Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I also rise to speak in support of the report and to say what a privilege it was to serve on a parliamentary delegation of such bipartisan spirit and cooperation. It certainly indicates how members of this parliament, some of whom are vilified and criticised from time to time, can work constructively and well together to advance Australia’s best interests overseas. The goodwill and cooperation was clearly evident in the venues we went to, whether they were in Singapore, Kalimantan Tengah, Jakarta or various other locations.

There was certainly a great deal of cooperation with the local authorities, and I want to pay tribute to the Australian High Commissioner to Singapore, Mr Doug Chester, who actually assumed office, I think, on the day we arrived in Singapore, and his staff member Dr Lucinda Bell, who was just magnificent. She managed to find all the nooks and crannies all over Singapore. Her knowledge of the area is quite extraordinary. I think she has a doctorate in international law. One of the most interesting things about the trip to Singapore was when Dr Sharman Stone and I met with some professors of womens studies and talked about the role of women and domestic life and the role of migrant workers, who are also women. I think the member for Murray would agree with me that that was one of the fascinating insights into a society where there are many migrant workers. That society is very different from ours in its philosophy on the rights, roles and responsibilities of women, particularly indigenous women and foreigners.

With respect to Singapore, I have to say that the management of water is a big challenge for Australia and a big challenge for Singapore, for different reasons. I was interested to note that the public utilities board, which is under the ministry of environment and water resources and really is Singapore’s national water agency, has close contacts with the Queensland government. Queensland has been building a water grid at a cost of billions of dollars, a great initiative supported with federal government money as well. Much of South-East Queensland has been on level 6 water restrictions for a long time, so everyone drives around with dirty cars; that is the challenge of life in South-East Queensland. But the representatives from the ministry had close contacts. When I told them I was from Queensland, and represented Blair, which has the Bundamba Advanced Water Treatment Plant, they immediately lit up because they had been over there to look at the plant and thought it was a wonderful facility. Australia is leading the way. I am pleased to say we are cooperating with the water authorities in Singapore to help them. Despite its tropical climate and seasonal rainfall, Singapore has a very small catchment area. The Singaporean government have a fourfold strategy to deal with their long-term problems of water capture and to get long-term water into the area—water from the local catchment and desalinated water. They also have four plants producing what they call ‘NEWater’. We were given an opportunity to drink NEWater—15 per cent of Singapore’s water supply is NEWater. I have to say that it was great. I think the member for Mackellar actually met one of her constituents on that particular day, which lit up her face. She was very excited about that particular occurrence.

We also have close cooperation in terms of defence with Singapore. When they knew I was from Queensland and had the RAAF Base Amberley in my constituency, they were very keen to discuss issues of defence. Also, the National Trades Union Congress of Singapore represents 62 unions, six taxi associations, 12 social enterprises and four related organisations. Their tripartism is a bit different from what we would call the normal union operations in Australia, but they still retain that primary focus to advocate for and support workers. It is interesting—and those opposite, if I can be political for a sec, should note—that it is a very highly unionised workforce, comprising about 1,000 companies, and over 90 per cent of them have collective agreements. I say: hear, hear!

I want to thank very much those from the Singapore embassy who helped us enormously there. I have to say the highlight for me was the Indonesian aspect, and other speakers have talked about that. People-smuggling and illegal fishing is a real challenge for Australia. I am pleased to say that we are cooperating with the Indonesian authorities on this issue. Indonesia, their politicians and their people, recognise the great contribution Australia has made in terms of education. We have 15,000 Indonesian students enrolled in institutions here in Australia. That is an added contribution to our economy of $500 million. That is a lot of money they are contributing to the Australian economy.

It is good to see that the Rudd Labor government has implemented its election commitment of $62 million for a national Asian Languages and Studies in Australian Schools Program. The Indonesians are aware of that. They are very pleased to see that we are doing that. Our Australia-Indonesia Basic Education Program, which we saw the benefit of, is so worthy in the circumstances. It makes an appreciable difference in the lives of very poor children, boys and girls. It helps our neighbours enormously to educate their children in the way we would expect our children to be educated. Seeing the delight on the faces of these young people on the day that we visited, and also seeing the mirth when the Speaker tried to use his great Indonesian vocabulary, was quite extraordinary. They really are wonderful people.

The trip to the Dayak village was eye opening. To see the cooperation in the village, which is half Muslim and half Christian, shows that the people of the great monotheistic faiths can live together in happiness and harmony, and work together cooperatively in a community setting in isolated areas. There is no reason that people of different faiths cannot live happily and cooperatively in a multicultural society. That village, which is a very remote village, accessible only by a small river, is a perfect example of how society can evolve and change and benefit. It flies in the face of what is said by all those people who believe people of different cultures and faiths cannot live together. There were Javanese and people from other cultures there at the time, as well as the local Dayak people.

I think we are doing great work with respect to climate change over there. Visiting the peat swamps or peat lands of Kalimantan Tengah was an interesting experience. They are a unique form of wetlands. Peat consists of carbon-rich plant matter accumulated over millennia. It really acts as a carbon sink. The deforestation and drainage of the peat lands causes them to dry and results in the loss of carbon. We are talking about high greenhouse gas emissions. Those 22.5 million hectares of peat swamp forest represent about half of the total world habitat for orangutans. The fact that we are ensuring that vegetation is not destroyed is really good, but we have got to take greater steps in relation to orangutan preservation and protection. The Indonesians are doing a lot, but I think we should be thinking more and more about what we can do. We should make it part of our Indonesia-Australia Forest Carbon Partnership, because they are inextricably linked: the destruction of the peat lands and forests in that area has a big impact on the natural environment and habitat of the orangutans. I would like to see that $30 million program expanded, if at all possible.

But I would also like to see the expansion of the sporting program. We have a number of Australians over there from the Institute of Sport helping the Indonesians. I would like to see Australia play Indonesia in soccer three times over two years. Wouldn’t that be great? We could call it the SBY cup or the Rudd cup. Wouldn’t that be terrific? I think that would be great. I commend the report.

Debate (on motion by Mr Ramsey) adjourned.

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