. These characteristics can be summarised as a dominant executive, collegiality, a closed and secretive system, an essential role for external actors, and complex and complicated implementation. vii Acronyms and Abbreviations AEC Australian Electoral Commission ADF Australian Defence Force AFP Australian Federal Police ALP Australian Labor Party ANAO ustralian National Audit Office ANZUS Australian, New Zealand and United States Security Treaty APEC Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations ASIO Australian Security Intelligence Organisation ASIS Australian Secret Intelligence Service AusAID Australian International Aid Agency CDF Chief of the Defence Force COMAST Commander Australian Theatre DEP SEC S&I Deputy Secretary Strategy and Intelligence DFAT Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade DGET Director General East Timor DG ONA Director General of the Office of National Assessments DIO Defence Intelligence Organisation DDIO Director of the Defence Intelligence Organisation DOFA Department of Finance and Administration DPA Department of Political Affairs (United Nations) DPKO Department of Peace Keeping Operations (United Nations) DPM&C Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet ix Crisis Policymaking: Australia and the East Timor Crisis of 1999 DSD Defence Signals Directorate ETTF East Timor Task Force ETPU East Timor Policy Unit FADTRC Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee IDC Interdepartmental committee IMF International Monetary Fund INTERFET International Force in East Timor (UN abbreviation) KOPASSUS Komando Pasukan Khusus (Indonesian Special Forces Command) NGO Non-governmental organisation NSCC National Security Committee of Cabinet ONA Office of National Assessments SCG Strategic Command Group SCNS Secretaries Committee on National Security SES Senior Executive Service SPCG Strategic Policy Coordination Group TNI Tentara Nasional Indonesia (the Indonesian Army) UNAMET United Nations Mission in East Timor (11 June–25 October 1999) UNTAET United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (25 October 1999–20 May 2002) USPACOM US Pacific Command VCDF Vice Chief of the Defence Force x Bureaucratic Classifications In Australia, the Secretary is a department’s senior official. The Secretary is responsible for all aspects of the department’s performance and provides policy advice to the responsible minister of state. The Secretary is usually a career public servant, not a political appointee in the American sense. The equivalents in the Office of National Assessments (ONA), Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) and Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) are called ‘Director General’. The Department of Defence is a ‘diarchy’ where the Secretary and Chief of Defence Force (a General or equivalent) have separate responsibilities, but are jointly responsible to the Minister of Defence. The classifications below the Secretary in most departments are (compared to equivalent Australian Army officer ranks): • Deputy Secretary (Army equivalent: Lieutenant General) • First Assistant Secretary (Army equivalent: Major General) • Assistant Secretary (Army equivalent: Brigadier) • Director (Army equivalent: Colonel) • Deputy Director/Assistant Director (Army equivalent: Lieutenant Colonel) • Policy Officer (Army equivalent: Captain or Major) xi Acknowledgement While the responsibility for this work is mine, a number of people contributed in different ways. Firstly, I wish to acknowledge the people who brought independence to Timor-Leste: Timorese, Australian, Indonesian and others. Their sacrifice and contribution is a reminder of the human face of conflict and the imperative behind work such as this. My thanks also go to five other groups of people: my family, Jane, Georgia and Annabelle; a wonderful group of academic mentors including my PhD supervisors—Ross Babbage, Alan Stephens and Ron Huisken—and others including Hugh White, Bob Breen, Paul ‘t Hart, Des Ball and Rob Ayson; my wonderful friends and extended family; and my commanding officers and supervisors who encouraged me to continue studying and supported me through my studies and career. Thanks to for the editorial support from Scott Hopkins, Meredith Thatcher and Greg at Qote! xiii Chapter 1 Australian Policymaking and the East Timor Crisis An Under-Explored Topic The East Timor Crisis of 1999 has received considerable attention in Australia. This attention has included accounts of the events and the military operations that year, especially those involving the International Force East Timor (INTERFET).1 There have been some descriptions and analysis of how Australia’s actions in this crisis affected its regional standing,2 and one paper about how the crisis was managed between Washington and Canberra.3 There have been numerous books about the rights and wrongs of Australian policy,4 and a short but sharp critique by William Maley which focused on the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).5 Unusually, DFAT also produced a book outlining its involvement in this crisis after only two years had passed.6 However, as James 1 A comprehensive account of the events of 1999 is presented in Don Greenless and Robert Garran, Deliverance: The Inside Story of East Timor’s Fight for Freedom, Allen and Unwin, Crows Nest, NSW, 2002. Other major works include Alan Ryan, Primary responsibilities