Graham Edwards (Cowan, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary (Defence and Veterans' Affairs)) Share this | Hansard source

From the outset, I want to acknowledge the work of the leader of the parliamentary delegation to the 115th Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly held in Geneva and to Portugal, Judi Moylan, and compliment her on a very professional job. Her leadership and personality helped make this trip a very enjoyable one. It was great to be part of a good team, and I feel that, under her leadership, we really did fly the Australian flag with pride, and we made sure that people knew where we were from as well. I also want to acknowledge the work of Kay Hull and Senator Gavin Marshall during the IPU and, of course, during our bilateral visit to Portugal. For me, the IPU was an eye-opener, and, as a stranger to the process, I greatly relied on the advice and direction of delegation secretary Neil ‘Fardo’ Bessell, who is a very valuable officer to have about. His experience was of great value to the delegation.

It was very interesting to be involved in a forum which included full, open and frank debate on various issues with speakers from countries like Israel, Lebanon and Palestine pitted against each other. It was also of interest to watch the politics of the Twelve Plus Group. As you know, Mr Speaker, Australia is a member of Twelve Plus as well as a member of the Asia-Pacific Group. But I must say I was absolutely astounded by the anti-American sentiment which was often expressed, and expressed with some passion and some strength, by some delegates. It is important for the future of the IPU and for the decision-making process that the United States gets involved with the IPU again.

I did put forward a motion on the banning of cluster bombs for discussion at the next IPU, but this motion was not supported. I was disappointed that it did not get up, but I can understand why. However, on a more positive note, I was asked to join the editorial board that was recently constituted to oversee the drafting of a new handbook for the parliamentarians on the forthcoming International Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities. It is hoped to have that work finished and published in time for the 116th IPU assembly in spring 2007.

The bilateral visit was to Portugal, and I am absolutely delighted to have had the opportunity to welcome the delegates here today from Portugal. It is tremendous that, so soon after our trip, they decided to visit Australia to see what it was that we were so proud of. I also want to acknowledge the great work done by our post in Portugal and, in particular, to acknowledge and thank our ambassador, Luke Williams, for the very professional job he and his staff do and for their support of our visit.

There are many hundreds of people of Portuguese origin living in WA. Many of them are from the island of Madeira, and they make a great contribution to our state and to Australia. Indeed, many of them have involved themselves in the fishing industry. For many of them, the first time they ever picked up a fishing line was when they came to Australia. The Portuguese people were very warm in their hospitality, and, for me, a highlight of our trip to Portugal was a visit to Porto, which is couple of hours drive north. It was a very interesting drive, and Porto is a very fascinating part of Portugal. For me, there was a great resemblance between Porto and the old port area of Sydney, around The Rocks, and the old port area of Fremantle, where so many of the Portuguese people went.

We were also very interested to meet with officials from the ministry of fisheries. Portugal is the third highest per capita consumer of fish and has an overall deficit in fish trade. It consumes over €1 billion worth of fish products, its own catch supplying about two per cent of consumption—there ought to be a market there for Australia. In conclusion, I once again congratulate Judi Moylan and other members of the delegation. It was a delight to be a member of that delegation, and we hope that we represented our country well.

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