Brendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Industrial Relations) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak to the report of the delegation to the 15th annual meeting of the Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum this January. My colleague the member for Maribyrnong, who was the deputy leader of the delegation, cannot be present, so I will make some remarks on his behalf, as well as my own.

Mr Speaker, you have referred to the role of the APPF and its relevance to Australia and some of the issues that the Australian delegation debated; I would like to focus on some other issues. These are political and security cooperation, which the member for Maribyrnong debated, and energy security, which I covered. In his contribution on political and security cooperation, the member for Maribyrnong referred to the interdependence of regional economies and the influence that had on member states maintaining international stability and upholding international obligations. His view was that we have no choice but to work together in addressing the challenges to its peace and security that the region faces.

The debate on energy security at the APPF drew quite a bit of interest. This is understandable because energy security, together with climate change, is amongst the most significant challenges the world is facing. Our region, the Asia-Pacific, is responsible for about 20 per cent of world energy demand and about 50 per cent of the increase in world energy demand in recent years. The implications of energy security are highly significant for our international relations in the future because competition for energy is likely to be the source of tension between states if countries do not have access to a market that can deliver reliable supplies at competitive rates.

The challenge of energy security presents us with an opportunity to collaborate to ensure that all countries have adequate access to energy. It is something that is essential for sustainable economic growth and for the alleviation of poverty. We cannot just consider the interests of our own countries; some of us are fortunate to have good access to energy. Australia has a high degree of natural energy security, although, as you know, we are a net exporter of oil. However, other countries, including many of our neighbours, are much less fortunate.

The kinds of measures that I called for at the meeting included enhancements to global energy trading by strengthening markets, expanding energy infrastructure, removing impediments to exploration and support for the production of alternative sources. We also need to confront this issue in terms of climate change by promoting the development of new and more energy efficient technologies to allow the ongoing use of fossil fuels while meeting climate change objectives.

As parliamentarians in the region we can contribute to progress on the initiatives already undertaken and the development of further initiatives. The value of debating energy security in a forum such as the APPF is clear: it is a global issue requiring global solutions, and these solutions will not succeed unless they are built on understanding and cooperation.

Forums such as APPF do more than provide a basis for speeches. Twenty-seven countries in the region are members and all but a few of them sent members of parliament to this meeting. During a meeting we get the chance to debate regional issues and discuss them in depth as we negotiate with our colleagues from around the region. Our interests will never completely coincide but we do manage to increase our understanding of each other and, through a cooperative attitude, find we can agree on many matters of common interest and concern.

Mr Speaker, you thanked a number of people, and I would like to add our thanks, especially to the Australian ambassador, Mr Bob Tyson, and second secretary, Dr Alexandra Siddall. We very much appreciated the preparations they made for us, and their advice and support while we were in Moscow. I also thank their Canberra colleagues in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for their advice and assistance; the research staff in the Parliamentary Library; and the Parliamentary Relations Office.

The organising committee and secretariat of APPF15 should also be thanked for their generous hospitality and efficient arrangements. A large conference in Moscow in the middle of winter must have had its logistical challenges but it went smoothly. In closing, I would like to thank you, Mr Speaker, for leading the delegation, and all my colleagues on the delegation. One of the benefits of participating in such a delegation is the opportunity it provides for us to get to know our colleagues within the parliament as well as from other parliaments. Throughout the four-day meeting, our delegates were vocal and highly participative, which ensured, I think, a very effective representation for Australia.

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