Kym Richardson (Kingston, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am pleased to have this opportunity to speak to the report of the delegation to the Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum meeting in Jakarta and to Papua New Guinea. The APPF has particular relevance for this parliament because it focuses on our region and the major issues it confronts. The Australian parliament has a long record of contribution to the work of the APPF. The delegation was keen to continue this active participation. Chapter 1 of the delegation’s report contains a general discussion of the role and operations of the APPF. Chapter 2 provides a detailed review of our participation at the January meeting and the meeting’s outcomes.

I would like to mention briefly the agenda item I spoke to: ‘Cooperation on empowering economies of the developing and least developed countries’. My belief is that economic growth is the best way to beat poverty. I also consider that we are working well with our regional neighbours to achieve the greatest possible degree of self-reliance, with stronger economic growth, capacity governance, service delivery and environmental integrity.

Although there was a very full formal program for the APPF, the delegation participated in several other meetings in Jakarta, and chapter 3 of the report discusses these. One particularly interesting aspect was a visit arranged with the help of the Australian Embassy and staff of the United Nations World Food Program to a project at a school in East Jakarta. AusAID supports this project, which provides nutritionally enriched biscuits each day to young children at school. It was a great experience to visit this project, which provides such practical support. We were able to speak to the children and their teachers, as well as the WFP staff. I think we were all impressed by the dedication of the teachers and the World Food Program staff. We were also made welcome by the local community as we walked in the area surrounding the school. Meetings such as this provided a unique opportunity for us to get some understanding of the lives of ordinary people in other places and to give them a sense of our goodwill and interest in their future. 

After the APPF meeting ended, we travelled to Papua New Guinea, where we began our program with a visit to the Bomana War Cemetery. The sight of so many war graves had quite an impact on us, particularly as it was so close to Australia Day when we visited. We had a number of valuable meetings in Port Moresby and were able to visit Goroka, Kundiawa and Mount Hagen. Although our visit had to be brief, we met a diverse range of people in these venues, including families of patients at hospitals, businesspeople, workers in a coffee factory and their families, and colleagues from provincial parliaments and the national parliament.

A number of people contributed to the success of the delegation’s visits. I would like to acknowledge as many as I can in the time available: firstly, the delegation leader and our Senate Labor colleagues. None of us will forget the hospitality we received in Jakarta from the President, the Speaker and the Governor of Jakarta as well as the friendliness of people we met. Nor will we forget the welcomes we enjoyed at each stage of our visit to Papua New Guinea. I also want to acknowledge the assistance we had from the Australian Embassy in Jakarta, in particular from the ambassador, Bill Farmer, and Steven Barraclough. In Papua New Guinea we received great assistance from the high commissioner, Mr Michael Potts, as well as Tim Patterson and Solstice Middleby. I also thank staff of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Parliamentary Library and the Parliamentary Relations Office, who supported our work.

The delegation worked with good humour during an extensive program. I think we continued the tradition of Australia’s substantial contribution to the APPF meetings. We also carried out a program in Papua New Guinea that developed our understanding of current issues and gave us a wonderful chance to exchange views with the people we met.

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