TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said in a press release received by Tempo on Saturday, October 10, 2015, that the Australian government was ready to provide aids for Indonesia to address forest fires.
According to Bishop, the Australian government has offered to deploy aircraft L100 to tackle forest fire in Indonesia. Bishop extended her gratitude to the New South Wales Fire Department for agreeing to deploy the aircraft for Indonesia.
Bishop said that forest fires in Indonesia had reached an alarming state, at least in six Indonesian provinces, since more than 135,000 Indonesian citizens had been affected by respiratory problems.
Bishop added that the assistance was a form of solidarity since Australia was also facing forest fire threat this year.
Earlier, Australia, along with Malaysia, Singapore, China and Russia have expressed their willingness to help Indonesia with forest fires razing Sumatra and Kalimantan.
ADI WARSIDI