Australia's new FM Rudd heads for flooded Pakistan

Emma Rodgers

Last Updated: Wed, 15 Sep 2010 15:04:00 +1000

Australia's Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd will head to Pakistan to tour the country's flood-devastated areas before he heads to Washington and New York for high-level meetings.

Mr Rudd fronted the media for the first time as Foreign Minister, just hours before he is due to leave on his first overseas trip in the position.

He said it was a "great honour" to be Foreign Minister and he had already received briefings with departmental staff.

Mr Rudd will head to Pakistan after being told by AusAid officials that there was a danger the flood crisis could get much worse.

"It is quite plain we are in the process of seeing a slow-burn humanitarian disaster in that country, a humanitarian disaster potentially of horrendous proportions," he said.

Mr Rudd has urged world leaders to do more to help relieve the humanitarian crisis in Pakistan.

"The international community needs to do more. We do not want to turn around in three and six months' time and ask ourselves this question, what more could we have done or should we have done to avert a humanitarian disaster?"

He says Australia is the fifth largest donor to the disaster relief effort in Pakistan.

After visiting Pakistan, Mr Rudd will head to Washington to meet with US secretary of state Hillary Clinton before addressing the United Nations in New York and attending the panel he was recently appointed to on global sustainability.

Mr Rudd says he plans to use the international forum to talk about Pakistan's flood crisis and urge everyone to lift their efforts.

As part of his job, Mr Rudd will also have to pursue the government's aim to open up a regional processing centre in East Timor.

The night before he was deposed as prime minister, Mr Rudd warned his party not to "lurch to the right" on the issue.

He says he does not believe this policy is doing that because it will comply with the United Nations Convention on refugees.

But he has also conceded that it will take some time to set it up and it possibly will not be done in this term of government.

"This is going to take quite a while to work our way through," he said.

Mr Rudd also pledged to serve a full term as foreign minister and refused to comment on Labor's election campaign.

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