Her crew caused all of this , she should keep her mouth shut. I thought it was the end of that voice..
Tony Abbott should promise not to tap Indonesian president's phone in future, Julia Gillard says By Anna Henderson, Indonesia correspondent George Roberts, staff Updated 24 minutes ago
Former Labor prime minister Julia Gillard says Tony Abbott should promise not to tap the phone of the Indonesian president in the future.
In a wide-ranging interview with CNN, Julia Gillard was asked for her reaction to the diplomatic row which has been provoked by reports Australia has been spying on Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, his wife and inner circle.
The alleged activity took place in 2009 before Ms Gillard replaced Kevin Rudd as prime minister.
Ms Gillard says it is not appropriate for her to comment on intelligence questions, but she endorsed the way United States president Barack Obama handled similar allegations that the US was spying on the German chancellor Angela Merkel.
"If he (Mr Obama) had been aware he wouldn't have authorised it, and he could certainly say for the future that it wouldn't happen again," she told CNN.
"And I think that that's an appropriate response from Australia to Indonesia at this very difficult time."
Ms Gillard's comments follow similar remarks by former foreign minister Bob Carr.
She also suggested the Government should review what "checks and balances" are in place to ensure Australia's spying operations are appropriate.
Ms Gillard says all governments need to collect intelligence to help prevent terrorist attacks and they have to decide where the "outer limits" of spying should be, but they don't always get it right.
"I think we've, overall, got a good system of checks and balances," she said.
"But given these revelations about president Yudhoyono, then obviously you would be looking again to make sure that the system is as robust as you would want it to be for the future."
Indonesia's intelligence chief, Marciano Norman, says Australia's spy agency has already given an assurance it will not conduct future phone tapping operations.
"In our communication, they said that right now and in the future, there is no more tapping," the Lieutenant-General told reporters in Jakarta earlier this week.
"According to them, right now and in the future there would be no more tapping."
This has not been confirmed by the Abbott Government.
Mr Abbott has been in Canberra conducting a series of meetings with intelligence officials and colleagues over the past 24 hours.
He had a meeting with Cabinet's National Security Committee last night.
Abbott lacking in diplomacy skills, senior Indonesian politician says
Mr Abbott's handling of the scandal is facing increasingly strident criticism from within Indonesia, with a powerful opposition figure and the country's former intelligence chief weighing in on the issue.
Tebagus Hasannudin, the deputy chairman of Indonesia's Foreign Affairs Commission, says Mr Abbott's response is "is lacking in diplomacy skills".
Analysis from The Drum
A Labor government created the problem with Indonesia, but only the Prime Minister can fix it. So far, he has done nothing other than place fresh impediments in the path of a solution, writes Barrie Cassidy. Major General Hasannudin was the military secretary for three presidents and is a senior member of the opposition party that looks most likely to win next year's presidential election, so he will likely be a key figure Australia will have to deal with in near future.
Despite being a member of a nationalist party that opposes Mr Yudhoyono, the retired Major General has praised Indonesia's handling of the issue and questioned Australia's response.
"I have high respect and appreciation for Susilo Bambang Yudhyono's recent action," he said.
"Because when a response was given by Prime Minister Abbott, it was not in accordance to the standards expected by Indonesians.
"Other type of responses, better ones, could have been made, better for both Australia's internal politics and foreign affairs interests, to show that it's a friendly and neighbourly country - that is my opinion."
The party heavyweight says Mr Abbott has damaged Indonesia's trust.
"That's the basic principle of Asians - once you're unfaithful, you will no longer be trusted," he said.
"This needs to be understood by Australians - especially the Australian Prime Minister.
"Abbott's response is lacking in diplomacy skills.
"If I can suggest, [he should] just express regret and apologise for what happened in the past, because he wasn't involved in it, thus he's not responsible for it.
"Say it will be revised, so the relationship between the two countries can go well.
"That's it. Done."
Mr Abbott confirmed on Thursday he has received a letter from Mr Yudhoyono seeking an explanation from the Government.
Again, there was no apology from Mr Abbott, but a reiteration he will do everything he can to strengthen the relationship with Jakarta.
"I want to assure the House that the Government will respond swiftly, fully and courteously to the president's letter," he said in Parliament.
'Apologise, forgive and forget'
VIDEO: Former Indonesian intelligence chief unsurprised by spying allegations (Newsline) Both the Indonesian government and the opposition are waiting to see if Mr Abbott's response satisfies the president, but Indonesia's former intelligence chief says the simplest way to move on from the spying row would be for the Mr Abbott to apologise.
Former intelligence chief Abdullah Mahmud Hendropriyono told the ABC's Newsline program he was not surprised by reports Mr Yudhoyono's phone had been tapped in 2009, as every embassy in the world carries out intelligence gathering.
"(In) every embassy in the world, there is a staff officer who carries out intelligence missions. What they do is [collect] information with any means, by all means, including... black methods," he said.
Mr Hendropriyono says while espionage is an accepted part of international relations, the Australian ambassador to Indonesia at the time should be held accountable.
"Who is responsible in this case, in my perception, is the ambassador at the time. The ambassador was responsible for the operational level of collecting information," he said.
"Tapping is a covert way of collecting information, and it is not ethical in the [diplomatic] world. If there is a leakage (of) the activity... then they have to accept the consequence of the risks in this case.
Mr Hendropriyono says Indonesia and Australia need to work together to investigate the allegations.
"We will find out together with the Australian authorities concerned, we will find out who is the doer... [and] what is the punishment," he said.
However, Mr Hendropriyono says the situation can be resolved with an apology from the Prime Minister instead of the ambassador.
"That is the best way... just apologise and... forgive and forget," he said.
Mr Hendropriyono admitted in a 2004 television interview that Jakarta had spied on Australia.
