Kiwis grab standby air tickets, ready to flee Indonesia

By MATHEW DEARNALEY

New Zealanders living on Bali and elsewhere in Indonesia are buying standby airline tickets to flee if there are more terror attacks.

Sources in the expatriate and diplomatic communities said yesterday there was not yet any indication of a surge of departures by New Zealanders living in Indonesia, although businesspeople living there are battening the hatches.

This follows not just the Bali nightclub bombings last weekend, but warnings to travellers on Thursday night by Australian, New Zealand and British authorities of possible further terror attacks against Westerners in the region.

The Government, following information relayed from Australian intelligence sources, warned short-term visitors whose presence is non-essential to leave Indonesia.

At least 800 New Zealanders live in Indonesia, and 16,700 visited the archipelago last year.

Qantas responded to the latest security alert by arranging for extra flights today from Bali and Jakarta to Sydney, and is offering special fares to New Zealanders wanting to fly home via Australia.

Garuda has a fully booked flight due to land in Auckland this afternoon, via Brisbane, although the airline said most holidaymakers who wanted to leave Bali after the bombings had already done so.

It has no plans to increase its three weekly services from Bali to Auckland, although it has boosted capacity into Australia by putting Boeing 747s on flights normally made by smaller Airbuses.

Australian telecommunications company Telstra responded immediately to the heightened security alerts by announcing it was pulling non-essential staff from Indonesia, but New Zealand firms contacted yesterday said they had no such plans at this stage.

Auckland-based engineering consultancy Beca has more than 10 staff based at three offices, one in Jakarta and two on the northern Indonesia island of Sulawesi, where a small bomb exploded last weekend.

International managing director Bob Durrant said people visiting on business from New Zealand were being sent there through Singapore rather than Bali but all three offices had good security protection, including one at a Sulawesi nickel mine.

Dairy giant Fonterra says it has only two New Zealanders based in Jakarta, and will move members of their families to a safe neighbouring country if security worsens.

Another Auckland engineering consultancy, Meritec, says it has no plans yet to evacuate its four New Zealand expatriate staff but will not send visitors to Indonesia until further notice.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has yet to decide whether to advise 14 family members of 11 New Zealand staff at its Jakarta embassy to leave.

Embassy deputy head of mission Andrea West said there was a flurry of inquiries yesterday morning from concerned expatriates after initial media reports misinterpreted the latest advice as orders by Australia and New Zealand for their nationals to leave Indonesia. But she said there was little sign of businesses and others pulling out at this stage.

Former Gisborne man Andrew McLatchie, who has built a large manufacturing and export business on Bali and in other parts of Indonesia in his 16 years there, said he and others had bought standby tickets for themselves and their families in case security deteriorated.

He was taking sensible security precautions such as arranging home-schooling for his two children, avoiding shopping malls and eating out only at small restaurants remote from tourist spots.

'Don't go' warning

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is advising against all travel to Indonesia and says New Zealand tourists there should leave.

It also recommends that any New Zealanders living in Indonesia who do not feel safe should leave.

The warning is for the whole of Indonesia, including Bali.

New Zealanders in Indonesia are being advised to keep a low profile.

The ministry says they should avoid behaviour likely to provoke local sensibilities and stay away from crowds, public places and places frequented by Westerners until they are able to leave.

The Australian Government has upgraded warnings to travellers to Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Burma, Brunei, Laos, Cambodia, East Timor and the Philippines.

It is urging travellers to be extremely cautious because of an increased risk of terrorist activity and internal unrest.

It is advising against all travel to West Timor, parts of Malaysia, including the islands off the east coast of Sabah, and parts of the Philippines, especially the Sulu archipelago and southern and western Mindanao.

In Wellington, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade is advising against all but essential business travel to parts of East Timor and parts of the Philippines, including Maguindanao, Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, North and South Catobato, Sultan Kudarat and Palawan.

Bali messages and latest information on New Zealanders
New Zealand travellers in Bali, and their families around the world, can exchange news via our Bali Messages page. The page also contains lists of New Zealanders in Bali and their condition.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade

* Latest travel advisory for Indonesia

* Bali Bombing Hotline: 0800 432 111

Feature: Bali bomb blast

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