In late August 2001 Paul Iozzi travelled to East Timor as a member of the Department of Defence to provide support to Australian Defence Staff in the Australian Consulate in Dili. He stayed there for around a fortnight, covering East Timor’s election of its Constituent Assembly to prepare for the development of a constitution. Once it was finalised, the constitution enabled elections for the government to be held, and the full handover of authority from the United Nations to East Timor for independence.
During this period the Consulate required additional staff. Iozzi recalls that members of the UN Peace Keeping Force (PKF) made PKF and toy gun warning badges for the community, in order to assist in creating a close positive association between the PKF and the community – part of the civil–military relations program.
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