David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Hansard source

I present the report of the Australian parliamentary delegation to the 15th annual meeting of the Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum, held in Moscow from 21-26 January 2007. As leader of the delegation, I am pleased to present the report of our contributions to the Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum meeting held in January. The delegation included the member for Maribyrnong as deputy leader, the members for Gorton and Maranoa, and Senator Ian Macdonald.

The Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum is significant for Australia because it is an assembly of members of national parliaments in our region. Each January, since 1993, it has met to discuss matters of common interest. These meetings provide a valuable opportunity for Australian members of parliament to engage with parliamentarians from the wider region. The APPF member countries are of immediate concern to Australia’s regional strategic and economic interests, and we support the objectives of the APPF meetings. These include: deepening our understanding of the policy concerns of countries in the region; examining major political, social and cultural developments; and fostering the roles of national parliamentarians in building up a sense of regional cohesion and cooperation.

I will turn now to the main matters of the meeting. As is customary at these meetings, sessions were broken into three main subject areas: political and security issues, economic and trade issues, and regional cooperation. I spoke on securing peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific and negotiated the final resolution in the drafting committee. It seems clear that the main path to achieving peace and stability is through constructive engagement in regional cooperation, and that forums such as APEC, the East Asia Summit, the Pacific Islands Forum—and, indeed, APPF—contribute to this engagement by developing greater understanding and cohesion in the region.

Other agenda topics and resolutions that the delegation proposed, debated and negotiated included: strengthening political and security cooperation; combating terrorism, illegal drug traffic and organised crime; strengthening regional and global economic cooperation; and energy security. Outside the plenary, the delegation participated in a number of successful bilateral meetings with other delegations. These included the delegations from the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation and Thailand.

I express our special thanks to the Australian Embassy in Moscow, particularly the Ambassador, His Excellency Mr Bob Tyson, and Dr Alexandra Siddall. They managed to anticipate and meet our needs thoroughly. Ambassador Tyson provided excellent briefings and advice and also hosted a reception at which we met expatriates and members of the Moscow community. We are grateful for Dr Siddall’s advice and practical assistance throughout the visit. We also thank His Excellency Mr Sergey Mironov, President of APPF and the Chairman of the Council of Federation of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, and his colleagues—in particular, His Excellency Mr Dmitry Mezentsev, His Excellency Mr Ilyas Umakhanov and the APPF15 secretariat staff and liaison officers. They provided excellent meeting arrangements, generous hospitality and a wonderful cultural program for all who attended the meeting.

We also thank those closer to home who supported the visit: the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Parliamentary Library, the Parliamentary Relations Office and, of course, our excellent delegation secretary, Catherine Cornish, whose support was invaluable. I thank the deputy leader, the member for Maribyrnong, and all members of the delegation. Each of us pressed Australia’s interests through our draft resolutions, our speeches and negotiations, our bilateral meetings and on informal occasions. In short, the Australian team worked hard to promote Australia’s interests and to represent our parliament.

Before concluding, I also take this opportunity to note that, prior to joining the delegation in Moscow for the meeting, I made a short official visit to Israel at the invitation of the Speaker of the Knesset, Mrs Dalia Itzik. This visit formed part of the regular bilateral exchanges that take place between the Australian parliament and the Knesset. This regular contact contributes to building and maintaining the relationship and understanding between our two countries and parliaments. During the visit I met with the Speaker, Mrs Dalia Itzik; the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu; President Mr Moshe Katsav; Vice Prime Minister Shimon Peres; and the head of the Israel-Australia parliamentary friendship group, Ms Ronit Tirosh.

During the visit I also met with Israeli researchers and academics working in the fields of water and solar energy research, as well as the Australian Chief of Staff of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation, Major General Ian Gordon. I made a visit to the UN observation post, OP51, in the Golan Heights, accompanied by an Australian serving with UNSTO, Captain John Bouloukos. I have to say that the Australians serving with UNSTO are performing a valuable role and bringing great credit to Australia through their dedication and professionalism. I should also note that in all of my meetings in Israel there was a genuine appreciation expressed for Australia’s friendship with and support for Israel and for the role Australia plays in working for a resolution of the very difficult and complex problems in the Middle East.

Finally, I express my thanks to the Australian Embassy in Tel Aviv, particularly to the Ambassador, His Excellency Mr James Larsen, and also to Jonathon Chew and Alison Drury. The arrangements for the visit were first class, resulting in an excellent and diverse visit program. Mr Larsen provided very thorough briefing and support throughout the visit. I also thank Simon Moore, the Australian Federal Police security adviser who accompanied me on the visit, who is a very professional officer and who is a credit to the AFP. Once again, I thank DFAT, the library and the Parliamentary Relations Office for their support in making this short visit such a success and, for the whole of the visit, I also thank my senior adviser, Mr Chris Paterson.

See this speech in context