Alan Griffin (Bruce, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is a great pleasure to follow the Deputy Speaker in discussing the findings of our delegation to ASEAN. I start by endorsing all of his comments and to thank him for his leadership of the delegation. I think we pretty much behaved ourselves, although there were times when the member for Hasluck, who is in the chamber, was a bit of a worry. Luckily he followed my good example on a number of occasions!

Delegations are often discussed in the media without being understood. I would like to focus for a couple of minutes on the significance of a delegation such as this and why it is in fact a very important part of the work we do. It is a very important part of the work that we do because we live in a region. With respect to this delegation in particular, we were visiting countries that are significant in the region. They are neighbours and there needs to be greater understanding across our nations. Delegations such as this play a very important role in ensuring there is a better understanding not only of their perspective but also of our own, because although we are in the same region we have very different histories and very different cultures. Developing that understanding across parliaments, communities and people and through business, politics and community structures is incredibly important. It is also important because it is recognised that Australia plays a leading role in this region. We are a small country in terms of population but a large country in terms of land and a significant country in terms of wealth and expertise, and we play a key role in the region. That key role is something which develops over time.

The Deputy Speaker mentioned some of the aid projects. The fact is that we play a significant role in providing aid and support to our neighbours when they are in trouble. There is no doubt that in the circumstances of the Philippines, in particular and more recently in the context of the missing Malaysian aircraft Australia has played a key role. It is important that we as parliamentarians get to see those aid projects in operation. What we as a delegation saw were aid projects which showed that Australian aid dollars are being used effectively, that they are being used to provide opportunities for communities to deal with the tragedy of natural disasters and to provide them with the opportunity to build into the future, to become more self-reliant and to be in a situation where they are able to triumph in the face of the adversity of the circumstances they have faced.

It is also important for trade. It is important in engaging with foreign countries and their officials, to assisting Australian businesses to better understand and facilitate contacts within countries they are seeking to trade in, to providing a better understanding back here in the Australian community and the business community, about what needs to be done, and also, frankly, to ensuring that our diplomatic staff overseas, who do a fantastic job, are facilitated and assisted in engaging with respect to those sorts of issues. That relationship-building across business, and in terms of the broader community and ensuring that the work that the Australian government does on behalf of all of us is done efficiently, effectively and properly is an important part of what is done. I think that this delegation touched on all those issues across all of the nations we visited.

A number of significant issues were considered. The circumstances around the missing Malaysia Airlines aeroplane have been mentioned. There were also issues involving the South China Sea and around the negotiations that are occurring in the Philippines to try to resolve some of the terrorist conflicts that are occurring in that nation. I think it showed the delegation—I certainly appreciated it—the complexity that surrounds the issues that are faced when trying to deal with insurgencies. It is often easy to encapsulate it in a headline, but it is much more complex than that. Frankly, it showed that the Philippines government in a very difficult set of circumstances is genuinely trying to engage and through that process hopefully resolve longstanding conflicts.

I also would like to think of number of people. The Deputy Speaker mentioned Peter Banson, who is in the House today, DFAT staff—embassy staff and consular staff—in all three countries that we visited and the delegation members for their camaraderie and support over the course of the trip. I had a crack in good spirits at my friend the member for Hasluck, but I would like to acknowledge, particularly, senators Kroger and Farrell who, at this stage anyway, are about to finish their time in this place. They were excellent contributors and I wish them well in the future.

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