Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Hansard source

For the information of members, I present the report of the Australian Parliamentary Delegation to the 120th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 4 to 10 April, and a bilateral visit to Switzerland, from 11 to 18 April 2009. The detailed report I have just tabled demonstrates the success of the hardworking, conscientious parliamentary delegation that attended the 120th assembly of the IPU in Addis Ababa and a bilateral visit to Switzerland. I do not have time to go through all of the achievements, but I wish to outline some of the highlights.

In Addis the Australian delegation participated fully in the work of the IPU and its various debates and meetings. From the point of view of the Australian delegation, the most important debate was the IPU debate on ‘Advancing nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament and securing the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty: the role of parliaments’. A year ago in Cape Town the Australian delegation proposed—and the IPU agreed—to have a full debate on this important international issue. The Chief Government Whip, the member for Chifley, took a leading role on this issue. He was appointed corapporteur for the debate. He participated in a successful panel discussion on the matter in Geneva in late 2008 and in Addis, as corapporteur and chair of the drafting committee, was instrumental in finalising a resolution that was adopted by the plenary session of the IPU. This was not an easy task, but the final resolution reflects the outstanding role that Australia, and in particular Roger Price, played in the IPU agreeing to a decisive final resolution on nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament.

Similarly, the member for Mackellar participated in the committee that debated the issue, ‘Freedom of expression and the right to information.’ Mrs Bishop was appointed to the drafting committee to finalise the resolution. She was elected rapporteur of that drafting committee and presented a report on the deliberations when the resolution was considered and adopted by the assembly. The member for Canberra, Annette Ellis, who joined the delegation at very short notice, enthusiastically participated in several meetings of the IPU, including its debate on climate change, sustainable development models and renewable energies. Senator Judith Troeth, the deputy leader of the delegation, was a great support to me as leader of the delegation not only in Ethiopia but also in Switzerland, and, along with the member for Canberra, she attended the meeting of women parliamentarians. With other delegates she attended panel discussions, geopolitical group meetings and bilateral meetings with delegates from other parliaments.

I participated in the debate on an emergency agenda item on the role of parliaments in mitigating the social and political impact of the international and economic financial crisis on the most vulnerable sectors of the global community, especially in Africa. The message that I conveyed in my speech to the delegates from the 123 countries attending the IPU was that restricting trade flows will not help fix the global financial crisis, indeed that such measures will make it worse and that free and fair trade is part of the solution to the crisis, not part of the problem.

The delegation was good enough to give me the wonderful opportunity to take part in a field visit organised by the IPU and UNICEF to projects in Addis Ababa for vulnerable children and adolescents, with an emphasis on education, health and nutrition, and social cash transfers.

During the assembly the delegation had the privilege of visiting the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital. There we had the great honour of meeting Dr Catherine Hamlin and her staff, inspecting the hospital and receiving a briefing on its work and that of the midwifery colleges located in Addis Ababa and regional Ethiopia. It was wonderful to see firsthand the excellent facilities at the hospital in Addis and the outstanding results being achieved, to experience the commitment and enthusiasm of the team of people who work with Dr Hamlin and to be reassured that her work is expanding and enduring. In this regard, the delegation noted that the Australian government will contribute a further $2.3 million for the expansion of the hospital and maternity colleges. This particular visit left a lasting impression on each and every member of the delegation and reinforced our regard and respect for the many Australians who, like Dr Hamlin, make wonderful contributions to those in need in many countries around the world.

A longer term issue that the members of the delegation have become aware of is the fact that few if any Pacific nations attend meetings of the IPU. Members of the delegation have discussed ways to facilitate the participation of Pacific countries in the important work of the IPU and, to this end, have raised the matter with Mr Anders Johnsson, Secretary-General of the IPU. We understand that the IPU President, Dr Theo-Ben Gurirab, is very much aware of this issue, and we have assured the secretary-general that members of the Australian delegation will welcome further discussions on concrete proposals to encourage participation of Pacific nations at the IPU.

I am sure that I speak on behalf of all delegates when I say that our bilateral visit to Switzerland was worth while and excellently organised. In Switzerland the delegation participated in a comprehensive program that allowed it to gain an appreciation of key international developments, including the global financial crisis and climate change. To this end the delegation had informative meetings with representatives of Credit Suisse, the Swiss National Bank, the Swiss Federal Department of Finance and Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and the department of environment. The delegation was also pleased to meet with the President of the Swiss Council of States, Mr Alain Berset, and members of the Swiss parliament. The delegation’s program included meetings with several United Nations agencies in Geneva, such as the World Trade Organisation, the World Meteorological Organisation, the ILO and the Office of the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights. Other meetings included the International Committee of the Red Cross; the Secretary-General of the IPU; a lunch hosted by Ambassador Caroline Millar, with several Australians actively involved in the UN system and NGO system in Geneva; a dinner hosted by Ambassador Peter Grey, with Dr Francis Gurry, the newly elected Director-General of the World Intellectual Property Organisation, the most senior ranking Australian in the UN system in Geneva, and Mr Keith Rockwell, the Director of Information and External Relations Division of the WTO.

The delegation found these meetings informative and useful and is certainly of the view that it is important for members of the Australian parliament to have the opportunity to engage and increase their understanding of the roles and works of the UN system and other international agencies. The delegation records its sincere appreciation of Ambassador Ian Kemish and the staff at the Australian Embassy in Berlin, Ambassador Peter Grey, Ambassador Caroline Millar and the staff at the permanent missions in Geneva for their considerable efforts to make the delegation’s visit such a success, notwithstanding the short time frame they had in which to arrange what turned out to be an outstanding program.

We especially thank Mr Chester Cunningham, for his work in the earlier part of the Switzerland delegation, and Steve Thom in Geneva for their tireless efforts during the delegation’s visit. The delegation would also like to recognise the excellent advice and support provided by Mr Nicholas Sergi, a policy adviser from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade during the IPU assembly. We also thank Federal Agent Jeff Smith for his tireless effort in coordinating security and other arrangements in Addis; his contribution was much appreciated. I also express my sincere gratitude to the secretary of the delegation, Neil Bessell. Once again his breadth of knowledge on matters to do with the IPU was important to the ongoing success of Australia’s contribution.

I commend the report to the House.

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