Craig Kelly (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Ever since Ferdinand Magellan was speared to death on Mactan Island in 1521 the 7,107 islands that came to make up the Philippines have faced problems with law and order. The Philippines is a nation that has a history of conflict and turmoil from the period of Spanish rule to the Spanish-American War to the atrocities of war crimes committed during the Second World War by Japanese occupation forces to the ongoing Marxist and Islamic insurgencies to the dictatorship of the Marcos regime with its crony capitalism. Even since the return of democracy and government reforms after the people power revolution of 1986, the country has been hampered by national debt, government corruption, coup attempts, a persistent communist insurgency and also the problem of Islamic separatists.

Currently the Australian government travel warning notes:

… violent crime still remains a significant problem in the Philippines …

We continue to receive credible reports indicating terrorists are planning attacks against a range of targets, including places frequented by foreigners …

We strongly advise you do not travel to Mindanao … due to the very high threat of terrorist attack, including kidnapping and related counter-terrorism operations.

The Global Peace Index has the Philippines ranked today in the bottom 20 nations classified as the 'least at peace' at 136 out of 156 nations.

Against this background I am sure all Australians wish the new Philippine President Benigno Aquino III the best as he attempts to lift the living standards of all Filipinos, rid his nation of violence and end hostilities with both the National Democratic Front and Islamic separatists in the south. President Benigno Aquino III is no stranger to violence for he was just 23 years old when his father was assassinated at Manila International Airport upon returning home from exile in the United States.

It must be recognised that the National Democratic Front is a coalition of far left leaning political parties controlled by the Communist Party. We hope that the members of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines realise that in every country where it has been tried communism has failed and, while communism may promise a socialist paradise, history has shown it only delivers poverty, hunger, misery and economic stagnation. Some may say a leopard never changes its spots and even our current Prime Minister was a card-carrying member of the Socialist Forum. We hope that for the benefit of all Filipinos the National Democratic Front comes to the realisation that their leftist ideologies will only harm the Philippines.

Ultimately what will bring peace and prosperity to the Philippines is not a signed piece of paper but a strong economy and the provision of equality of opportunity for all Filipinos. The greatest weakness of the Philippines democracy and its economy has been that the country has had no comprehensive anti-trust policy or regulations. In the past this has assisted to promote excessive concentration of economic power in the Philippines. It has stagnated its economic growth and has denied opportunity for its small business sector to compete and, in doing so, has created the breeding ground for anti-democratic forces to fester. It is therefore very encouraging to see that the Philippines has recently drafted anti-trust laws similar to the Sherman Act, the Clayton Act and especially the Robinson-Patman Act.

As the current Senate President of the Philippines, Juan Ponce Enrile, recently said:

We need to foster an environment that is conducive for the development of micro, small and medium enterprises.

President Aquino said in his first State of the Nation address:

... it is the government's duty to ensure that the market is fair for all, put an end to monopolies and cartels by giving the Philippines antitrust laws; that this will give life to these principles, to afford Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises the opportunity to participate in the growth of our economy.

By drafting these laws, the Philippines government is sending a message that it wishes to foster an economy where an individual who wants to be an entrepreneur rather than a member of a socialist collective or unionised workplace will not have his opportunities restricted by unfair trade practices and discriminatory pricing. We wish the Philippines well and we hope the peace negotiations between the government of the Republic of the Philippines and the National Democratic Front are successful.

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