Gavan O'Connor (Corio, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries) Share this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, may I take the opportunity to endorse your remarks on the visit this year of the Australian Parliamentary Delegation to Malaysia and Japan. In my years in this parliament I have been on several delegations and, without any reflection on those delegations or their output, this was the best that I have been a part of. I congratulate you on leading a very successful delegation to two increasingly important countries in our region. Your leadership and diplomacy skills were to the fore throughout the time the delegation was away.

I also congratulate other members of the delegation, from right across the political spectrum, who conducted themselves very professionally throughout the visit. The hallmark of this delegation’s visits was its unity and sense of purpose in advancing Australia’s interests in the region. In this parliament, members and senators come in for a lot of criticism for the partisan way in which political issues are often played out in both chambers. It certainly was not the case with this delegation from across the political spectrum. Egos were left at home, as were the partisan political divisions that often occur in this place. This was a focused delegation, and the feedback that I have received only reinforces that point of view.

I would like to particularly thank the secretary to the delegation, David Elder, for the terrific organisational and other work that he did on our behalf. I also thank the Ambassador to Japan, Murray McLean, the High Commissioner to Malaysia, James Wise, and their staff for the excellent support that the delegation received while we were away from Australia.

As Mr Speaker pointed out, both Malaysia and Japan are increasingly important to this nation and to the region. We were fortunate enough to hold discussions in both countries with a range of ministers, parliamentarians, business leaders and members of the community. This made it a very worthwhile exercise for the Australian delegation. A hallmark was the interchange between the delegation and parliamentarians in these countries. The open and frank discussions reinforced the impression that many in Asia have—that Australians speak their minds but in a way that appreciates the sensitivities of the nations involved.

Malaysia is a multicultural society; it has significant Malay and Indian populations. We found a willingness on the part of the Malaysians to engage with us politically in the post-Mahathir era and to build on the enormous relationships that already exist in a commercial, cultural and personal sense, given that some one-quarter of a million Malaysians have been educated in Australia. Malaysia is an excellent springboard for Australia to conduct its relationships with the two emerging giants of Asia: China and India.

Mr Speaker, your words also reflect the state of the relationship with Japan. There is no more important relationship in the region for Australia than the one with Japan. That was a message that we sent to Japan, and it was a message well received. Australia, China and Japan must come to grips with the significant issues in the region—the issues of Taiwan and North Korea and various commercial, economic and cultural issues are very important to Australia, Japan and Malaysia. These all got a very frank airing during our visit. As I have explained, the interaction with parliamentarians from Malaysia and Japan was a highlight. The visits to Sandakan and Hiroshima had an extraordinary impact on the delegation and on those who accompanied us.

This was also an extraordinary experience for the spouses who accompanied us on the delegation. It was a delegation visit that demonstrated unity among the parliamentarians and their spouses. I was honoured to be a part of it. I thank you, Mr Speaker, for your generous leadership and for the opportunities provided to members of the Labor Party on that delegation to participate.

See this speech in context